A commercial pilot by profession, a successful YouTuber in partnership with husband Gaurav Taneja, and a mother of a 2-year-old daughter, 30-year-old Ritu Rathee Taneja seems to have left no stone unturned in life.
Apart from being a captain with Indigo Airlines, the popular YouTube channel ‘Flying Beast’ with over 3 million subscribers makes her a familiar face to many. She along with her husband, also a pilot by profession, chronicles their stories of lifestyle, family, fitness, and travel in order to share them with the world through their YouTube channel. She has about 546k followers even on Instagram.
Despite hardships that came on her way as a woman, she knew that sky is no limit for her. “It wasn’t easy being ambitious in a society where people thought, ‘Ladkiyan bojh hain (girls are a burden),” she reveals while talking to Humans of Bombay.
“I’ve gone from feeling guilty about spending on a movie and snack to being a Captain whilst raising our daughter. It’s no cakewalk, but we’re still doing it…I’m a Captain, a vlogger, a wife, and a mother. And I won’t allow anybody to set limitations on what I can be”, she says resolutely. Here is a sneak-peek to the story of her life.
Early Life
Though her family hails from the native village of Nindana in Haryana, she was born and brought up in Gurugram and spent her college days in Delhi while completing her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the city’s prestigious St Stephen’s College.
“Relatives thought I should get married before I got ‘too educated’. But my parents worked hard to send us to school”, she says while acknowledging her parent’s contribution in her life. Her father, a contractor by profession, was the sole earning member of the family.
“I was very good at studies especially in maths and physics, but I was never a desk job person. I always wanted to explore new things, to visit many places”, she explains in an interview with a food-blogging website Local Samosa. Though she was academically brilliant, she was not satiated with a regular life-style.
“I was a skilled bike rider too, so after school, when a friend suggested that I become a pilot, it appealed to me”, she added. Within the 8 months of the application, she heard back from the United States-based Aviation Academy in Arizona.
“It was not that I dreamt of becoming a pilot, but once I started flying, it turned into a passion,” she says profoundly while talking to YourStory.
Touching The Sky
“I love to fly aircraft, flying in the sky, landing the aircraft, having a watch on the weather. Every flight has different challenges and I love to take up those challenges, and I love my profession”, she says ecstatically while talking about her profession. “I love the randomness of flying. Flying challenges you; you’re thinking of your procedures, your way of doing things, and pushes you to bring out the best of yourself,” she also adds.
But getting into the profession came with its numerous hurdles. Her father’s initial hesitation scorns from the relatives and mother’s sudden health condition were the major ones among them
“Papa, spend the money you’d use for my wedding, on my training– I’ll make you proud,” is what she said while convincing her father. Besides, the father-daughter duo could successfully overlook the snide comments coming from the relatives. “We turned a blind eye to them, and there I was, off on my first flight ever, knowing that it would be the first of many flights to come”, she said with pride.
She came home after one and a half years of training in the United States. But the struggle for a job was only to begin. “I struggled to get a job since there were no vacancies. Relatives took digs at papa saying, ‘We told you this would happen’”, she recalls the past with a heavy heart.
The situation worsened when her mother passed away in the same year followed by a brain hemorrhage that left her father devastated. “Dad was miserable– he’d cry all the time and barely slept” she heart-wrenchingly remembers. On top of that, the family was burdened with loans.
“I knew I had to step up, so over the next 2 years, I did a side job, studied for 7 hours a day, and barely slept to ace my applications. Finally, I got an offer from an airline to be the co-pilot!”, sharing her moment of joy which she humbly celebrated with her favorite aloo burger and cold coffee. This was followed by a temple visit with her father.
For the next 4 years, she flew at least 60 flights every month until she was promoted to the position of a Captain, which she describes as her ‘Apna time aa gaya’ moment. “During this time, I met my husband who’s also a pilot. We’ve grown into a small, happy family with our 2-year-old daughter–we even vlog our journey of being a working, hustling couple!”, she says.
