AFVOA Newletters of Year 2002

Page 71 of 84 the Armed Forces were revamped both in organisation and material. 3. After a considerable amount of search by a few committed officers we were able to collect about twenty articles on the India-China conflict of 1962. It would be in the fitness of things if all the articles are available together. And depending on the inclination of the individual, they could be read separately or at one sitting. Also if it is made as a separate booklet, it could be passed on to many more so that a greater awareness of the Armed Forces can be created. As such the booklet will be given during the next Meet – 22 nd December. 4. However, in this issue, we have given brief sketches of three of our earliest winners of the highest decoration for valour – the Param Vir Chakra. Meeting Gone By - “An Impression” by Wg Cdr Ravi Mani Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones tend to take care of themselves. ~ Dale Carnegie ~ (1888-1955, American Author, Trainer) 5. The last AFVOA meeting was held on the 06 th of October at our usual venue, the Indira Nagar Youth Hostel. The Sunday the Meeting was held happened not only to be a day prior to the commencement of the Navaratri festival, but was also Mahalaya Amavasya. Hence, a few members regretted that their inability to attend the meeting. Nevertheless, the attendance was quite respectable at around 120 heads, a comedown compared to the previous meetings. 6. As mentioned in the previous newsletter, the AFVOA Committee, in its endeavour to increase the “enjoyment” content of the evening started the sale of Tombola tickets as soon as the evening started at 1800 hours. This period, lasting till about 1845, was effectively utilised by the members to exchange notes, so essential to such meetings. During this interval, Cdr Prasad and Wg Cdr Muthu were busy in collecting the meet subscription, whereas Brig Subramanyam and Capt Gregory were promoting the sale of the Tombola tickets. 7. At 1845 hours, Col A Krishnaswami, the Secretary, took the mike with evident pleasure at being able to communicate to the assembled veterans, and started the ball rolling by requesting Mrs Jaya Subramanyam to render the invocation song. This done, Maj Gen Vishwanathan, the President made the obituary references and requested the gathering to observe a minute’s silence in memory of the departed souls. He then announced that it had finally been decided to make the AFVOA a registered association under the Tamil Nadu Societies Act. The appropriate committee was engaged in the nitty-gritty of the task. He also announced that the committee, after eliciting the views of the members, had decided to hold the annual outdoor get together during December, at the Nemmeli farmhouse which was the venue of last year’s picnic. He requested members associated with corporate bodies etc to come up with sponsorship for the picnic, covering the gifts, hampers prizes etc. He also requested members to send in the contributions at Rs 150/- per head in advance for the picnic. This amount would cover all needs of the day, from transportation from the Youth Hostel and back, breakfast, coffee/tea, snacks, lunch, as well as afternoon tea. The amount could be sent by cheque, drawn in favour of ‘AFVOA’ and mailed to Col N Vishwanathan at the address given at the end of the last page. New Members Friendship improves happiness, and abates misery, by doubling our joys, and dividing our grief. ~ Joseph Addison ~ (1672-1719, British Essayist, Poet, Statesman)