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Captain Shambhavi Pathak, a young pilot from Gwalior, died in the Baramati plane crash with Ajit Pawar. Her last text to grandmother Meera Pathak became a cherished memory.
Captain Shambhavi Pathak was serving as the First Officer with VSR Ventures. (Photo Credit: X)
Before flying on the Baramati-bound plane, Captain Shambhavi Pathak texted her grandmother: “Hi, good morning, Dadda”. Her grandmother, Meera Pathak, replied softly, “Good morning, Chini”.
Little did she know that this subtle exchange would soon turn into a memory she would hold on to for the rest of her life.
On Wednesday at 8:45 A.M., a plane crashed at Baramati Airport in Maharashtra, killing the state’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others on board. Among them was Pawar’s Personal Security Officer, an attendant, and two crew members.
Shambhavi Pathak was a young pilot, hailing from Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior. According to a report by NDTV, Meera Pathak lives alone in house number D-61, Basant Vihar, Gwalior. Although her family has shifted to Delhi, Shambhavi’s memories echo through this house – memories of a little girl whom everyone lovingly called ‘Chini’.
As the news came out, Meera Pathak sat staring at her phone – numb and speechless – as if hoping a soft, tender text from her little ‘Chini’ would pop.
“I didn’t know this was the last message,” she said, with tears rolling down her face, as quoted by NDTV.
“My eldest son told me there had been a plane crash. Last night, I had even asked him on the phone, ‘Where is Chini?’ She mostly lived in Mumbai. She didn’t call me often. She didn’t even message me usually. I don’t know how she remembered me today”, recalled the grandma.
She further said that Shambhavi’s father, Vikram Pathak, called her around 9 A.M. on Wednesday. “He was crying. He said he would call me back and disconnected. I had already heard about the crash”, she said.
Meera Pathak said that she had sensed something was not right. Two hours later, the news came that Shambhavi was no more.
Shambhavi held a special place in Meera’s heart – she was more than a granddaughter to her.
“She called me Dadda, not Dadi. After my husband passed away, she used to say that I was her grandfather too. She was very close to my heart. We didn’t talk often because of her work, but whenever we spoke, we talked for a long time”, says Meera.
Gwalior, India, India
January 29, 2026, 07:52 IST
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