Kalpana loved adventure and the unknown. In America, she learned ice-skating, skiing, swimming and kayaking.
Photography was one of her pet indulgences.
She loved camping and the outdoors, and often went backpacking in the wild. She always said this taught her 'basic survival skills'. She was close to nature and her house was surrounded by greenery. After her first flight on Columbia in 1997, she planted a sapling in her garden. She insisted her garden be treated with natural fertilizer and participated in neighbourhood park clean-ups.
As one of Kalpana's friends from Punjab Engineering College recalls, "She believed that you have to do your own thing."
Kalpana during her trip to Switzerland in 1995 with her sister Sunita.
Remembering Kalpana | Remembering Those Who've gone
The Columbia Tragedy: The Full Coverage
Photo: Courtesy Kalpana Chawla's family