AFOVA New Letter 2 of Year 2021

Section 6 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 02 / 2021 Page 118 of 332 The twittering of birds and the beautiful sunrise at dawn, warmed up the Major’s heart and feelings as he sprang up to cherish this day, his first, in this wild beautiful place. The sun rose above the green hills bathing the sky with a fiery pink heralding a warm day. The air was crisply cool. Sauntering out he was mesmerised by the awesome, simple beauty of the green verdant hills around; he could spy at a distance a set of neat hutments spread around a large open ground. He was indeed a 'Monarch of all he could survey!' Turning, he saw his command - a vast spread of sheds with corrugated roofs of galvanised iron sheets. These were not ‘pucca’ buildings but were adequate. The stores with neatly stencilled nameplates held the various Technical and Specialized items required to maintain repair, and restore the vehicles and weapons of the Regiments posted alongside. This was one of the Workshops of the 2Div; he was content that the workshop was well laid out with clearly demarcated areas. His workforce nearly 180 strong had its usual bunch of Technical wizards in Mechanics, Electricians, Welders, and Technicians for the Radio and the Generator and the Field Telephone systems besides the usual Dhobi and the Barber! Commanding them was JCO Narsaiah, a seasoned mechanic whose speciality lay in spotting breaches in the braking systems. The Regimental Troop carriers were mainly Nissan 1-Tonners, The Shakthiman, and the Tata vehicles - highly dependable, with few problems in general, though the pitiful road conditions in this riverine environment spelt havoc on the brake linings and the shock absorbers! These vehicles were the mainstay for all troop movements, for the Infantry and Artillery battalions and a constant schedule of servicing was an important job for this workshop. The Major settled to his routine of daily inspection of all that he commanded. From the very first week, the vehicles came rolling in for Inspection and Repairs. The 4 JCOs of the workshop were always on their toes as the men were busy with RRRM work; yet had adequate time for exercise and at evenings the rough and tumble of football or Volleyball enticed the major and his men! It was time to play after a long day of work under vehicles! The Subedar Major Adjutant conducted the PT and morning parades with the 3 young EME Captains and the lone Ordinance Capt took turns for the morning parades sparing the Major of this duty though once a week the Major would insist on joining the parade and taking the salute. The Subedar Quartermaster ensured supplies were regular and often sourced the nearby village markets for fresh produce, poultry, and eggs! A self-contained efficient unit indeed, well run and respected. The places around had many rivulets that often breached the road when the main rivers were swollen during the Monsoon. The South West Monsoon simply smashed into the