As India retires the iconic MiG-21 after six decades, astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla called its cockpit his "greatest teacher." Attending the farewell at Chandigarh, he recalled flying it from 2007-2017 and hailed the jet's unmatched legacy. Inducted in 1963, the MiG-21 became the IAF's backbone, shaping generations of fighter pilots and scripting history in wars.