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 |   As the first blog entry got exhausted. My second book |
| Evolution of Love Part 2 |
| . A Company Secretary to his wife, on returning from office..... Husband : Hi Dear, mark my attendance. Wife : You are too late. Husband : No problem, I am ready to pay the additional fee. Wife : Be serious, we had a plan to go for movie. Husband : i know this matter can be taken at any other meeting. Wife : I really have done a wrong by marrying you. Husband : Yes, also you should know that it is an un-compoundable offence. Wife : Lets finalize whether we should live together or be separated. Husband : Don't be silly; proxies are not allowed to speak. Wife : Please, Leave me alone Husband : No, I cant let the meeting conducted without quorum. Wife : I will just be mad. Husband : Contract with or by any Lunatic person is void-ab-initio. Wife : I just want to go my father's house, take these keys of your house. Husband : Presently, I don't have any buyback offer. Wife : i just want to be separated from you. Husband : You have to apply to the Court for de-merger. Wife : i think we both are unable to settle our disputes. Husband : No problem, lets apply the court for voluntary winding up !!!! |
The Sanctity of the Military Ranks Beyond Equivalence........ Former President of the United States, Mr Barack Obama once saw police officers in Ferguson armed with military grade weapons. He asked the Homeland security who authorised these weapons to the police. As a result, he, as the President of United States, issued an executive order in 2015 prohibiting the transfer of a host of equipment, including armored vehicles, grenade launchers, high-caliber weapons and camouflage uniforms over the "militarization" of the police. He was aware of the significance to maintain sanctity of military status as highest in the state. It is blasphemous to compare soldiers with another profession because the soldiers earn the glory for the nation by spilling their own blood. Soldiers in battle never seek a written order to lay down their lives in the line of duty. Sanctity of military ranks and placing them above all services is not a creation of rank conscious Indian military but a convention that has become a law across all nations. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself recognized that power of Pontius Pilate “which has been given from above” (Jn. 19:11): the power of the sword, to kill and to defend a state from its enemies rests with the soldiers. The legislation, government, judiciary and the farmers can function if the state is defended by powerful armies. That is why the profession of arms was considered the most valued profession by almost every scripture- Gita, Bible and Quran; and a soldier was placed at highest pedestal in a state and society. Not many people know that the military ranks have been sanctified by tens of names of martyrs and hundreds of nameless martyrs. These ranks have not been picked up at random but from those who laid down their lives in defending their respective nations. Idea was that every time you address a solider by his rank you actually honour the martyr by remembering him. The respect given to the profession of arms was such that no one could become a king or shepherd of a church without serving in the military. The importance of serving in the military was so significant that those who refused to serve in the military could never become part of the body of the Church and member of the court of the king. Thus the profession of the arms was and will continue to remain above all other professions in spite of the fact that there has been constant conspiracy to erode it. Even today the British Crown Prince is required to serve in the military. A court official no matter how high he was not given the power to kill but it was and is vested with the soldiers. In the battlefield a soldier could kill, injure or even spare the life of an enemy and the authority rests with the soldier to decide as per his conscience. All other government functionaries can be prosecuted for killing another human. Supremacy in status was accorded to military personnel not only in Hindu scriptures but across all religions, faith and empires from Europe to Asia. In the recent past a debate has been raging about the status of the soldiers and their leaders. One has to be completely out of sync to believe that a bureaucrat or file pusher can be equated with the soldier. How can a support staff be superior to the one whom they are supposed to be supporting? It means that the support staff in an operation theatre is even more important than the surgeon who conducts the operations over the patients. Try and tell the surgeon that henceforth he would follow the command of the man who is responsible to maintain the operation theatre and its cleanliness. Will the surgeon take orders from the support staff to conduct surgery? It is completely absurd to even imagine that sectorial or support staff as equal or even superior to the military whom they are employed to support. What makes a soldier sacrifice his life