WHEN BOYS BECOME MEN AND CRAZY KG

One of the earliest memories of my tenure in Roaring Forty was an incident that occurred when I was a subaltern in 403 Med Bty at Woodcock Ridge in East Sikkim.  One afternoon in the winter of 1971, our bty which was deployed in support of 27 Mtn Div in East Sikkim, received orders from the Regimental HQ to mobilize for moving for the impending operations in East Bengal as it was known then. Rumours had been afloat of such a move as part of mobilization for the Indo-Pak conflict, for quite some time, and hence one was prepared when the order came. On receipt of orders, the Battery Commander ( BC ) Maj KG Sharma,  Crazy KG as he was known,  directed me as the GPO ( Gun Position Officer) to cease fire as the guns were deployed in gunpits, and get ready to move. I acted immediately and ordered Cease firing. Thereafter the guns were prepared for being taken out of the pits. One by one we took turns to supervise the actions, that is me and my tp cdr Capt AK Datta ( AKD). Once AKD returned after getting ready I went to get ready myself. It was while in the bathroom that I heard something swish past my hut. Being in my Adams suit, I could obviously not run out but all the hue and cry being raised led me to believe that something was seriously amiss. I quickly cut short my bathroom reverie and dressing rather hurriedly rushed out to the gun park. There I was aghast to learn that a gun had accidentally slipped out of control while being taken out of the pit and had rolled down the ridge towards the location of the Arty Brigade ( Bde) some three or four hundred feet  below. The swish I had heard was the sound of the gun whistling by, and, God had it but taken my route, I would have flown in my Adams suit and not be there to narrate this. By the time I reached the Gun pit my BC, Crazy KG, the Bty 2/i/c Capt VSR Patil and of course Capt AKD were all there, yelling orders and trying to bring normalcy to an otherwise calamitous situation. It must be remembered that Guns were our colours and there was no greater sin for a gunner than losing his gun. The shame that followed would be very difficult to survive. KG as was his won’t immediately took charge and commenced salvage operations. He sent VSR and AKD to the brigade location down below to chech on the gun and damages caused if any and instructed me to continue with the task of removal of the other guns from the pit. As a rookie officer I was amazed at the calmness he displayed and the professional manner he went about the task. VSR and AKD returned with the news that the gun was okay. It had stopped a wee distance away from the Commander Arty’s bunker and had suffered or caused hardly any damage. KG now swung into action in right earnest. He ordered a Kraz, the gun towing vehicle to be anchored in the gunpit and had another winched to it. Now the loc of the bty was very peculiar. As it was mountainous terrain the gun pits were all at different levels and the roads were running right around the location. The whole area was covered with frozen snow which made the operation difficult because of the slippery surface. KG however was unruffled. He asked the local EME wksp offr to come, who willingly obliged, and together worked through the night slowly winching the gun up. The whole operation lasted over eight to nine hours. The incident had occurred at 5 p.m. the previous day but come daylight the gun was back in its rightful place and the job well accomplished. Once accomplished KG informed the CO at the units loc at a place called Menla about 17 kms from Gangtok. The CO was furious for the delayed information and more importantly at not having mobilized and moved as ordered. Disciplinary action against all of us was a near certainity, but providence in the form of the Cdr Arty Bde of 27 Div intervened. He rang up the CO next morning to complement him on having a set of such committed officers and men who not only braved the rigors of a Sikkim winter night but had more importantly saved the Gunners and the Unit from disgrace by taking immediate action to retrieve the sacred colors. Had it been there the next day not only would it have become public but would have brought great ignominy for the Gunner family in general. He wanted the CO to commend each one of us for our actions. The CO though thought otherwise, but luckily had to abort any thought of any further action. Of course, no credit was given to any of us nor any mention made of this by the Tiger, as all Cos’ are known in fauji parlance.  Much later we learnt that the Cdr himself had walked upto the gun position at night and had stood watching our salvaging operation unnoticed by any of us then.

