A resident of Pune and mother of two sons, Shital set a world record by becoming the first Indian to skydive from a height of 13,000 feet wearing a sari in the adventure and resort city of Pattaya in Thailand on Monday.
The nine-yard bright pink Nauwari sari is three yards longer than a typical sari.
A mother-of-two and holder of many records, Shital has gone skydiving in all continents.
"I wanted to do something different with International Women's Day coming up next month," she told the Indo-Asian News Service after her skydiving adventure in Thailand.
"So I decided on wearing the Maharashtrian 'Nav-wari sari' for my skydives."
“I wanted to prove that Indian women can not only carry the sari graciously in their routine lives, but can also use it for high adventure like skydiving."
"I wanted to prove that Indian women can not only carry the sari graciously in their routine lives, but can also use it for high adventure like skydiving,” the 35-year old extreme-sportswoman, said.
Recounting the preparations she made for ensuring the sari stays in place during the dive she said the first step was "to drape the nauwari sari properly, plus to wear the parachutes on it, the safety gear and communication equipment, helmet, goggles, shoes, etcetera, madeit all quite a challenge.”
Upon her first landing, she stumbled a little but escaped unhurt.
Shital detailed the preparations that went into making this unique and high-risk adventure a success.
She said she had to take a lot of “precautions” for draping the sari; including pinning it up tightly and taping it in many places to ensure it did not come off her body from the dizzying height as she soared down, with strong winds from the Gulf of Thailand lashing all through her descent.
Shital highlighted the uniqueness and difficulty of draping the Maharashtrian nauwari sari even in daily life.
Shital Mahajan Source: Facebook
"I was wondering no one has ever done this stunt wearing a sari so I got the idea that I can do it wearing nauwari sari which is tucked both in the front and at the back," she explains.
"This style of sari comes from the Peshwa era, which intrigued me as it was a bit safe, although if any part had come out it could have turned into a risky affair.
"So I prepared my sari by taping, stitching and pinning it properly."
Initially, she didn’t get permission from her instructor to wear a sari for the dive and it took a few goes before she was able to pull it off.
“The instructor in Thailand was very strict and the first day I wasn't allowed to do it, but on the second day, I convinced him, although, due to bad weather we couldn't go ahead," says Shital.
"On the third day - on Sunday, I finally did the jump from 13,000 feet."
The Indian government conferred her with the prestigious Padma Shri award in 2011 for her many achievements in skydiving.
Shital Mahajan receiving the Padma Shri award from the then Indian president, Pratibha Patil, in 2011. Source: Facebook
She is the first woman to have done her first ever parachute jump without undergoing any training over the North pole in minus 37 degree Celsius temperature from 2400 ft and the first accelerated free fall jump without any trials over the South Pole from 11,600 feet, in temperatures of minus 38 degree Celsius.