YouTubing, then, was just a matter of time!
Becoming A YouTuber
Though it was completely unplanned at the beginning, gradually Ritu and Gaurav’s YouTube/Social Media journey started to pan out. “We never thought about doing it, we were a happily married couple. But Gaurav used to post videos on fitness, use to come live on Facebook and it worked pretty well. We got many suggestions to start a youtube channel. So, Gaurav started a channel named Fitmuscle TV where he used to make vlogs based on the scientific contents on fitness, bodybuilding,” she said to Local Samosa while discussing the beginning of their journey.
“I used to be present in his video where I was shown doing normal household chores, and with the feedback they realized that people were enjoying our conversations and chemistry. This led to Flying Beast,” Ritu explains to YourStory, how the audiences were charmed by the ‘real and raw connect’ through their channel.
Though social media comes with its own expectations related to pressure, Ritu did not let it come in her way. “Social Media is tricky, but I don’t stress out too much. The tough time comes when there is a big-time gap between two posts. But I try to schedule things, and everything goes with the flow”, she mentions.
“Even if I am dressed in normal clothes, Gaurav will still shoot without caring about it. There’s no show-off,”, she opines highlighting the need for being original, humourous, and endearing for making their viewers adhered to ‘Flying Beast’.
“For us, vlogging is nothing but shooting our daily life, our journeys, our travel, our struggles, our tiffs, and our love. Earlier, due to time constraints, we didn’t upload videos daily, but now, due to the quarantine, we are uploading daily. Gaurav shoots throughout the day on the phone and edits in the evening and the vlog is good to go,” says Ritu as she emphasizes the need to ease it out. Even when Gaurav takes on her sarcastically on the videos, she cares a hang and has learned to take them lightly.
“Earlier, I used to wonder how it would be to go out in the cities. I wanted to explore the narrow streets, observe the lives of people, and vlogging has been one of the main reasons for us to travel in India, especially by train,” she adds while thanking her profession for serving her with palates of opportunities.
A Juggling Life, Achievements and Plans Ahead
“If we love our job, types do not matter, and I find myself to execute so many different roles. I don’t find any extra burden on me when it comes to YouTube vlogs as Gaurav does everything. From shoot to editing them and posting them. Flying is my passion so it makes me happy and joyful, but being a manager for Gaurav means a lot”, she answers when asked about managing all her roles in life. Despite all the juggling in life, she does not let distractions come in her way when she flies as a Captain.
But no matter how much she has on her plate, she never forgets to spend at least 2 hours every day with her daughter, playing and teaching her. “It is very important not to lose your internal voice. She should never forget the love for the society or the people while racing for progress”- is what she wishes for her daughter.
The couple not only performed at the YouTube Fanfest but also had an amazing opportunity to meet former US President Barack Obama in Singapore through Google in 2019. Among the participants three were Indians.
Currently, the couple is closely working with the Government to promote tourism, though the project has been on halt due to the COVID-19 outbreak. This year on International Women’s Day, they have launched an initiative, titled #RasbhariChai, in Tripura.
“We searched for a chaiwala who has a daughter, and then we held a meet up with our fans and requested them to donate whatever they liked in exchange for a selfie and a cup of chai. We multiplied that amount and opened a fixed deposit for Rs 51,000 in the girl’s name with her mother as the nominee. We want to take this initiative across India and help as many girls as possible,” Ritu explains in her conversation with YourStory. Alongside this, for the future, she wants to keep working hard and in a consistent manner.
In a country where women are made to prove their mettle in every step of their ways, Ritu’s story not only inspires us but also motivates us to buckle up on all the fronts of our lives. It is a remarkable reminder of the fact that motherhood does not make a person less worthy.
In fact, if at the liberty to make the life-choices regarding the profession, passion, and parenting, women are more than capable of steering their ways in the right direction. All we need to do as a society, perhaps, is to be a bit more supportive of our women, be it whatever role she chooses to play.