SURAT: On Maha Shivratri every year, Amrut Manek flies a helicopter over a temple for tribals in Bardoli town and showers flower petals, much to the cheer of villagers. Manek has been religiously conducting this ritual for the last three years ever since he built the temple.He is no businessman but son of the soil who fought abject poverty, toiled as farm labourer as a child and went on to become a celebrated aviation instructor. The 57-year-old has now been been nominated for the prestigious Padma Shri award by the Union ministry of home affairs for his contribution to the field of aviation.No one in his seven generations had ever gone to school. But this young boy was keen to study and started preparing for class 7th class exam; studying under the oil lamp and walking six km to school daily. “One day, while working in the field, I saw an aeroplane and instantly decided to enter the field of aviation,” Manek told TOI.After working in the fields for six years, earning barely a rupee and four annas a day, Manek shifted to Mumbai where his father had taken up a job as a peon in a private English medium school. Living in a 10 X 12 room in a slum in Malad, Manek began working as a labourer in plastic rings factory, which helped him meet his education expenses. Overcoming all financial obstacles, he finally got admission in Siddhartha College of Commerce.Even as he continuously kept watching the planes in Mumbai skies, Manek read a book about a young pilot Charles Lindberge from the 1920s, which refuelled his dream of becoming a pilot.In college, he joined NCC’s armoured wing and proved his mettle by winning best cadet of Maharashtra title in 1983 with a gold medal.A businessman from Surat was happy to learn about the Surat boy’s achievement and instantly offered him Rs 5,000 to pursue his dreams. With money in hand, Manek got enrolled into the Gujarat Flying Club, Vadodara, from where he earned a Student Pilot License and a Private Pilot License in 1985.Using government schemes and taking bank loans, Manek set up the first aviation school, Skyline Aviation Club, in Mumbai in 1987 to help students from SC, ST and OBC backgrounds realise their pilot dreams. He wanted to expand but several institutions and charitable institutions turned down his request for financial assistance. In 1988, he approached then chief minister of Gujarat, Amarsinh Chaudhary, a native of Vyara close to Manek’s native village. Chaudhary issued orders to pass a government resolution (GR) to help him with financial assistance to study abroad despite protest by the opposition Janata Party. Manek got a loan of Rs.1,77,792 and he flew to the US for commercial pilot licence (CLP) training. He returned the next year to start his full-fledged aviation school in 1990.Manek has trained close to 4,200 pilots and aviation experts in the last three decades. He operates aviation training from a 3,000 sq foot property in Borivili, practical training of helicopters at Juhu airport and big crafts at Alighar. He also operates a centre in Chicago, US.

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