AFVOA Newsletter 03 of 2020

Section 4 – War Diary CV 2 No. 03 / 2020 Page 51 of 167 I realized that my husband was just a junior officer in the hierarchy. For him the day started at 5 AM for PT at the Battalion grounds about two miles away from our little cottage. Like a true infantryman, he would “Double Up” to be in time and would return only after the evening games with the troops. I was left to fend for myself the whole day and upgrade my culinary skills which left a lot to be desired! I would spend time watching frommy window the IPS probationers from the Police Training College at Mt Abu, carrying out horse riding, with some inexperienced riders being thrown off the saddles! My brother as an IPS probationer had undergone similar training a few years ago. In the Army, an officer keeps himself professionally updated by attending Courses of Instruction. In Aug 1962, Krish was detailed to attend the Regimental Signal Officers Course at MHOW as a part of his progressive training. I dutifully followed him to get another experience of service life. The accommodation that we could manage to hire at Mhow was a ramshackle two-roomed apartment in the first floor with wooden flooring that creaked every time we moved. We were hoping that the floor will not fall down during our stay! MHOW gave me an opportunity to meet officers and their families belonging to other arms and services. Krish taught me the Morse code that was part of the syllabus so that he can improve his skill in reading and sending messages and also pass the examination. A week before the course was to end, Krish was recalled to report back to the unit as it was earmarked to proceed for operational deployment. We rushed by train to get back to the Battalion which was already at the railway station at Abu Road and boarding the special train to proceed to Jaipur, the nearest airport to be flown out to the Eastern border. At the Railway station, we were given a one tonner vehicle to go up to Mt Abu that was 18 miles away. We had four hours to wind up our house, pack all our belongings and stack them in the garage of the Commanding Officer’s house, get back to the railway station and board the special train that was to leave at 9 PM. As a police officer’s daughter I was used to change locations but never had I done any move at such a short notice! Krish had to get ready in his battle gear. He thoughtfully spoke to his parents at Delhi to somehow arrange to get me picked up at Jaipur air field the next day. This was the first experience of my life as an Army wife to face a situation in an emergency of an unknown future with calm and efficiency. Our first home was wound up and our belongings stacked up to be opened almost a year later.