Sharad Kaka with Love

Sharad Kaka to some, Sharad Mama to others, and Ajoba to many, bid us adieu on way to his heavenly abode on 17^th April 2021. Grief-stricken as we mourn the loss of our beloved, a thought of gratefulness to God for giving him a happy life and bringing us to be a part of his family. And here comes along a surge of happy memories of association with him stretching from our early childhood to the recent times.

Veena, Suhas, Anil, Bhaskar and I literally grew up in the arms of our dear Sharad Kaka – Munnu’s arrival was after a big gap. To my other cousins outside Kanpur, the youngest among mamas and mavashis, Sharad Mama was special. In interacting with people, Sharad Kaka tried to get to the level of the person, be s/he older or younger than him. No wonder he was extremely liked by one and all who he came across.

True to the family tradition, Sharad Kaka was a tremendous player in many a sport. His brothers and sisters were all great sportspersons. However, as a cricketer, Sharad Kaka made his special mark. A large UP Cricket fraternity simply adored him – an outstanding cricketer and later one of the most revered Umpires. He had first played for UP as a DAV College student of BSc. He would tell us how he had become a celebrity – students would point out to him and tell the others, “That is Sharad Athawale doing Physics practicals”. His cricket statistics don’t do justice to his class. He was held in awe by the opposition – bowled 15 overs from an end in 30 overs matches and then opened the innings. However, it is inappropriate to think of him as a cricketer alone. He was far more than that not only in sports but in life too.

As children, we saw Sharad Kaka as a blend of exceptional love and strict discipline. I vividly recall the times when the two of us Anil and I slept hugging him from either side. Bhaskar being a little small build got away as Anil and I were fielded against each other in wrestling matches on Sharad Kaka’s king-sized bed. Can we ever forget the time when Anil and I had shifted from Jhansi to Kanpur for the session before Dada & Aai had returned from England? We were under care of Sharad kaka and Mai. Before we settled down to riding bicycles on our own, Sharad Kaka dropped Bhaskar and me for the morning shift in DAV School by cycle for many days.

However, all the love was never to come in the way of discipline. On looking back, it appears as if he was preparing us for the military life. No concessions were given there because we were small. He would have made an excellent Air Force officer. Alas, a small medical issue stopped him – I recall having heard from Aai. Later when Ajit took to the skies in the Air Force, Sharad kaka saw himself in Ajit. Mama jaisa lagne wala Ajit sporting a moustache like Sharad Mama was especially a matter of pride for him.

We liked to hear stories from him - he had the knack of storytelling covering small details. On seeing movies much after having heard stories from him, we got a feeling that we were seeing those movies the second time – “Dial M for Murder”, “Vertigo” and “Veracruz” readily come to mind.

Sharad Kaka’s analysis about the top songs added a tremendous punch to Amin Sayani’s commentary of “Binaca Geetmala” especially as we usually assembled to hear it on the big Murphy Radio in the drawing room of Veena/ Suhas.

In recent years when in Pune, it was delightful to have a drink with him. Thanks to Suhas having arranged a family Zoom meeting during Diwali, we heard Sharad Kaka in his usual Buland Awaz, although he looked rather frail. No one would have imagined that it would be time out soon. The good thing is that we would remember him last for the strength he always projected.

Sushama Kaku, yours has been the biggest loss! However, we all are with you! The two, Vimal attya and you are the Sutradhars of the previous gen for us to derive inspiration from. Hope you will delight us by coming to stay with us frequently besides Suneet and Bhavana.

With love,

Pramod

A New Dawn - published in Air Force Association News October 2020

A New Dawn

 

29^th of July 2020 marked the IAF’s entry into the next gen era. As the CAS, Air Chief Mshl RKS Bhaduria himself received the first batch of 5 Rafales at Ambala; there were celebrations around the country. Especially under the circumstances of recent clashes with our North Eastern neighbour, the arrival of the first contingent of five Rafales has been a morale booster for an average Indian. People seemed to appreciate the long pending pressing requirements of their Air Force, which were mired in political controversies before realisation. They rejoiced the arrival of a potent weapon even as that was excessively delayed and has been only a part fulfilment of the needs. Needless to say, the air veterans’ fraternity has been as excited as the rest, while getting reassured of their very own Air Force’s capability enhancement.

We share the joy of 17 Squadron in becoming the front end of the IAF representing its might. Vampires to Hunters to Mig-21s, the Golden Arrows have held a place of pride in the Air Force before being number plated in 2016 for even bigger things to follow. It was a fitting tribute to the squadron’s contribution when it was resurrected for Rafales in 2019 by its former Commanding Officer and the then CAS, Air Chief Mshl BS Dhanoa. Between Golden Arrows and Ambala Air Base, they share a number of former Air Chiefs as their Commanding Officers - indicative of the vitality of this combination of the squadron and the base.

The nation and IAF are proud of the indigenous development of Tejas. Even if that was planned to replace Mig-21s and has been alarmingly delayed, the fleet will be a force multiplier. Though so late, the Tejas fleet with several enhancements is picking up momentum. Hopefully, the HAL will stand firm alongside the Air Force in the long term on this count with the Mk-II following in.

Indian Air Force has faced overwhelming odds in the process of its modernisation challenges. The need for a precarious balance between the requirements of advanced technologies and support to indigenisation has been most vital in the Air Force. Despite hardships, we have consistently supported indigenisation. However, we haven’t always received trustworthy responses. One may be amazed to recall that over two decades ago the need for the Su-30 acquisition was being debated because “the LCA was coming!”

The IAF has had to delicately balance indigenisation optimism with reality to harmonize its perspective plans.  Considering an average procedural delay of a decade, one would wonder how the IAF has been managing with obsolescence coupled with the dwindling squadron strength.

One may continue to lament that by now there could have been a significant number of the ‘126 MMRCA’ in service - the rest rolling in gradually with indigenous assurance. However, back to reality, let us look at the positives. The best thing to happen with this current Rafale procurement is that the aircraft are coming in an operationally ready state. Most previous acquisitions took a long time to settle down following years of development and integration effort before getting to our desired operational capability. This fleet adds to the punch straightaway and gets suitably noticed by the adversaries keenly watching the happenings. A squadron each in the north-west and the north-east will be a deterrent enough.

We had to compromise the requirement of development of indigenous capability because of the excessive delay in MMRCA procurement and the resultant smaller order. This dent will take a long time to repair. Now, will be time for the Air Force and the indigenous design & development groups to resolve to get going to build an indigenously supported mighty Air Force that our adversaries truly fear to take chances with.

This is not the forum to discuss reasons for the long and protracted delays in the acquisition of our most essential weapon systems – political controversies, bureaucratic tangles, or both. However, one wishes that as a nation we learn our lessons soon lest we face an irrevocable situation.

Well, India rests assured that despite all odds, its Air Force is relentless in its pursuit of excellence and endeavour to “touch the sky with glory!”