Simran Thorat's Story: From A Small Maharashtra Village To Merchant Navy

Do you know what is the biggest hurdle for ambitious women? Convincing the family and society that they deserve to pursue their dreams. Defying the social norms, Simran Thorat not only pursued her dreams and became the first Marchant Navy Officer from her village in Maharashtra but sailed across oceans as a single woman among a crew of men. 

Simran Thorat belongs to Indapur which is 150 km away from Pune. Her parents, Brahamadev and Asha Thorat used to earn a living by growing maize, wheat and sugarcane on their farm. Simran and her parents never went too far away from her locality or house to pursue her basic education. She studies till the 8th in a Marathi medium and the rest in a semi-English medium. Her brother, Shubham Thorat, too works as an Engineer in the Merchant Navy. Simran's parents had already sold a part of their land for her brother's education and, they did it again, for Simran's dreams. 

Simran's big dream 

Simran expressed her desire to sail seven seas in a male-dominated profession. A girl who rarely went far away from her family or locality, now wanted to sail across seas and be away from her family for months. It was very hard for her parents to picture this and digest it, yet they came around. Her parents accepted her desire and decided to set her free to sail. However, the only hurdle between Simaran and her dreams was the financial constraints. Merchant Navy training institutions in college required 9 lakh rupees for a three-year course. And it was next to impossible to arrange the huge amount. 

However, Simaran's mother who got married before she could complete her 10th, convinced Simran's father to sell the left portion of their land. So, Simran's father, overwhelmed by the desire to see his daughter successful, sold their land, the only means of livelihood and Simran, after rigorous hard work, secured a seat in the training institution. 

The other challenges Simran faced while pursuing her dreams

However, Simaran's struggles didn't end there. Belonging to a comparatively small town became a barrier to adjusting to the cosmopolitan city of Pune. The institution was completely based on the English language. Having the bade of Marathi and semi-English, Simran couldn't adjust to the institution. However, this didn't affect her grit and determination. She worked on herself. She learned English and practised it by speaking to her brother and standing in front of the mirror. And her efforts paid off. 

In the final year, when companies came for placement again, Simran was selected by the world's leading independent container ship management company that had never hired a woman. Thus she became the first woman deck cadet. From then, there has been no looking back. The new seafarer, crossing all hurdles, was now reading to cross the vast seas. 

Simran got on board her first sail in Singapore in the year 2019. She was the only woman in the crew of 24. She sailed for seven months straight, stepping down during the peak time of the pandemic. It is this support that women need from families. The support that is undeterred even if society mocks them. The support that trusts women and the importance of their dreams.