The passing-out parade at an aviation school in Nashik got an emotional twist on Tuesday as an Indian Army Captain asked his partner for marriage.
The parade at the Combat Army Aviation Training School (CAATS) ended with a surprise proposal by Captain Bharat Bhardwaj to his partner. In the video of the moment, shared by news agency ANI, Captain Bhardwaj can be seen getting down on one knee while in his uniform, with his partner hugging him as he gets up.
Others are seen recording the proposal and clapping, with some going up to the couple and shaking hands while congratulating them. The Captain and his partner then pose for a picture together after the proposal.
The incident went viral on social media, with users calling it a “wholesome moment”, and depicting it as an instance of “love taking flight”.
The Combat Army Aviation Training School (CAATS) in Nashik is one of the training institutes for the Indian Army. The institute comes under the ARTRAC – Army Training Command, Shimla – with trainees including Indian Army officers. This includes personnel from Indian Navy, women officers, and military officers from friendly foreign countries. Pilots trained at CAATS can then specialise in Pilots trained at CAATS go on to specialize in tactical operations such as paradrops, search and rescue, special forces insertion, and critical medical and supply missions in high-altitude environments like the Siachen Glacier.
‘Wanted to make this day memorable’
Following the proposal, Captain Bhardwaj said he “wanted to make this day memorable”, given that everyone enrolled at CAATS had become pilots or instructors.
“We have all become pilots, instructors today. It was a big day for all of us. Our hard work yielded fruit today,” he said, adding that it was a “big day” for his family too.
Bhardwaj said he had known his partner for five years. “I don’t think that there is any better day than this to propose marriage to her…I wanted to make this day memorable for my fiancée too. That was the whole idea,” he told ANI news agency.
The proposal was similar to another marriage proposal by a 25-year-old Army cadet after his graduation six years ago. Thakur Chandresh Singh, after he became an officer of the Rajputana Rifles following training from the Officer Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai, proposed to his partner in 2018. The photograph of the proposal was shared on social media and went viral, with wishes social media users congratulating the couple and showing support for the gesture.
