AFOVA New Letter 2 of Year 2021

Section 7 – Panorama CV 2 No. 02 / 2021 Page 292 of 332 18 Friends or Enemies Wg Cdr S Sampath Genre: Hostile Living Environment e were in the thick of the Kargil Operations. Gp.Capt Mathews realised that my wife and son had been with me in the forward base for over three months. They were indeed cooped up. All families usually made a monthly shopping trip to Srinagar. It was a rejuvenating break. In his typical style he asked his wife Rita, to ask my wife, to ask me. This translated to “Go on, give your wife and son a break. Thus, we set forth from Koel airport to the Srinagar highway in my Gypsy, escorted by an Armoured Car. We traversed the narrow road to the highway, passing above the deserted and burnt down Agricultural University Campus. The route curved through a hilly road with Malangpora village at some distance, to the left. A bumpy ride on a bumpy wooden bridge over the Jhelum and onto the highway. The escort peeled off and sped to join one of the many convoys ahead at 65 kmph. “Do not drive at less than 65 kmph on the highway”, were standard orders to evade possible gunfire, and remotely controlled explosions of I.E.Ds. The gypsy, with the driver and one escort at the front, self, wife and son at the back and the second escort on the bucket seat sped along towards Awantipora town. There was a loud burst and the vehicle veered to the right and halted on the berm. A shocked silence followed. “Sir. It’s a tyre burst only”, said the escort. We halted bang in the middle of Awantipora town. It was 10a.m. Not a soul in sight. W