Firstly, anyone not born in the sixties can skip reading further. Secondly, no humour is intended, this being nothing but a nostalgia trip. The India of 70s/80s had Sholay, Gavaskar, Rajesh Khanna and Rajdoot GTS (Bobby). Airlines allowed you to smoke onboard – and also offered toffees. We had the…
Military Service Reflections. What is the Fundamental Guiding Principle in the Forces?
Remember Colonel Hathi from Junglebook? Remember the scene where he lines up his troops and asks for volunteers for a ‘special mission’ – to take one step forward? Every member of his gang of course, hurriedly takes one step back! And why am I alluding to this? Well, if there…
Military Humour. Who says Drill is the Bedrock of Discipline!
Remember Emil Foley, the pitiless drill sergeant in ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’? Well our own National Defence Academy (NDA) is populated with drill sergeants who make dear Emil look like a particularly cuddly teddy bear. These merciless Gorillas (also colloquially called ‘Drill Ustads’), are the ones entrusted with the…
Personal Life Story. Who is the Most Important Woman in your Life?
Most dutiful males would indubitably reply – my wife/mother. Not me. I can say without hesitation, and I cant stress this enough, that it is our maid. I used to hear quite often during my years in the Navy that nobody is indispensable. Ha! Obviously, the Navy never had maids….
Military Service Reflections. Leaders Need Dash, Chutzpah and Daring
What style of leadership is best suited for the Armed Forces? Difficult question. We have all seen some genial souls succeed. On the other hand, absolute tyrants also succeed. Professionally competent ones succeed and so do those whose IQ equals that of boiled potatoes. I guess nature loves equilibrium and…
Life in the Forces. Coursemates! Devils and Angels
“There is not a word yet, for old friends that you’ve just met” – Jim Henson We were a batch of 297 coursemates at the National Defence Academy (NDA). And even though we all went our separate ways towards careers in the Army, Navy and Air Force on graduation in…
Humour in Uniform – If it is Simple, Make it Difficult!
As most of my 12 readers will know, I spent 35 years plus in the Navy. And, I loved every moment of it – the camaraderie, the ceremonies, the uniform, everything. The stand out feature of the Navy however, was the ability of the powers that be, to add a…