in the line of duty? It is sense of honour and dignity of being the elite and chosen one. Why the two professions cannot be compared is because a civilian can work at leisurely pace without any irreversible loss to the self and the nation. But if a warrior does things at a leisurely pace he will not only lose his life but will also lose honour of the nation and the loss could be irreversible. Churchill had said that the military must not suffer fools or those who are incapable of understanding the art of war. Patton said while addressing the political leadership, either lead me or get out of my way to let me do things as per my ability. Civilian control is not bureaucratic control and military must resist to become subordinate to bureaucracy. It would be great disservice to the nation if the military allows itself to become subordinate to bureaucracy. If the military starts behaving like the bureaucracy, the first casualty will be warrior ethos of ‘sweat together to bleed together’ and second will be the moral contract to ‘train together to fight together”. A General must have courage to say no to the unjust orders especially that affect morale, national interest and erode the elitism among the soldiers. There is a need to look at the larger picture. There seems to be a systematic approach to keep military engaged in fighting with the system so that it is unable to focus on maintenance of morale and its ability to prepare to fight future wars. If a Chief and his DGMO are fighting bureaucracy to protect the rank and status of soldiers, who do you think will plan for military operations at a juncture when the Indian Army was almost forced to go to war over border standoff with China? The Indian Army does not need Doklam to go to war. There is Doklam happening every day in the form of status of the forces, unresolved pay anomalies of 7 CPC, NFU, OROP and modernisation of the army. Chanakya had said, to defeat a big army fight it from within and you need no enemy to defeat biggest of the armies. Imagine the impact of the equation and reduction of the status of armed forces with the support and secretarial staff on the officers and men? So far every officer and soldier is told there is no one equal to you in status and that’s why you are chosen to lead your men unto death. The President of India is the Supreme Commander and a soldier serves with the pleasure of the presidential decree. No other services enjoys such a status but the question is whether the Supreme Commander should continue to remain silent over the issues that are ultimately eroding the morale and operational edge of the armed forces or use his executive powers to thwart any attempt to dilute the status of the armed forces vis a vis civilian counterparts and secretarial staff. In fact if the rank and the status of the military is reduced, it is an insult to the office of Supreme Commander under whom the armed forces are supposed to function and warrant of precedence is issued. Political leadership should judge whose interest it will serve if the morale of the military is eroded by creating internal dissensions. Thus it is time to identify those who are acting as enemy to fight from within the system against the last pillar of the state. Current and future governments have to decide whether they want an Army that is capable of winning future and current wars or an army that is weakened by constant attack on its stature? The current trajectory appears to be going in a direction that may create insubordination in the services headquarters because it will put military officers subordinate to support and secretarial staff. But if the government wants to use the lowering of states of armed forces officers to group B to deflect the ire of the court against the denial of the NFU and declare Armed Forces as group B services than there cannot be greater misfortune where a government will engage and fight against its own armed forces. No matter what happens to the overall debate, one thing is sure that the military is conscious of its rank not because it gives them status but because the rank carries the names of known and unknown martyrs. System and bureaucracy may attempt to insult the martyrs but the men who carry their ranks can’t afford to insult those who laid down their lives to protect the honour of the nation. I had written in an earlier article that the significance of salutation and what it means to a soldier when he salutes his superior, it means “sir I am ready to carry out your command” and an officer returns the salute by acknowledging that “I will lead you till last breath”. That is why an old soldier never saluted a civilian irrespective of his position because a civilian cannot lead a soldier to war and he is in no way equal to the profession of arms. If the services chiefs accept willful erosion of status of military vis a vis support and sectorial staff, they will not only do injustice to past, present and future generation of soldiers but will also insult martyrs. Soldiers do not fight for cash awards but take and give lives for the flag and colour of the ribbon. One may recall that first thing soldiers did on reaching Tiger Hill was not to wash their wounds and count their martyrs but raised the Tri Colour under the barrage of enemy artillery fire. That is why soldiers cannot be compared to any other profession because they seek glory under the shadow of the swords. |
