AFVOA Newsletter 03 of 2020

Section 5 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 03 / 2020 Page 102 of 167 9 War And Peace (.…FUL SLEEP) Wg Cdr S Balasubramanian VrC Genre: War Memories leeping has never been a problem for me. During my early years in the Indian Air Force (IAF), after a day’s hard work followed by a swim or a tiring game of squash, it was a pleasure to knock off cold. It was a wonderful and peaceful life which would have continued if only Gen Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, the third president of Pakistan, had not declared a war on India on that fateful cold day! It all started on 3 rd December 1971. Our forward airfields were struck by Pakistan Air Force (PAF) – though a wasted effort for them. The IAF reacted sharply and we were on full offensive from the wee hours of the 4 th . After putting in good and very satisfying work one looked forward to a good sleep – but alas my experience of wars had been only from movies. Soon, it dawned on me that reel life was far different from the real one. Every evening, just after sunset PAF Canberra bombers would appear overhead, dropping their load – when one finished – another one appeared in the skies. Our airfield, closer to the border, probably had the highest number of these explosive gifts falling on us! To add to our consternation, quite of a few of them had delayed time fuses and thus the music show continued through the night! If this grand show by the PAF was not good enough – our anti-aircraft guns completed the orchestral team. I am sure that there were more than one set of guns just behind the officer’s mess – a wise thought for added protection of the protectors of our Nation! However, the pain inflicted on our ear drums by the duo, bombs and the rapid firing 30 mm guns is impossible to put in words. The long term damage is becoming more evident S