A lionhearted Falaq-nama

It wasn’t until almost two weeks ago that Ayisha Falaq became her family’s “hero”... After she rescued her abducted brother-in-law, Asif, near the Haryana-Delhi border. The 32-year-old, who is a national-level shooter and state-level gold medallist, says that the incident made her realise that she can utilise her shooting skills in not just her own defence, but also for the safety of her near and dear ones.

“Shooting has helped me and my family come out of a very dangerous situation. If I didn’t know how to shoot, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything that day, even if I had a gun with me,” she says.  

Asif, who works part-time as a taxi driver, had gone to Dariyaganj on the night of May 25, to pick up two men, who had booked his cab online to visit Shastri Nagar. But after getting into the cab, they overpowered him and took him away near the Haryana border. Then, they called the family through Asif’s phone and demanded '25,000 as ransom.

Ayisha, her husband Falaq Sher Alam and his brother, in a state of panic, headed to the location with the money. However, they had also called police on their way. When the abductors suspected the PCR van on the spot, they suddenly started saying “Inhe maar do”. That’s when Ayisha, who was asked by the abductors to get the money towards Asif’s cab, took out her gun and fired shots at their feet.

“My intention was not to hurt them. I just wanted to scare those two men who thought they could harm us,” she clarifies.

The lionhearted mother of two is proud to mention that she belongs to a family that has always been supportive of her and her dreams. The Falaq family stay in a modest locality in Central Delhi’s Telegraph Lane. Ayisha lives a life where she has to do numerous household chores. But she makes sure that shooting chores are not sacrificed.

Opening up about her childhood, and the source of her strength, she says, “I am from Chennai but born and brought up in Delhi. I have many sisters in my family and I was always like the ‘boy’ of the lot. I was always someone who wasn’t afraid of anything. I met my husband — who is also a national-level shooter — in school and married him in 2008. I was working as a nursery teacher before I got married to him, but after that, he encouraged me to get into shooting as well. Ever since, my only ambition is to do something substantial as a shooter.”

Falaq, who was a member of National Rifle Association of India, got Ayisha enrolled shortly after their marriage. Currently, along with raising her seven-year-old and three-year-old daughters, Ayisha also gives coaching to aspiring shooters (mostly school students) at New Police Line, as part of Police Family Welfare Society.

Some of Ayisha’s accolades include a gold medal at the Delhi state level in 2014, a bronze at the same tournament in 2011, and a bronze medal at a National-level shooting tournament in 2015. “Shooting has helped me gain recognition in society. People respect me and give regards to me. It makes my life worthwhile,” she exclaims.

Ask her if she faces any problem in having a healthy family life along with her shooting goals and she says, “I have a schedule which keeps me on my toes, but I have no regrets or complaints. It’s only during the tournaments that I have to travel outside Delhi and my daughters find it difficult to adjust. But my in-laws are quite supportive and I’ve never faced much problem. Yes, there’s no time to do anything else apart from my “duties”, like meet friends or relatives, but I enjoy whatever I’m doing right now.”

She now looks forward to sharpening her shooting skills and working harder so that she qualifies for playing at the Olympics.

“I want to play for shotgun at the Olympics. For this, I keep filling forms at NRAI so that I can apply for international tournaments. I want to promote shooting as a sport so that more and more people get into it and realise the importance of it,” she concludes, on an aspiring note.