The Sanctity of the Military Ranks Beyond Equivalence........ Former President of the United States, Mr Barack Obama once saw police officers in Ferguson armed with military grade weapons. He asked the Homeland security who authorised these weapons to the police. As a result, he, as the President of United States, issued an executive order in 2015 prohibiting the transfer of a host of equipment, including armored vehicles, grenade launchers, high-caliber weapons and camouflage uniforms over the "militarization" of the police. He was aware of the significance to maintain sanctity of military status as highest in the state. It is blasphemous to compare soldiers with another profession because the soldiers earn the glory for the nation by spilling their own blood. Soldiers in battle never seek a written order to lay down their lives in the line of duty. Sanctity of military ranks and placing them above all services is not a creation of rank conscious Indian military but a convention that has become a law across all nations. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself recognized that power of Pontius Pilate “which has been given from above” (Jn. 19:11): the power of the sword, to kill and to defend a state from its enemies rests with the soldiers. The legislation, government, judiciary and the farmers can function if the state is defended by powerful armies. That is why the profession of arms was considered the most valued profession by almost every scripture- Gita, Bible and Quran; and a soldier was placed at highest pedestal in a state and society. Not many people know that the military ranks have been sanctified by tens of names of martyrs and hundreds of nameless martyrs. These ranks have not been picked up at random but from those who laid down their lives in defending their respective nations. Idea was that every time you address a solider by his rank you actually honour the martyr by remembering him. The respect given to the profession of arms was such that no one could become a king or shepherd of a church without serving in the military. The importance of serving in the military was so significant that those who refused to serve in the military could never become part of the body of the Church and member of the court of the king. Thus the profession of the arms was and will continue to remain above all other professions in spite of the fact that there has been constant conspiracy to erode it. Even today the British Crown Prince is required to serve in the military. A court official no matter how high he was not given the power to kill but it was and is vested with the soldiers. In the battlefield a soldier could kill, injure or even spare the life of an enemy and the authority rests with the soldier to decide as per his conscience. All other government functionaries can be prosecuted for killing another human. Supremacy in status was accorded to military personnel not only in Hindu scriptures but across all religions, faith and empires from Europe to Asia. In the recent past a debate has been raging about the status of the soldiers and their leaders. One has to be completely out of sync to believe that a bureaucrat or file pusher can be equated with the soldier. How can a support staff be superior to the one whom they are supposed to be supporting? It means that the support staff in an operation theatre is even more important than the surgeon who conducts the operations over the patients. Try and tell the surgeon that henceforth he would follow the command of the man who is responsible to maintain the operation theatre and its cleanliness. Will the surgeon take orders from the support staff to conduct surgery? It is completely absurd to even imagine that sectorial or support staff as equal or even superior to the military whom they are employed to support. What makes a soldier sacrifice his life in the line of duty? It is sense of honour and dignity of being the elite and chosen one. Why the two professions cannot be compared is because a civilian can work at leisurely pace without any irreversible loss to the self and the nation. But if a warrior does things at a leisurely pace he will not only lose his life but will also lose honour of the nation and the loss could be irreversible. Churchill had said that the military must not suffer fools or those who are incapable of understanding the art of war. Patton said while addressing the political leadership, either lead me or get out of my way to let me do things as per my ability. Civilian control is not bureaucratic control and military must resist to become subordinate to bureaucracy. It would be great disservice to the nation if the military allows itself to become subordinate to bureaucracy. If the military starts behaving like the bureaucracy, the first casualty will be