He called after Op Sindoor, he called after every Su-30 sortie, he won’t call again: Purvesh’s dad

Nagpur: Flight Lieutenant Purvesh Duragkar would call home after every sortie, but the silence has been deafening since Thursday evening, punctuated by cries of his mother, Sandhya. His father, Ravindra Duragkar, remained stoic as relatives and friends poured in to offer condolences at their Subhedar Layout residence in Nagpur."Our son made us proud, but we did not expect him to go away so soon. He joined Indian Air Force (IAF) barely four years ago, and took part in Operation Sindoor," he said, holding back his tears. "We shall always remember his words ‘Hamari Air Force chahti toh Pakistan ka naam-o-nishan mita deti (Our Air Force could have entirely wiped out Pakistan). He had said this during a conversation with family members after Operation Sindoor. That filled us with pride. The lines will continue to inspire youngsters to join the forces," said Duragkar.Purvesh, 25, was the only son of the Duragkars, his sister, Sayali, lives in the US. Both siblings visited their Nagpur home 10 days ago, he says. "My son loved flying and was proud of being a Su-30 pilot and would share his experiences. He would also read books on aerodynamics. But, as a father I always told him to be careful when he flew those jets," he said.On Operation Sindoor, Duragkar said the 15-day war was very challenging for the family, as they had no contact with him in that period. On Purvesh's last posting, Duragkar said he shifted to Jorhat in Assam. He would call after his sorties and share his experiences. "One of these days, Purvesh said, he flew close to the Bangladesh border. He said they flew at a speed of 2200 Mach," said Duragkar.The stories he shared were exciting. Purvesh also praised his senior Squadron Leader, Anuj, and said they were a great team, his father recalled. However, it was not just flying the Su-30, he closely followed the West Asian conflict and talked about it. "Others can only read or hear about war in the media. As military personnel, we get a chance to be in high-risk zones," he said with pride, his father remembered.Duragkar said he first came to know about the accident from his relative. Later, there was a call from Purvesh's Commanding Officer, telling him that his son was no more, he said with a pause. "I have no complains. My son died for the country. I only wish he could have lived longer to serve the IAF and the nation. I am sure he was a very able pilot, and we are confident that an accident won't happen due to human error," said a relative.Meanwhile, a team of IAF officials visited their home and said the mortal remains would come by Saturday morning. Duragkar only broke down when he hugged a relative, before leaving.