Happy Coincidences

Sometimes as I sip my drink, I catch myself smiling. I realise that life has been kind. I have been blessed with great friends. 'Zindagi mein aur kya chahiye!”

Air Mshl Gautam Nayyar was three courses my senior. I had come to like him when we first met at the Inter Command Cricket Tournament. I was a month old in AFTC, and he had just left. Apart from cricket, we had another common passion - Old Monk Rum.

We did not have an opportunity to work together till the last posting to Nagpur for both of us. Before that he was the AOM and I was with the Ops branch as ACAS (Sigs & IT). Nayyar moved out on promotion as the AOC-in-C MC, and I moved, on promotion too, along with him as his SMSO. Having also spent a lot of time off the field with Mrs. Rachita (Peeku) Nayyar in our younger days, we had happy times together in Nagpur. Besides many other fond memories, there are three specific incidents which bring a smile to me whenever I recall them.

Shortly after the AOC-in-C settled down at Nagpur, the Guards Centre Commandant, and Station Commander Kamthi found an opportunity to invite him and Mrs. Nayyar for dinner. Some of us, his deputies were invited along with. Air Mshl and Mrs. Nayyar, however, got busy at the last moment with an outstation commitment. The rest of us from Vayu Sena Nagar attended without Air Mshl & Mrs. Nayyar. It came to me as a surprise when a young officer guided a smart barman to me and said, “Sir, Your Vodka with Tonic Water.” Now, I had heard that Rum wasn’t served in Army Officers’ Messes. So, I picked up the offered drink as a good option. I got to know later from the C-in-C’s Staff Officer that, on reaching Nagpur, the C-in-C had given up on his favourite Old Monk. His new favourite must have been conveyed to Kamthi. Well, I must say that despite an overdose of Vodka with Tonic Water, I enjoyed getting special attention from the young officers at Kamthi.

While the C-in-C went around on familiarisation visits to the depots, I stayed back initially at Nagpur to get used to my new assignment in the maintenance stream. However, a requirement came up to visit Air HQ along with the AOC-in-C. In his presence, in a high-level discussion, I had to make a presentation about the maintenance philosophies.

Nagpur had summer uniforms all-round the year. So, my winter uniforms had not been used after having been packed at Delhi. We took off from Nagpur at 5 AM to be in time at Air HQ on a wintry morning. On reaching Air HQ, when I was checking my presentation on the video projector, my Wg Cdr colleague announced with an alarm, “Sir, you are wearing AVM’s rank tapes!” The meeting presided over by the CAS was to begin in half an hour – it made me sweat in Delhi’s early January winters.

I had got all my rank tapes and collar tabs done up from Siddiqi before moving to Nagpur. How could this happen? There was little time to think about how my C-in-C sitting across in discussion with me during the flight hadn’t noticed it. It was time for action. Wg Cdr Bains, my former colleague at Air HQ, sprang into action sprinting down to his 2^nd floor office. He tore off two rank stripes from his overalls. Those were put up one each on my shoulders with paper pins  to make me an Air Mshl.

An awkward situation averted, and with a job well done, we reached Nagpur by the evening. The first thing I shared with my wife was this fiasco. An immediate check revealed that a newer battle jacket winter uniform with Air Mshl rank tapes was neatly hanging in the cupboard. Friend Murphy in the avatar of my smart orderly had come to iron and prepare the discarded uniform for me. No wonder, looking at my tight fit uniform in the morning, my wife had commented that I was putting on weight.

One more incident associated with Nayyar has always baffled me. Is there a supernatural power that plays out cards we can’t understand? On his promotion and posting as
AOC-in-C MC, Air Mshl Nayyar had hosted dinner at AFND. After a round of drinks, some Champagne was brought in. Air Mshl Nayyar gave the customary shake to the Champagne bottle before using his thumb to uncork. Lo and behold, the cork flew up high before finding its place in my glass a couple of meters away from Nayyar. A few friends noticed and said cheers! Everyone forgot about it soon. I was not expected to wear Nayyar’s shoes immediately after him. However, the situation changed denying me an opportunity to be the AOM for some time before returning to Nagpur. And I took over from Air Mshl Nayyar when he retired. Wish I had preserved that cork!

CHEERS!

 

Rank mein kya rakhaa hai !

A young Major undergoing staff Course at DSSC was ecstatic about having met Retired Wg Cdr Rakesh Sharma. I had to politely enlighten him that there was nothing like a Retd Wg Cdr or a Retd Col. He had met Wg Cdr Rakesh Sharma, the IAF veteran, celebrity astronaut and the recipient of the highest peacetime gallantry award, the 'Ashoka Chakra'.

A Major is a Major after retirement and even after his demise. While writing names formally, to differentiate them from the serving officers, one is advised to write a name as “Col AB Cee SM, VSM (Retd)”. However, it is not mandatory to always suffix a name with (Retd).

Military officers are uniquely entitled to use last held ranks with names for life. These are ranks or titles and not appointments or awards. Appointments and awards are not to be used as titles. Therefore, prefixing names with ‘Captain’ (for a former airlines or shipping captain), ‘IG’ (for a former IG Police), ‘Professor’ (for a former Professor), ‘Ambassador’ (for a former Ambassador), ‘Padma Vibhushan’ or ‘Maha Vir Chakra’ (for respective awardees), are all inappropriate usages. On the other hand, ‘Colonel AB Cee’ is the entitled and authorised usage and calling someone a Retired Colonel is disrespectful.

Some veterans who retired early and went on to hold senior appointments in civilian life, chose to distance themselves from their ranks but not entirely from the fauji aura and all its benefits. “Rank mein kya rakhaa hai?”, they said, “The Lt Col has retired, I haven't.” As something of a middle ground, they started writing their names inappropriately as Lt Col (Retd) XY Zee. As an aberration, it is now common to hear a veteran Colonel being introduced as a Retired Colonel.

Unfortunately, our own military establishments also write names of veterans inappropriately. My recent X-ray from the MH has boldly etched on it, my name as “Retd Air Mshl”. The service establishments need to be advised about the correct practice. Why, you may ask, is this important? It is, because only in our fauj can an Air Chief be seen saluting a Wg Cdr, as his revered senior. In the civilian world, a serving or retired CMD or CEO does not acknowledge a retired executive for his/her seniority. Also, a retired CMD does not represent the company after he/she has stepped down. This is very different from the ethos of the armed forces. 

Rank mein kya rakhaa hai, is right, in that a Colonel served the country, as did a General. It is not the rank but our fauji values that are special. For the most part, veterans are glorious ambassadors of the fauj, however long they served. And we recognise each other for it until the day we die. Introducing our ranks with pride and accuracy reflects that ethos of military life. This is something to be cherished and perhaps even shared with the world.

Air Mshl PV Athawale