AFVOA Newletter August 2020

Section 4 – War Diary CV 2 No. 02 / 2020 Page 61 of 237 6 1971 : A Bond Still Strong Ms Mangala Ayre Genre: War Diary t was 8 pm when we drove in a Morris Oxford, number P1234, into Air Force Station Halwara and stopped in front of the Officers Mess. Flt Lt Raju Maindarkar, my husband Flt Lt P K Ayre’s course-mate met us at the entrance. “Piddly,” he said hurriedly, “take my bike and go straight to the Squadron deployment. The CO is waiting for you.” Without wasting a second, ‘Piddly’ (as P K Ayre was fondly addressed by his friends) jumped on to the bike and rode off into pitch darkness. Seeing 4 anxious faces – my grandmother, my two infant daughters and me – Raju assured me that all is well. After a quick dinner at the Mess, he drove us to a dilapidated and gloomy set of rooms, which were actually barracks from the WW2 days! The black-out was on, which meant no lights after sunset. Raju casually said that Ayre would be back ‘very soon’. “Bolt the door and do not switch on any light till daybreak,” he cautioned and left. I surveyed the place. There were two long rooms ending in an open strip of verandah, beyond which flowed a stream. There was a common bathroom for both the rooms. Beyond that was pitch darkness, silence and a gentle breeze. The place was dark and eerie! The babies were soon asleep, and my grandmother was getting ready for bed when Ayre returned and announced that this would be our ‘home’ till he was allotted one. Being a forward base Halwara was not equipped to host families, he explained. I was too tired to respond. Every morning Ayre would leave before dawn, return anytime, go back … with planes whizzing overhead all the while. The room adjacent to ours was occupied by I