AFOVA New Letter 2 of Year 2021

Section 6 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 02 / 2021 Page 177 of 332 Captain Sudhir Karmarkar and Lieutenant Upendra Raina. I was ceremoniously ushered in. Then the mess waiter Gopi came in with a bottle of wine which was apologetically served to me. The apology was because sherry was already packed. I was in cloud nine and could not care less if I had been welcomed in with water. When I grew roots in the Paltan I kept cribbing how unceremoniously I was welcomed with wine and not sherry. When I was posted out Brigadier Bahri said let us put a stop to this. I was given a farewell sherry, Bristol milk at that, as I got into my vehicle to leave the Paltan. Farewell sherry was not the only tradition that was broken that day. I was also pulled on a jeep by the officers and troops as a gesture the RMO deserved. The setting with the piper playing the" auld Lang sine" on top of the hillock and the troops lined up to bid farewell was picturesque alright but emotionally was very stirring. Swarnim Varsh Flashback : Refugees from East Pakistan pour into India (This is a standalone picture connected with 1971 operations. Not directly connected with the article above)