AFVOA Newsletter 03 of 2020

Section 5 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 03 / 2020 Page 125 of 167 He rushed back to the hospital and ensured Flight Lieutenant Raj got discharged. Dad and Flight Lieutenant came back to our room. I saw some blood stains on Dad’s shirt and got worried. “M’am I have booked flight ticket in Indian Airlines for both of you. The flight leaves in three hours. My wife will help you pack your bags.” Flight Lieutenant Raj was quite groggy. He stumbled his way to his wife and hugged her. “Sir! I don’t know how to thank you and Ma’am.” He looked at Amma with folded hands, “ Neenga Deiyvammaadri vanthuirrukael. ” (Both of you are God sent) Dad told him, “Raj . You can thank us later. Get ready to leave lest you miss you flight and your sister’s wedding.” He asked Dad for his contact number and our address in Madras. They exchanged phone numbers and we all went to see them off in Jonga. We took our train next morning and reached Madras after a gruelling 60-hour train journey across 5 states. We were greeted by my uncles, aunts and cousins in Madras. They were seeing Shreyas for the first time and everyone was excited to hold the youngest member of the family. Later that evening during dinner, Dad recounted the whole incident that happened.” What I didn’t know until much later was that the doctor at the Army hospital had insisted Flight Lieutenant Raj to be admitted and kept under observation for 48 hours. This would have meant that he missed his sister’s wedding and the possibility of him getting grounded from flying. Dad knew some people in the hospital and worked his charm to get him discharged. The risk was huge. But Dad knew what he had to do. Back in 1995, there were no ATM machines and flight tickets were expensive. With the money he had, he booked a one-way ticket for the couple to Madras. What I didn’t know was that after booking tickets, he had less INR 500 in his pocket and the bank wouldn’t open until next day. The 4 of us travelled with less than INR 500 in my dad’s pocket. Years went by. Dad got transferred to New Delhi later that year and we moved with him. Dad was part of the Air Staff inspection team that visited various air bases in India.