AFVOA Newletters of Year 2008

Page 21 of 56 perks as Rank Pay etc. , have only in an overall sense been detr iment al to the armed forces as compared to other Servi ces. Such erosion in the pay and allowances and also in Status and Dignity of the Serviceman would cast a shadow of disappointment whi ch in the context of the current defi ci enci es in the ent ry l evels at the Milit ary Academi es and also in the overal l defi ci enci es in manning l evels are matt ers of concern whi ch need to be remedi ed. In today’s concept s of dynami c fixed and vari abl e compensat ions, any service without reward would t end to be equat ed to an infl iction. Our Members are certainly aware of the widespread protests across the country f rom the f rat ernity of Vet erans and a spat e of suggestions and recommendations emanating f rom individuals and ESM Organisations . As one such organi sat ion that took up the initi at ive with the Pay Commission di rect ly our AFVOA would hope that the coordinat ed effor ts at the level of the Chiefs of Staf f with the Pay Commi ssion relat ed revi ews and the appeals and awareness signals to the top politi cal levels f rom the Vet erans including many individuals who have to car ry the mantl e of l eadership at the highes t l evels - - all these should forge a nat ional solution to the probl em on hand, in the long term interest of our Nat ional Security perspectives . Our frat ernity of Vet erans at Chennai would be aware of the si lent prayers and prot est ralli es undert aken on 27 April . 2008 at various centres in Indi a and al so the impending “Fast for Digni ty” to be l aunched on 27 May 2008. Individual Members may feel free to parti cipat e based oh the di ct ates of thei r own consci ence as they deem appropriate. We look forward to our Annual General Body Meeting on 08 June 2008 when we set ourselves on into the next financi al year. Happiness is a thing to be practiced, like the violin. John Lubbock LIFE BEGINS AT SIXTY At 69, RG Desai got his law degree. He then wrot e five books . Now he’s of f to the US to study the Vedas. Reti rement comes in with an unhealthy load of fear. Retirement and old age become synonymous with l ife’s full-s top. And with full -stops come endings . But there are peopl e who, like old wine, get better with age. A testimony to this i s RG Desai whose li fe began at 82, and he has walked through the wonderl and of post retirement graceful ly. For those of you who perceive reti rement as a doomsday of sorts , t ake a cue from Desai’s recent book: The Bes t Is Yet To Be. The tit l e i s inspi red by a Robert Browning poem Rabb i Ben Ezra. Desai ’s agi le gai t and al ert gaze belies his age, and not only has he authored five books, mainly on Indi a’s anci ent wisdom, but he al so att ended the Government Law Coll ege at the age of 69. Ask him if he felt awkward to be the oldest student in coll ege and he quips : “When I entered the class room I was mist aken for a lecturer . Young students thumped their desks and gave me a hearty wel come. But teachers weren’t too happy to have me as a s tudent. They were always out of their depth with my bar rage of quest ions. ” He fought his first case for a fri end in the Delhi High Court , and he is presently dedicat ed to taking up public causes. “I’m taking up cases