While cinema lovers are eagerly waiting for 19th February, Friday, for the release of Sonam Kapoor's upcoming film Neerja, a lot is being 'shared' and written on social media about the brave-heart who gave up her life, only to save the lives of her passengers. Neerja Bhanot's bravery needs no adjectives. No words could suffice the woman she was! This 23-year-old sacrificed her life because she thought it was her 'duty'. How many of us would ever gather the courage to do it? We stumbled upon this old letter which Neerja Bhanot's father wrote about her daughter's life and bravery.

Neerja was a very sensitive, deeply affectionate and an extremely decent person who believed in sharing with her people all her joys but not the jolts. She had well-defined principles and there was little room for compromise in that area. Of the 23 years of her life, she had lived 22 years and 10 months under bracing sunshine.

The two-month long ugly patch was a dowry cloud. Following her ad-based arranged marriage in March 1985, she had gone to the Gulf to join her husband to set up a happy home. But the marriage went sour within two months. She was starved off finance and food in a foreign land and the bright girl lost five kg of weight in two months. She had to borrow money from the husband even to make a telephone call.

Before the marriage, it was made clear that it would be a dowry less marriage. But when she reached the "ordained home" she was told that even a "very poor man gives something to his daughter in marriage". She came back to Bombay to honour a modelling contract. An ugly letter followed, listing terms for her return, which no person with self-respect could accept. The letter listed a straight formula: accept the humiliating terms without a whimper and return at your own cost or "we will separate". The worst was that the letter asked her as to what was she? "You are just a graduate". The young girl could not pocket this. She applied for a flight attendant's job with Pam Am. There were nearly 10,000 applications but Neerja Harish easily found place among the top 80. Some of her close friends in Pan Am knew of her marriage mishap. They say that Neerja had been clearly stating that if one day something happened to her, please see that even "his" shadow did not fall on her dead body. The girl with sinews of steel accepted the challenge "what are you" and has told, "what she was".

The Pan Am job was a great success from day one. She went to Miami for training as a flight attendant but she returned home as a Purser. Nothing can, possibly, state her Pan Am stature better than a letter received from her instructor (at Miami), Mr. Keith D. Smith saying: "The courageous manner in which she lived was very evident in the courageous manner in which she died. Shielding 3 small children from danger was a bold, daring and brave act that so dignified Neerja's personality.

She was a wonderful human being. All those who were concerned with her Miami training, including the 'local mother', have expressed similar assessment of Neerja."