warrior ethos of ‘sweat together to bleed together’ and second will be the moral contract to ‘train together to fight together”. A General must have courage to say no to the unjust orders especially that affect morale, national interest and erode the elitism among the soldiers. There is a need to look at the larger picture. There seems to be a systematic approach to keep military engaged in fighting with the system so that it is unable to focus on maintenance of morale and its ability to prepare to fight future wars. If a Chief and his DGMO are fighting bureaucracy to protect the rank and status of soldiers, who do you think will plan for military operations at a juncture when the Indian Army was almost forced to go to war over border standoff with China? The Indian Army does not need Doklam to go to war. There is Doklam happening every day in the form of status of the forces, unresolved pay anomalies of 7 CPC, NFU, OROP and modernisation of the army. Chanakya had said, to defeat a big army fight it from within and you need no enemy to defeat biggest of the armies. Imagine the impact of the equation and reduction of the status of armed forces with the support and secretarial staff on the officers and men? So far every officer and soldier is told there is no one equal to you in status and that’s why you are chosen to lead your men unto death. The President of India is the Supreme Commander and a soldier serves with the pleasure of the presidential decree. No other services enjoys such a status but the question is whether the Supreme Commander should continue to remain silent over the issues that are ultimately eroding the morale and operational edge of the armed forces or use his executive powers to thwart any attempt to dilute the status of the armed forces vis a vis civilian counterparts and secretarial staff. In fact if the rank and the status of the military is reduced, it is an insult to the office of Supreme Commander under whom the armed forces are supposed to function and warrant of precedence is issued. Political leadership should judge whose interest it will serve if the morale of the military is eroded by creating internal dissensions. Thus it is time to identify those who are acting as enemy to fight from within the system against the last pillar of the state. Current and future governments have to decide whether they want an Army that is capable of winning future and current wars or an army that is weakened by constant attack on its stature? The current trajectory appears to be going in a direction that may create insubordination in the services headquarters because it will put military officers subordinate to support and secretarial staff. But if the government wants to use the lowering of states of armed forces officers to group B to deflect the ire of the court against the denial of the NFU and declare Armed Forces as group B services than there cannot be greater misfortune where a government will engage and fight against its own armed forces. No matter what happens to the overall debate, one thing is sure that the military is conscious of its rank not because it gives them status but because the rank carries the names of known and unknown martyrs. System and bureaucracy may attempt to insult the martyrs but the men who carry their ranks can’t afford to insult those who laid down their lives to protect the honour of the nation. I had written in an earlier article that the significance of salutation and what it means to a soldier when he salutes his superior, it means “sir I am ready to carry out your command” and an officer returns the salute by acknowledging that “I will lead you till last breath”. That is why an old soldier never saluted a civilian irrespective of his position because a civilian cannot lead a soldier to war and he is in no way equal to the profession of arms. If the services chiefs accept willful erosion of status of military vis a vis support and sectorial staff, they will not only do injustice to past, present and future generation of soldiers but will also insult martyrs. Soldiers do not fight for cash awards but take and give lives for the flag and colour of the ribbon. One may recall that first thing soldiers did on reaching Tiger Hill was not to wash their wounds and count their martyrs but raised the Tri Colour under the barrage of enemy artillery fire. That is why soldiers cannot be compared to any other profession because they seek glory under the shadow of the swords. |
| *Somewhere between* “ 8 toffees for 1 rupee” and “1 toffee for 8 rupees”, *we grew up!* *Somewhere between* “Ground mein aaja” and “Online aaja”, *we grew up!* *Somewhere between* “stealing chocolate of our sister” and “Buying chocolate for her children”, *we grew up!* *Somewhere between* “Just five more mins Mummy ” and “Pressing the snooze button”, *we grew up!* *Somewhere between* “Crying out loud just to get what we want” and “Holding our tears when we are broken inside”, *we grew up!* *Somewhere between* “I want to grow up” and “I want to be a child again”, *we grew up!* *Somewhere between* “Lets meet and plan” and “Lets plan and meet”, *we grew up!* *Somewhere between* "Being afraid of our parents" and "Praying for our parents" *we finally grew up* And *as we grew up, we realize;* *How silently, our lives have changed...* |
