MEMORIES OF AN INSPIRING LEADER
WingCo Gulati had recently taken over command of the Guru Shikhar unit when I was posted to Mt Abu. A course and associated posting to ASTE would cut short my stay at Guru Shikhar/ Mt Abu but the short time at Guru Shikhar would leave me with some of my fondest memories and most inspiring lessons in the Air Force.
Guru Shikhar was a demanding unit for all personnel. The mode of daily travel up and down for all of us was a shift run (3 tonner). Only the CO had a Jeep. The mountainous route wasn't terribly friendly, and we survived an accident like situation once every few months. We took the shift run at 0645h and usually returned at around 3 PM. Most often we had to stay back to ensure all snags were attended to before we left the unit under care of thinly manned afternoon and night shifts. The planned maintenance schedules required us to work odd hours through the nights to ensure minimum down time for the operational links. Emergency situations would require us to go to the guard room and guide the shift personnel on the phone.
As the RMCC (Regional Maintenance Control Centre) Commander, the Guru Shikhar CO had an office at the Station Mt Abu also. I was given to understand that many COs before Wg Cdr Gulati did not undertake the arduous road journey to visit the unit every day. They only visited on rare ceremonial ocassions while all the intense technical activity at Guru Shikhar was left to the junior officers. A second office at the base station was a good reason to stay busy at Mt Abu.
Wg Cdr Gulati was different. He would start work in the morning at his Mt Abu office and later in the day drive up to be where the action was, at Guru Shikhar. He would often stay with us in the afternoons till we ensured safe operations under the care of shifts. He would then give us a ride back home in his Jeep. These rides gave us an opportunity to interact with our CO like no other could have.
On one memorable occasion, we completed work at Guru Shikhar late in the evening and took a ride with the CO as usual. That evening, he drove straight back to the CO's house instead of dropping us on the way. Mrs Gulati had already been at work gathering all the ladies there and the Gulatis had converted our tiring day into a most enjoyable evening. Looking back, we were getting groomed purely by association.
The presence of Wg Cdr and Mrs. Gulati has always been reassuring. Mrs. Gulati sadly left us a few years back. And now, the passing away of Wing Co is a big loss. Lovely memories of both will, however, stay with us forever.
Om Shanti🙏
Pramod Athawale
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