AFVOA Newletter August 2020

Section 4 – War Diary CV 2 No. 02 / 2020 Page 62 of 237 a young bride Nina, who spoke only Punjabi! Patti (as my bridge-playing grandmother came to be known) and Nina spoke using the language of the heart! Nina loved playing with my daughters Shalini and Maya. Patti’s kitchen consisted of an old table (borrowed from the Mess) and a pressure stove with no gas or kerosene. We instead used aircraft fuel! The common bathroom was for all purposes, wash, bathe, vessels, clothes, diapers and even feeding bottles. We sourced our groceries from outside the base. I soon discovered that Halwara housed my old friends, Grace Kuruvilla, Havovi Osman, Rose D’costa, Shobana Raje, Radha Fillipose, and Renu Mitroo. Evenings saw the ‘pram brigade’ walking to the mess to sip lemonade and gossip, while the children played on the lawns. The only cinema hall was a few miles away. By sunset we were all back to darkness and silence. The entire set up was to cater to battle hardened pilots, and definitely not for delicate ladies. But we were a merry lot, and even held ladies club meetings in the Mess! One day in September, a genial soldier appeared with his long rifle and smiled at me. “I will be guarding the place,” he announced. Soon the rains came, along with the snakes! Patti kept vigil over the children who played in the open verandah. The soldier became a baby-sitter too, enjoying a cup of tea with Patti and Nina. By November, many ladies left the base as tension was building in the Eastern front and echoing on the Western borders. One evening, the Station Commander Group Captain Chandu Gole appeared at the barrack unannounced, greeted Patti like an old friend, asked her when she would play bridge again with Susan, and straightaway said, “Mangala, you and your babies are a liability to Piddly and me here. Please go before it is too late. Life will get very difficult and I cannot spare my officers to guard you. I request Patti to leave with you so Piddly can perform his duties unhindered. Most other ladies have left.” Ayre too was in agreement. But Patti was clear, “I will not leave this place like a coward.” My mother in law who had joined us a month earlier echoed Pattis sentiments. And so we all decided to stay on. Gp Capt Chandu Gole was visibly upset with our decision. Soon I discovered that there were more such loyal ladies. We were all summoned to the Mess. “You have chosen to stay and face the consequences. I have no manpower to guard you or provide you with basic amenities. All of you will move into one house and stay together. Soon we will face total blackouts. You have to observe the air- raid siren drills and prepare for wartime.” He cautioned: ‘do to not share even seemingly safe information with anyone’ and ‘never underestimate the enemy’. We went to sleep feeling uncomfortable, afraid and insecure. One day, an officer came to the barrack and handed a revolver with six brass bullets to me with