The True Story of Akasam Nee Haddura || Captain Gopinath.
Gopinath was born in Gorur, Hassan, and was brought up in small village in Gorur in the Hassan district of Karnataka State.
Gopinath's father Ramaswamy Iyengar, a school teacher and a Kannada novelist, believed that schools were systems of regimentation and was resolved to teach Gopinath at home.
However, Gopinath was admitted to a Kannada medium school quite late and straight away he joined Standard V. In 1962, Gopinath cleared the admission test and joined Sainik School, Bijapur. The school helped and prepared Gopinath to clear the NDA entrance exams.
After 3 years of vigorous training, Gopinath completed education from the National Defence Academy, Pune. He then went on to graduate from the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.
The army life seemed to somehow tie him down. He took early retirement from Indian Army, at the age of 28. Upon retirement from the armed forces, he established an ecologically sustainable sericulture farm; his innovative methods earned him the Rolex Laureate Award in 1996.Next, he started the Malnad Mobikes (Enfield dealership) and opened a hotel in Hassan.
In 1997 he co-founded Deccan Aviation, a charter helicopter service. In 2003, Gopinath founded Air Deccan, a low cost airline; Air Deccan merged with Kingfisher Airlines in 2007. In 2009 he founded Deccan 360, a freight flight business. In July 2013, Deccan 360 was ordered to wind up by the Karnataka High Court order based on petitions filed by Dubai-based United Aviation Services (UAS) and another by M/s Patel Integrated Logistics (PIL) Pvt. Ltd. — seeking recovery of amounts due to them by winding up the company.
In May 2006, he was knighted with "Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur" the civilian award conferred by the French Government. He has received many awards for Air Deccan.
