AFVOA Newletter August 2020

Section 5 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 02 / 2020 Page 169 of 237 Post WW-II, the 14th Army HQ, retained him in the permanent cadre. He was posted to Nepal. Sriraman had a clear objective in his mind to become an officer. Here, upon encouragement from his senior officers, he obtained special permission to attend evening classes to learn shorthand and typing. He recalls walking 3km each way, up and down the hills, returning to barracks by 10pm. No food could be more delicious than the cold roti, dal and rice that awaited him in the barracks. He got his break when the PA of the Sub Area Commander, Brigadier James, went on sick leave and he was asked to fill in. That exposure, being with the Brigadier was an altogether new and enriching experience. His efficient work was duly recognized and he went on to becoming the PA for other senior army officers including Major Generals. He fondly recalls his stint with one Maj Gen Kripal. Finally his ultimate break that he dreamed of came through when after due process by a selection committee, he was selected to become a commissioned officer in 1964. He career progressed rapidly thereafter and he became Major in 1972. He served in Secunderabad, Bangalore and Dehradun before retiring in 1979. Major Kuppuswamy Sriraman never thought of retirement as the end of the road and to live a sedate life. He engaged himself as a granite quarry manager in Chamrajnagar / Karnataka till mid-2014 when he finally chose to retire and live with his daughter and her family. Indeed a proud warrior from Thirukoyilur. About the Author Dr(Capt) Narasimha is the Occupational Health Physician and Chief Medical Officer of TVS Electronics Ltd and its group companies. He served the Army from 1984 to 1989 and was RMO to 15 Bihar Regt in OP PAWAN IPKF Sri Lanka during peak insurgency from March 1988 to July 1989. He is a full Marathoner, avid trekker having summitted, Pindari Glacier, Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Machu Pichhu in Peru and Mt Mceven in Alaska.