Even space has a life

Williams reads the Gita for inspiration, likes samosas and Magellan

Who’s the real Sunita Williams? Is she deeply religious, absolutely carefree, or a hardcore astronaut?

If anything, Sunita was entirely focused on the Gita when she was aboard the International Space Station (ISS). “Every day, I used to read a couple of verses from the Gita and try to understand Arjuna’s dilemma. I did this in order to identify if I had the same problems and find the means to solve them.”

Although Sunita has caught the imagination of the public because of her high-flying achievements on the ISS, her beyond-the-space life, too, is equally interesting. Sunita, who was in Hyderabad recently to attend the International Astronautical Congress, loves adventure on earth as well.

“Being an astronaut means I have to be fit. It’s only natural that I love adventure sports like long-distance running, mountain biking and surfing,” she says. Her passion for long-distance running was reflected when she ran on a treadmill aboard the ISS after the Boston marathon was flagged off.

The other thing she loves is her dog. “Gorby is my little buddy. I missed him when I was on the ISS,” she says. She always takes Gorby to functions where kids are involved. “Kids just love pets. They are more comfortable with people who have pets.”

After pets, perhaps, is her love for spicy Indian food. Sunita’s fondness for samosas is well known. What is less known is the fact that samosas too featured in her friendship with Kalpana Chawla, a NASA astronaut who was killed in the 2003 Columbia disaster. “I always looked forward to visiting Kaplana’s house. Her husband used to cook fantastic Indian food, particularly samosas.”

But does the astronaut get a high on sci-fi. Not exactly: “I hardly read science fiction when I was a child. In fact, science fiction hardly had any role in inspiring me to become an astronaut.”

Instead, it’s the explorers of old who have made a big impression on her. “I was fascinated by people like Magellan who risked their lives in order to explore new places.”

When she saw the earth from outer space, she was instantly reminded of Gandhi’s idea of a borderless world. “Gandhi always used to say that the world was borderless. It was only when I reached space that I realised what he (Gandhi) meant. The borders exist only on paper,” Sunita says.

Besides a copy of the Gita, which was given to her by her father Deepak Pandya, Sunita also carried an idol of Lord Ganesha during her maiden space flight. “I carried the idol since Ganesha is associated with happiness and prosperity,” she says.