During that night I was to get my first lesson in what it means to lead from the front and take charge as the ‘boss’ of the situation. Secondly the other point that was made is despite the fact that the mistake was partly due to the detachment’s sloppiness, the BC as the leader never lost his cool and, on the contrary, supported the men and stood by them during the adversity. That action was taken at a later stage, is another point though. He never let his seniors bull doze his men. A leadership quality of the highest order. I was lucky to serve with KG who moulded my man management skills and I owe it to him for having made me a successful commander. His comd would die rather than see their cdr dead, was the credo that prevailed then. Such offrs’ are rare and I hope the emerging lot will take lessons from this and see that the Chetwode motto of Putting the Comforts of the men ahead of own comfort is practiced in letter and spirit and not merely etched on walls and posters.

I cannot forget that night of 71 and even now get goose bumps when I think of it.

 

              BEDDING IN A YO: A TIGER REFLECTS

I joined 40 Med Regt a unit with South Indian Class Composition in Sikkim in 1971 after my YO’s (Young Officers) Course. Not being very fluent in Hindi, this suited me as I was confident of speaking the language of the troops.

I landed at Siliguri in Aug 71 from Delhi along with other course mates posted to units in the area. Being a Medium Regiment, the unit was located at three different locations to ensure medium guns support for the entire corps. Incidentally we were the only Medium Regiment then under the Corps. One subunit was at Khaprail, Siliguri, another at Woodcock in East Sikkim and the third along with the headquarters at Menla ahead of Gangtok. When I arrived at Siliguri the subunit there had already moved out in preparation for the impending ops, and after spending the night in the transit camp left the next morning for Gangtok en route to Menla, by the Officers bus.