| From diary of Sayed Jaffrey -- the famous bollywood character actor --- I was 19 when I married to Mehrunima who was 17. As I grew up, I was very fascinated by the british culture in colonial India. I learnt to speak English fluently, wear suits with grace and developed impeccable etiquettes. But Mehrunima grew up to be my complete opposite - homely, a typical housewife. All my advices and admonishments couldn't change her basic personality - an obedient wife, a doting mother and a good homemaker. But she was not what I wanted. More I tried to change her, more we drifted apart. Gradually she metamorphosed from a cheerful affectionate young girl into a quiet insecure woman. Meanwhile I started getting attracted to a co-actor of mine who was all what I wanted in my wife. After 10 years of marriage, l divorced Mehrunima, left my home and married my co- actor. I had ensured financial security of Mehrunima and my kids. For about 6-7 months everything went well. Then I started realising, my new wife was not caring and affectionate. She was only concerned about her beauty, ambitions, her wants and desires. Sometimes I missed Mehrunima's caring touch and concern for my welfare. Life moved on. I and my new wife were 2 persons living in a house, not one soul living in a home. I never went back to find out what happened to Mehrunima and my kids. After about 6 -7 years of my second marriage, I came across an article on a Madhur Jaffrey, an upcoming famous chef who recently launched a book of her own recipes. The moment I looked at the picture of the smart elegant lady, I was stunned. It was Mehrunima. But how could it be ??? She had remarried and changed her maiden name too. I was shooting abroad at that time. She lived in US now. I caught the next flight to US. I inquired about her whereabouts and went to meet her. She refused to see me. My daughter who was 14 and son who was 12, told her they wanted to talk to me one last time. Her new husband was by her side. He was also my children's legal father now. To this date, I cannot forget what my children told me. They told me that their new father knows the meaning of true love. He accepted Mehrunima as she was and never tried to change her into what he himself was, because he loves her more than he loves himself. He let her evolve at her own pace and never tried to force his wishes on her. He accepted and enjoyed her person as it was. And she has bloomed into a confident, loving, affectionate, self reliant lady today under her second husband's selfless love and acceptance. Where as my selfishness, demands and unacceptance of her persona had crushed her and then in my selfishness I had discarded her. I Never Loved Her. I Had Always Loved myself. And Those Who Love Themselves, Cannot Love Others. |
| MUST READ Unbelievable & SHOCKING INFORMATION. DD Podhigai telecast an interview with Mr P M Nair, (retired IAS officer, who was the Secretary to Dr. Abdul Kalam Sir when he was the President.) I summarise the points he spoke in a voice choked with emotion. Mr Nair authored a book titled *"Kalam Effect"* 1. Dr Kalam used to receive costly gifts whenever he went abroad as it is customary for many nations to give gifts to the visiting Heads of State. Refusing the gift would become an insult to the nation and an embarrassment for India. So, he received them and on his return, Dr Kalam asked the gifts to be photographed and then catalogued and handed over to the archives. Afterwards, he never even looked at them. He did not take even a pencil from the gifts received when he left Rashtrapathi Bhavan. 2. In 2002, the year Dr Kalam took over, the Ramadan month came in July-August. It was a regular practice for the President to host an iftar party. Dr Kalam asked Mr Nair why he should host a party to people who are already well fed and asked him to find out how much would be the cost. Mr Nair told it would cost around Rs. 22 lakhs. Dr Kalam asked him to donate that amount to a few selected orphanages in the form of food, dresses and blankets. The selection of orphanages was left to a team in Rashtrapathi Bhavan and Dr Kalam had no role in it. After the selection was made, Dr Kalam asked Mr Nair to come inside his room and gave him a cheque for Rs 1 lakh. He said that he was giving some amount from his personal savings and this should not be informed to anyone. Mr Nair was so shocked that he said "Sir, I will go outside and tell everyone . People should know that here is a man who not only donated what he should have spent but he is giving his own money also". Dr Kalam though he was a devout Muslim did not have Iftar parties in the years in which he was the President. 