I enter a room full of trainee Electro-Technical Officers of the merchant marine with anxiety writ all over my face cause it’s my very first class at the training centre. But I’m the sincere kind. So I hurry to catch a place at the head of the class.

I’ve worked hard to get a seat at this prized training course, and I hope and pray for good beginnings. The class grows quiet and the whirring of the fans becomes more audible.

Enters professor grim and we look at him with a mix of fear and hope. Night owls at the edge of our seats. Professor takes long strides in the narrow aisle, giving each one of us a quick probing stare.

But suddenly I feel a stinging pain in my left earlobe. It’s caught in a vice and I writhe in pain. My hands clench my ears tight.

“Tell me you badmash, why are you wearing surma in your eyes? Boys don’t wear surma, right?” The class erupts in nervous laughter.

I somehow manage to loosen his grip on my earlobe, and with a pained smile I blurt, “But Sir. I am wearing kajal because girls do wear it.”

The professor takes a step back in disbelief, pulling his hand away. A girl ETO cadet in the class? How? Never had they seen a girl at an ETO Course.

This was the year 2010.

The red-faced professor gathered his wits quickly and with his frown turning to an embarrassed smile, he wiped his glasses and began the class.

Suddenly, I was proud, the class was proud, and so was our professor. Just like that an invisible barrier lay shattered.

Marex Media