AFVOA Newsletter 03 of 2020

Section 5 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 03 / 2020 Page 126 of 167 During one of his visits to Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, Dad met Flight Lieutenant Raj. Now, he was Squadron Leader Raj. He fell on the ground and touched Dad’s feet. Dad was startled and didn’t know how to react. “Sir! You saved my life and my flying career. I’m here today because of you.” He had tears in his eyes. My Dad has always been my hero. Years later I asked him why he went out of the way to help a complete stranger. He looked me in the eye, “Sid. This could have happened to us. Wouldn’t you have liked if someone helped us.” This incident reaffirmed my faith in humanity. Hope, kindness and joy are still prevalent in our lives. Dad has always been the human being who goes out of the way to spread joy and happiness in other’s life. Going out of his way to help and never seeks anything in return. There is so much strength in this approach to life. About the Author Sid is an Air Force kid who grew up across Hyderabad, Bhatinda, Bhuj, Jorhat and New Delhi. He finished his B.Com fromMadras Christian College and then moved to complete his MBA from Symbiosis International University. He is working with Bausch Health Companies Inc. as an IT Project Manager for Digital Transformation. An avid sports person, he divides his time playing squash and swimming. Sid is a bass guitarist who played with heavy metal bands in Chennai and Pune. During the Covid-19 induced lockdown, he spent time exploring soundscapes generated from Analog Synthesizers. An AV and military history geek, he along with a bunch of like-minded friends preserve IAF history on a website. He writes articles related to sales, mindfulness and healthcare on his blog https://siddarthharsha.wordpress.com/