3. Dr Kalam did not like "Yes Sir" type of people. Once when the Chief Justice of India had come and on some point Dr Kalam expressed his view and asked Mr Nair, "Do you agree?" Mr Nair said " No Sir, I do not agree with you". The Chief Justice was shocked and could not believe his ears. It was impossible for a civil servant to disagree with the President and that too so openly. Mr Nair told him that the President would question him afterwards why he disagreed and if the reason was logical 99% he would change his mind. 4. Dr Kalam invited 50 of his relatives to come to Delhi and they all stayed in Rashtrapathi Bhavan. He organised a bus for them to go around the city which was paid for by him. No official car was used. All their stay and food was calculated as per the instructions of Dr Kalam and the bill came to Rs 2 lakhs which he paid. In the history of this country no one has done it. Now, wait for the climax, Dr Kalam's elder brother stayed with him in his room for the entire one week as Dr Kalam wanted his brother to stay with him. When they left, Dr Kalam wanted to pay rent for that room also. Imagine the President of a country paying rent for the room in which he is staying. This was any way not agreed to by the staff who thought the honesty was getting too much to handle!!!. 5. When Kalam Sir was to leave Rashtrapathi Bhavan at the end of his tenure, every staff member went and met him and paid their respects. Mr Nair went to him alone as his wife had fractured her leg and was confined to bed. Dr Kalam asked why his wife did not come. He replied that she was in bed due to an accident. Next day, Mr.Nair saw lot of policemen around his house and asked what had happened. They said that the President of India was coming to visit him in his house. He came and met his wife and chatted for some time. Mr Nair says that no president of any country would visit a civil servant's house and that too on such a simple pretext. I thought I should give the details as many of you may not have seen the telecast and so it may be useful. The younger brother of AJP Abdul Kalam runs an umbrella repairing shop. When Mr. Nair met him during Kalam’s funeral, he touched his feet, in token of respect for both Mr. Nair and Brother. |
| A Gujju bought a well from a Jew. The next day while on his way to market he met the Jew who told him "brother I have sold the well to you but I have not sold the water,if you use the water you will have to pay for it" The Gujju replied "in fact I was planning to come to your place and ask you to empty the water and if you don't do it than you will have to pay the rent for the water " 😂😂😂😂😂😂 Have a wonderful day! |
I used to go to the Temple with my mother . The temple had stairs. I used to ask her why can't they build the temple on the ground? Why do you have to climb the stairs each and everyday? *The excellent answer by mother.* You need to rise above your level to reach God. Each step of the stairs is a reminder that you are rising above your level in terms of your envy, greed, anger, ego and all evil parts of your life. It also suggests that you have to climb the steps one by one, you can't just jump off from first step to the last step. That is the cycle of life, once you conquer these aspects, you reach towards your inner core self........ The divine YOU... |
Someone asked... Why do we have *Brakes* in a car ? Varied answers received, like, "To stop", "To reduce speed", "To avoid collision" etc., But the best answer was, *To enable you to drive faster*.... Give it a thought. It's true but seldom such smart out of box thinking is done, much less appreciated. For a moment assume you have *No brakes* in your car then how fast will you drive your car..? It's because of *brakes* that we can dare to accelerate, dare to go fast and reach destinations we desire At various points in life, we find our *Parents, Teachers, Mentors, Friends and Spouse* etc. questioning our progress, direction or decision. Many a times We consider them as irritants or consider such inquiries as *Brakes* to our ongoing work. But, remember, it's because of such questions (read as periodical brakes) that you have managed to reach where you are today. *Without brakes*, you could have skid, lost direction or gone a stray or even met with an unfortunate accident..!!! Learn to appreciate the *brakes* in our life. Use them wisely... Have a great time. 😊👍 |
| 19 December 1971 0745 hours B-24, Naraina, Delhi Brigadier K L Khetarpal is in his dressing gown, shaving, when the bell rings. Running his razor along his foamy chin, he hears the soft scrape of his wife's slippers against the floor and her footsteps leading to the front door. The latch clicks and the door creaks open. There is hushed conversation. He hears the distinct rustle of paper changing hands. And then a scream and a dull thud. His wife appears to have fallen down. His face still soapy, Brig Khetarpal rushes out of the bathroom. He finds Maheshwari Khetarpal collapsed on the floor and a postman at the door. In her hand there is a telegram. Gentle, soft-spoken Mukesh, the Khetarpals' younger son -- barely twenty and a student of IIT Delhi -- is home too. He also hears the noise and comes out of his room, still in his pyjamas. As Brig. Khetarpal bends down to assist his wife, Mukesh takes the piece of paper from his mother's loosely clasped fingers. Tears spring to his eyes as he reads the telegram and then wordlessly passes it on to his father. 