Sub Lt Zariab Rohinton Ranji, a pilot with the Indian Navy now stationed in Bombay, was the only one selected from a group of 50 candidates for training by the Service Selection Board in Bangalore after a grueling mental and physical selection process. In an e-mail dated June 18, 2011 forwarded to Parsiana courtesy Cmde Aspi Marker, Ranji states that after completing his basic military training he underwent flight training first on fighter jets and subsequently on helicopters at naval and Indian Air Force bases before being commissioned as an officer in the Navy.
Sub Lt Zariab Ranji (top) and (above) with his naval combat aircraft
Born in Bombay on June 2, 1986 in an athornan family, Ranji schooled at Marble Arch from where he obtained a first class with distinction in his Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) examination in 2002. He represented his school in the Giles Shield for cricket in 1999, receiving the Man of the Match award by the Mumbai Schools Sports Association for bowling three wickets for four runs in 2.1 overs. The all rounder has represented his class in various activities such as quiz competitions, debates, elocution, martial arts and dramatics, collecting several awards and certificates along the way, the e-mail reveals.
A keen interest in aviation motivated him to opt for aerospace engineering after completing his Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) from Mithibai College. Ranji graduated with honors from the National Aerospace University at Kharkiv in the Ukraine, deemed one of the world’s best in the field. While there he interned with Prof Demenko and their work on Material Stress Analysis was published in research magazines, the e-mail notes. Ranji’s ambition to do combat flying was realized when he chose a career in the Indian Navy on his return from the Ukraine.