“BEFORE THE NIGHT IS OVER”

The drive was not as long as we had expected; by 3 o'clock in the afternoon, we were in Ooty. After a relaxing stay at our friends’ place in Bangalore, we had started our drive around 8 in the morning with a lot of excitement and apprehensions. Making it to Staff College was special because Hazy had put in a lot of hard work and we were told that Wellington is the best time one can have in his entire career in the Army.

The drive from Ooty to Wellington was beautiful and shorter than we expected. Entering Wellington gave us a sense of fulfillment and contentment. But as we approached the cantonment, we started to wonder if we were at the right place! It was filthy at places. But the PCK about the place and the course was strongly keeping us hopeful and made us ignore what we were seeing. We had no problem looking for our allotted accommodation in the circle quarters- 3/5 it was!

As we entered our house (not home yet), we were taken aback. It was not what one would expect at the prestigious staff college. We reminded ourselves of Bobby McFerrin’s lines “In every life you have some trouble, when you worry you make it double...” and of course - "PCK, PCK"!! 

But the MES people were kind enough and agreed to do up parts of the house. Settling down after that was quick, as we were used to it. The course began and we met a lot of new people- husband's course mates and their wives et al. It was a barrel of fun, as husbands were getting reunited after years. The “hubbub” continues till date...and we love it!

The events that followed added to the fun- the hikes, the angling trips, sports, SCADS, and the plethora of courses for the ladies.  The other socials (course, syndicate, squadron etc) have made sure that every time you meet someone you haven’t met before. Besides, the number of gorgeous and pristine places that are there to explore around here way exceeds the number of weekends we are left with now.

"THE PATCH" (as someone had aptly put it) back at our now "home" doesn’t matter anymore. Our home is perfect as it is always filled with warmth, love and laughter and our friends make sure that it remains so all the time. So the PCK was absolutely correct! This is ONE place to be and we are cherishing every moment here. I don't care that I have to wear jackets, inners and socks all the time, or my clothes have to be dried with the help of blowers. There is much more to life than this... and Wellington makes sure you realize them right in time :)

Our Nursery Rhyme

I wrote the following lines soon after we got married. Ronku had to go back to unit and I was in Ghy in a bad state. Certain things kept cheering me up... one of them were some memories...

Two little birdies…

Twittered & chirruped in their homes,

Oblivious to each other’s existence,

Both aspired to soar high and distant.

One fine day, with the new born wings,

They set out to fly…

As they passed each other,

One thought the other looked familiar…

So it went ahead & said a warm hello,

And the other smiled n said a friendly hi.

And then began the journey

Of the two little birdie…

During their flights they met again,

As they exchanged pleasantries,

They realized they could be friends,

And decided to meet again during their quests.

Next time they shared their dreams & aspirations,

As they fluttered their way in a clear blue sky,

Or hovered around in dark despair…

Then they parted, with a promise to meet soon after.

Their journeys went on for long…

The young Birds were now the best of friends…

Then one day began the anxiety and longing…

To share the same path to their dreams.

But they kept silent,

As they moved on in ambivalence…

Until a day, one spoke out of the hush,

And the other turned pink with blush…

And so began their ‘journey together’…

To merge and emerge their dreams,

They know, they have a long way to go…

But they don’t care as they have each other.

                                                                                                     -21^st July’06

The article that never got published in DSSC, Wellington

FOOD FOR THOUGHT!

Knowledge is being aware that tomato is a fruit

Wisdom is not using it in a fruit salad. – Anonymous

It all started when my husband was flying the French beauty (read Chetak) from Belgaum to Nasik. His copilot got a message that my husband had made it to the DSSC. The copilot took over the controls and gave him some time off to absorb the news. He sent me a text from the chopper itself, going against the rules of flying; after all he had the senior’s permission.

Back home in the unit in Nasik, people started congratulating me! I wanted to tell them that I hardly had any hand at this, except for may be giving him coffee late at nights. Neighbours started dropping in and showered me (?) with congratulations and bouquets. It felt good and weird and for a moment took me away from the fact!

Some ladies started telling me how people, especially ladies change, once their husbands make it to the Staff College. One of my good friends told me that I should be careful enough not to get habituated with talking like ex DSSC pass out’s wife…

That got me thinking. Wives do play a major role in an Army officer’s life. However, we should be sentient of the discretion that we need to uphold. First of all, one must remember that it is our husband who is doing the course, and not us. We are here to complement them, not in the course directly, but morally and emotionally. The events that are organized are means of keeping us occupied and not to score brownie points for our husbands. I don’t mean any offence to anyone who is doing something for the pure love for it or to keep themselves busy. There is a very thin line between saying “When we were doing Staff College” and “When my husband was doing Staff College”. It is indeed good to feel a part of the College, but at the same time we should remember that it is our husbands who are attending the course, and they solely are responsible for how they perform here.

Army officers definitely deserve all the respect that they get; at times they deserve much more. But as an Army officer’s wife, we have to be wary about certain things. May be I’m too small a fish to comment on such things, but I would like to express my views on certain things that have happened in the previous unit my husband was posted to and as a normal human being, I knew they weren’t acceptable.

A Jawan is a soldier first and we must give them their due. They are not meant to do our household chores. Soldiers are attached to officers ostensibly for the upkeep of their service weapons and uniforms. In reality, however, they end up as domestic orderlies. Since husbands are mostly out, it is our responsibility to treat them well giving them their due for all the hardship and training that they have undergone.

Seniority among the ladies should be based on experience (age and number of years in the Army) rather than their husbands’ ranks. By and large, they as it is go hand in hand. Indian culture as it is tells us to respect a person who is older to us. It need not be drilled into us here. The rest, if not forced, I’m sure would follow on their own. Besides, nowadays, imposing may lead to consequences that are uncalled-for.

It is therefore, important for us ladies, to maintain the decorum and modesty while dealing with anyone, be it a lady, an officer or the troops and most importantly with ourselves. The wisdom lies within us. Let us not indulge in a fruit salad with tomatoes in it and spoil the way it ideally should taste!