AFVOA Newletter August 2020

Section 5 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 02 / 2020 Page 155 of 237 He was in Rangoon [Aug’45-Sep’46] as ACRIE [CRIE Works]. Towards the end of this period much of Rangoon was destroyed. Supplies and food were short for both troops and civilians and the monsoon had destroyed what was left of roads and bridges. There was no water supply. The young Capt. with his troops managed to pull together all efforts and resources restoring the water supply to the great relief of the local people. He was at the Officers’ Mess when he was sent for, to be congratulated on his Teams’ achievement and for a pat on the back with a “well done lad” by a rather senior officer. Unsure as to who that was he cautiously enquired and was told, “That was Lt. General Slim” Army Commander. The incident was narrated to my husband and me late one night in his nonchalant manner about eighteen months before he passed away. A beautiful Mother of Pearl shell painted with a Burmese lady on it was a gift of appreciation from the Burmese people to him. This will remain my most treasured possession from my father. It was after his return from Rangoon on his way to Roorkee for an SME training course that he met his dear friend Lokaranjan, [also a Madras Sapper, from RIMC] and Loko’s young and beautiful aunt Aithra. It was love at first sight for my father. Mummy was convinced by his colleagues and friends that he was a good chap. So thanks to course mates, [Brig]LR Franklin, [Gen]Loomba, [Brig]Keshav Rao, [Gen]Jagganathan and [Brig]Lokaranjan to name a few, my parents were engaged in Roorkee and married in Hyderabad in May 1947. Mummy was gracious and ever so charming. An Osmania graduate, she herself had worked in the Red Cross in Tripura with wounded soldiers. She soon grew from the demure Hyderabad bride to a strong, brave woman for she would be left on her own to protect and bring up their children. Pappa meanwhile like other Indian Servicemen would turn his attention from WWII and the Japanese to protect our own borders with Pakistan following our independence and the partition of 1947. Pappa did tenures in Jammu and Kashmir and Mummy was on her own at the birth of my sister and when we the twins were born. She would have yet another long stint on her own when he left for NEFA. There were many good times as well. A short pleasant time when Pappa was at the prestigious Staff College at Wellington, the Gwalior days when he was Commandant Troops and our home was by the river Morar. We attended our first school at Shishumandir, run by her Highness Maharani of Gwalior where we ate Sooji Halwa at break! Mummy and Pappa were guests of his Highness Maharajah of Gwalior at the banquet for Marshall Tito when he visited in 1954. We moved to