AFVOA Newsletter 03 of 2020

Section 5 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 03 / 2020 Page 112 of 167 The D Day arrived. So did the excitement. Being a working day, we showed unholy hurry in finishing up the tasks of the day. In addition to a sumptuous menu, psychedelic lighting and audio system, a liberal sprinkling of Talcum Powder was splashed on the dancing floor. Ms P, along with the other ladies present, supervised all arrangements personally and gave us all a “Thumps Up”. She shared some insider information that the ballerinas for the evening would turn up in perfect dancing costume and that it would be in the fitness of things if the Gentlemen received their dancing partners when they got down from their transport and lead them to the Ante Room. The ever willing Gentlemen readily agreed. Sure enough, the expectation went up by a few more notches! So, the twelve of us lined up in the Portico, suited, booted and with our bow ties on! When we sighted the familiar converted, covered One Tonner vehicle of the Base Hospital, prominently marked “Nightingale”, we knew we were only minutes away from our goal of dancing away through the evening! What was more, in a significant departure from standard protocol, our ladies also lined up behind us for the grand reception. We didn’t think too much of this either! When the Driver of the vehicle parked it , came down and opened the rear door of the vehicle……. Lo and behold, it looked darker than the unexplored Black hole in the Andromeda and more silent than the deepest of the deep Mariana Trench of the Pacific Ocean! There were no ballerinas! An empty passenger section greeted us all! A cacophonous, harsh, discordant mixture of noises emanated behind us! That is when we saw our dear ladies, ably aided and abetted by Ms P, rolling on the ground laughing away! For, that day was Fools Day, April 1 st (1980) and none of us realized it, though heavy hints were in the air in the form of a request to host it on Wednesday! And then, it dawned on the unsuspecting and wishful men that it was a prank, executed with precision by those beautiful, yet sweetly wicked women! That is when we realized that its just not the military men alone who excel in precision planning and execution, their women can out do them! Well, the ‘never say die’ spirit in us allowed us to bash on regardless and celebrate our individual and collective gullibility in style, dancing through the night! To be continued…(the sequel) Jai Hind.