'Deeply regret to inform your son IC 25067 Second Lt Arun Khetarpal reportedly killed in action sixteenth December. Please accept sincere condolences,' it says. May 2020 Khetarpals's bungalow Forest Lane, Ghitorni Delhi Fifty years have passed. Mukesh Khetarpal is now seventy years old, while his elder brother, Arun, who smiles rakishly from a portrait on the wall, dressed in army fatigues, is an eternal twenty-one. Mukesh points that out himself. 'I have aged but Arun never will,' he says, his eyes crinkling up at the corners as he smiles. He says he clearly remembers the cold Delhi winter of 1971 when he was studying in IIT Delhi and Arun's Young Officers course at Ahmednagar had been interrupted by the war. Arun was recalled to his unit like all the other officers, and he had taken a train to Delhi, travelling in the pantry car since he could not get a reservation at such short notice. He had carted along his beloved Java motorcycle, a gift from his dad. Since there were a few hours before he had to catch the Punjab Mail to Jammu, he had unloaded his bike at Delhi and decided to ride it home. 'I was home that day,' remembers Mukesh. 'Arun parked his bike and walked in, looking extremely handsome in his black Armoured Corps dungarees. 'I was so envious, particularly of his uniform. 'He was in the peak of his physical health, just as most young officers are after their intensive physical training, and he knew it. 'He had the lithe body of a panther, a confident prowl, and he was so extremely proud of his uniform, his regiment, his country that it showed.' 'We were so young then. I never once thought that Arun might not come back. For me, he was just going on an adventure.' Arun had packed up his golf clubs and his Blue Patrol uniform, explaining to Mukesh that he planned to play golf in Lahore and that he would need his ceremonial dress to attend the dinner night that would surely be held after the war was won. The Khetarpals had an early dinner, and it was at the dining table that Mrs Khetarpal said to Arun those famous words that would become part of army folklore. Recounting to him how his father and grandfather had both fought in wars, she had said, 'Sher ki tarah ladna, Arun, qayar ki tarah wapis mat aana.' Arun had looked into her eyes and smiled. Later in the evening, Brig. Khetarpal had taken out his grey Standard Herald car and, giving a warm hug to Mukesh and his mother, Arun had got in. Arun, sitting next to his father, had pushed his head out of the car window and saluted his mother as she fought back tears and the car sped out of the driveway. Early December went by in a haze. 'We had an imported Hitachi transistor. We would carry it around and spend all our time listening to Radio Ceylon, which was reporting the war in detail. Sometimes the signal was good and sometimes we could hardly hear anything, but we all sat around with our ears glued to it,' Mukesh remembers. On the evening of 16 December, Radio Ceylon reported that a massive tank battle had happened in Shakargarh. 'We knew Arun's regiment was in that area and our hearts sank. There was a dreadful stillness in the house all evening. In our hearts there was this terrible fear about Arun's wellbeing, but nobody wanted to say it out loud.' The next morning, there came the announcement that Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had declared a ceasefire. The war had finally ended. 'It was such a relief to us,' Mukesh recollects. 'We started smiling and talking once again. 'My mother got Arun's room cleaned up and we started looking forward to the day he would be back home, recounting stories from the battlefield.' And then, on 19 December, the bell rang, and his mother opened the door to the postman. 'That telegram shattered our lives forever,' remembers Mukesh. 'After that, a sadness seeped into our lives. 'My father, who was bursting with pride when Arun graduated from the Indian Military Academy and joined Poona Horse, was never the same again. 'He had so many dreams for Arun. But Arun left us all so suddenly. 'Both my parents never recovered from the loss. My mother immersed herself in household chores. Papa became quiet and withdrawn. He stopped going to the Delhi Gymkhana Club and meeting people, something that he used to love doing earlier. He would spend most of his time locked up in his room,' Mukesh remembers. Thirty years passed as the Khetarpals slowly accepted their loss and came to terms with their grief. Mukesh studied at IIT Delhi, found a job, got married and had a daughter, though he continued to stay with his parents. And then one day, he and Mrs Khetarpal were surprised to see Brig. Khetarpal smiling again. He looked happy. He said he was going to Sargodha, his ancestral place in Pakistan where the family had lived before Partition,' says Mukesh. Both Mukesh and Mrs Khetarpal tried their best to dissuade Brig. Khetarpal, but he would not hear a word from them. "You are eighty-one. Where will you go?" we asked him, but he dismissed all our pleas. "It is decided. I am going," he told us. "Don't argue with me." 