It was a mid Aug morning in 1971 that I got off the army bus at Mile 17 a location ahead of Gangtok on the Gangtok- Changu- Nathu La  road. Being a South Indian I was not used to the cold climate, and Mile 17 was considered a high-altitude location, and was inadequately clothed. Not only was I numb, courtesy the weather, but also at the manner of my reception. I had heard tales of the reception accorded to YO’s on joining their units but was not prepared for the one I was given at Mile 17.  I was received by an officer, a Capt, who introduced himself as Capt AK Datta and a ‘jawan’ dressed in khaki shorts and brown sweater. I was told that he was to be my ‘Batman’ as was known then, now called ‘buddy’ perhaps.. Coming from a family where my father and uncle had served in the army before, the terminology was not something new to me. However, the demeanor and carriage and his manner of speech made me a little apprehensive as I had heard that usually officers masqueraded as batmen. The person introduced himself as a Gunner belonging to Kodagu district in Coorg and spoke to me in my native language Malayalam. He collected my luggage and handed me a ‘Rammer’,(a long rod used to ram shells into the bore of the gun) which was the tradition I was told. I was also given a Sten Machine Carbine a 9mm gun as my personal weapon, the authorized weapon for officers, and a mule whose parents are Donkey and a horse I think. Loaded with this baggage and having been told that we were in enemy territory, we started our trek to the Regiment located 5 kms away. I had to lead the animal by a leash and just as I was taking in the scenery and enjoying it, I was rudely awakened by an attack on me from multiple directions. I resisted fiercely, especially refusing to part with the weapon, and soon  the attackers having failed to snatch my weapon fled.  My friend philosopher and Guide till then, Capt AKD, was nowhere around to help when I was attacked, but surfaced soon therafter and after listening to my narration of the event complimented me on my brave resistance. Little did I realize then that the attack was jointly engineered by the so called Batman and Capt AKD who when they saw my resistance decided to abort it lest someone gets injured. A wise decision indeed. Soon we entered the unit location and the first port of call was the quarter guard, a pride of place for any unit where the unit guard stood on watch 24/7 and also housed the armory and the unit prison. I was asked to enter my particulars in a register during which process an attempt to snatch my identity card was made and needless to mention failed again, due to my refusal to part with it, having been warned of such shenenaigans earlier. I was warned that snatching I card and later foisting false charges for its loss were common ploys used to initially test YO’s. I was then taken ahead of the unit location and for the first time in my life saw what a snow tent or rather a two-man bivouac looked like. I was given one and told to pitch it as that was going to be my residence. My batman who had disappeared all this while surfaced in the meantime and assisted me in pitching the tent as I had no clue never having seen one earlier. It was snowing by now and I had lost count of time. Soon however the tent was pitched and I managed to get in shivering like a rat. I was really perplexed more than scared. All along I was sure that this must be some prank and would end soon. However around six or so in the evening I was once again attacked, with shouts and yells and saw a hand enter the tent like an elephants trunk searching for bananas. I realized that they were actually looking for the stem gun. I once again resisted fiercely hitting out and refusing to part with the weapon, and the so called attack fizzled out as fast as it came and stillness descended.  Soon thereafter my friendly batman suddenly appeared once again and asked me to hand over the weapon to him for safe custody in the ‘Kote’ as the armory was known. Later on, at night the same batman came with some food for me and told me that the attackers who had come earlier had waylaid him and snatched the weapon from him forcibly.  Anyway, the ordeal of stay in the tent ended the next day and I was taken to a room where I was introduced to another of my ilk, S/Lt SK Mehta. He had a scratch mark on his face and was quite serious when he shook hands with me. Only later was I to learn that the scratch mark was kind courtesy yours truly, as he was also a member of the team that attacked me in the tent. No wonder he appeared so stern at our first meeting. Anyway it was announced soon that I the new YO, had lost a weapon and was to be court martialed (CM ). The CM proceedings commenced with recording of my statements which was done by Capt KKK Taori ,who was then the Quarter Master of the unit. He later became an IAS officer and retired since from UP Cadre.  All this was done in a day and I was surprised to see all those who were supposed to have been assigned to assist me had turned hostile during the recordings. The CM proceedings commenced in the mess that evening and soon the verdict was announced. ‘To be Dismissed’. The next day a grand farewell was given to me and I moved out of the unit in civil dress as a civilian with full honours. Jawan’s had lined the route and were shouting Jai’s much to my consternation. Anyway 48 hrs after my arrival I was back at Mile 17 this time to leave the army once and for all. There were condescending reassurances and crocodile sympathies extended as to how unfortunate I was and that it was indeed sad that this had to end in this manner. My friend Mehta was the most vociferous in his professions and promised to look me up at Delhi where I was supposed to be going as my parents were there. AK Datta also had comforting words and asked me not to be worried and to take things in my stride to which I replied in the affirmative. My batman of two days was there to bid me farewell too. We were sipping our final cup of tea awaiting the arrival of the Officers bus, when a messenger from the unit arrived to proclaim that Army HQ had turned down the CM proceedings and I was to report to the unit once again. This time I was taken to the unit in a vehicle a jeep at that, and straight to the Adjutants office and officially interviewed. Soon it became apparent that the shenanigans that transpired was my official welcome to the unit fold, and told that while I had proved a hard nut, the earlier entrants on whom the ploy was unleashed had broken down and were in desperate tears when they were being bid farewell. My reaction did indeed surprise them. The ‘batman’ the villain of the piece finally surfaced in his rightful uniform that of a Capt. He was MA Devaiah actually from Coorg and the LRW (Light Repair Workshop) officer of the unit. Anyway, all this having finished I was soon brought down to mother earth by a series of duty officer chores which made me conversant with most of the unit duties. Alls’ well that ends well and soon I too was a part of this great outfit where I was to serve the maximum period of my uniformed service. Though taken aback initially, I feel such light banter as long as it is kept within the bounds of decency and respectability is good way of breaking in a YO to the unit way of life. There is indeed much to learn too here as it tests your level of sustenance, calmness and confidence without getting desperate or anxious. In war many are the moments when as an officer one will be called upon to take decisions in a climate of uncertainty and lack of inputs. Such situations give a glimpse of the YO’s ability to withstand the rigors and still smile and deliver.

Today in the twilight of my life these are fond memories to treasure and reminisce with the usual elbow action during evenings especially in these days of lockdowns and pandemics’. Always brings cheer to ones face every time I read this.