'I am staying with another graduate of our college, a Pakistan Army officer who lives in Lahore,' he told her. 'That reassured us a little, and finally, when the day arrived, we drove him to the airport, where he got on to the Air India flight and waved us a happy goodbye. 'He was as excited as a schoolboy,' says Mukesh. Brig. Khetarpal called his family from Lahore. He told them his host was a perfect gentleman who had come to receive him at the airport and was taking very good care of him. Three days later, it was time for Brig. Khetarpal to return, and Mukesh drove to the airport to pick up his father. He found in him none of the excitement with which he had gone. A week later, the Khetarpals were visited by 1971 war veteran Maj Gen Ian Cardozo, who was releasing a book on Param Vir Chakra award winners. Since Arun's story was also in the book, he had come to invite Brig. and Mrs Khetarpal to the book launch at the Ashok hotel. A week later, Mukesh was reading India Today magazine when he came across an article that talked about his father's Pakistan trip and his meeting with the Armoured Corps officer who had been the cause of his son's death. A shocked Mukesh read it and then went looking for his father. 'I confronted him and asked if what I had read was true. 'He said it was. 'When my mother and I asked him why he had not shared this with us, he said what could he have told us. 'It was not a pleasant episode.' And that was when a shocked Mrs Khetarpal and Mukesh heard what had transpired in Lahore when Brig. Khetarpal had been a revered guest at Brig Khwaja Mohammad Naser's house in Lahore. 1 March 2001 Lahore It is day three of Brig Khetarpal's Pakistan visit. He has just returned from Sargodha and is tired, but is also touched by the fact that Brig Naser has gone out of his way to make the trip comfortable for him. Brig Khetarpal is surprised to notice discomfort in the Pakistani officer's eyes. Brig Naser is looking at the grass. He looks up to find Brig Khetarpal's eyes on him. 'Main kuchh qubool karna chahta hun, brigadier sahab,' he says softly. 'Kahiye, beta, main sun raha hun,' Brig. Khetarpal replies, looking affectionately at his host, who is younger than him by around thirty years. 'Sir, I too participated in the 1971 war. 'I was then a young major, squadron commander of the Pakistan Army's 13 Lancers,' he says. Brig Khetarpal is surprised -- 13 Lancers is the same regiment which had exchanged its Sikh squadron with the Muslim squadron of Poona Horse (his son's regiment) during Partition in 1947. On 16 December 1971, in a sense, the Indian and Pakistani soldiers had fought their old regiments. 'We fought Poona Horse in the Battle of Basantar,' says Naser, 'Sir, I am the man who killed your son.' A speechless Brig. Khetarpal listened quietly. 'On the morning of 16 December 1971, I was leading the counter-attack of 13 Lancers against the Indian bridgehead at Basantar,' Brig Naser recounts. 'Your son was on the opposite side, standing there like a rock. 'In the battle, tank casualties were high. 'He destroyed many of our tanks, and finally, it was just the two of us left facing each other with our tanks just 200 m apart.' We both fired simultaneously, and both our tanks were hit. It was, however, destined that I was to live, and Arun was to die,' Naser says. 'Your son was a very brave man, sir. He was singularly responsible for our defeat.' Stunned, Brig. Khetarpal can only ask, 'How did you know it was Arun's tank?' Naser tells him that ceasefire was declared the next morning (17 December), and with that the war ended. When he went to collect the bodies of his dead comrades, his arm in a bandage from the injuries he had suffered in the battle, he also checked on his damaged tank. That was when he saw Indian soldiers trying to extricate the tank he had battled with a day before. Curious about the identity of the brave man who had fought him so fiercely, Naser walked up to the soldiers and inquired who had been commanding the tank. He was told it was 2nd Lt Arun Khetarpal of Poona Horse. 'Bahut bahaduri se lade aapke sahab. Chot toh nahi aayi unhe?' he asked the soldiers. They told him that Arun was martyred on the battlefield. 'Sahab shaheed ho gaye.' A crestfallen Naser returned to his tent. Brig Khetarpal is listening in complete silence. Naser tells him that he realized much later, when Arun got the Param Vir Chakra and became a national hero, how young he was. 'I didn't know he was only twenty-one, sir,' he says. We were both soldiers doing our duty for our nations. I salute your son for what he did. And I salute you too, because I now know where he received his values from.' The two officers sit quietly under the moonlight for some time. Then Brig Khetarpal slowly gets up from his chair. Naser springs to his feet as well. The two stand together in an awkward silence, the moon lighting up Naser's grief-ridden face. Brig Khetarpal looks at his moist eyes and moves forward to gently hug the man who killed his son. |
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