AFVOA Newsletters of Year 2012

Page 69 of 80 in large numbers in the markets and traffic jam, was not the memory that I had. It was a sleepy and small township with predominantly Army vehicles! A visit to the renowned Shakti Sthal temple of Kamakhya at the station was in our itinerary and we paid obeisance at the shrine. Our five hours of road journey from Guwahati to Tezpur was very comfortable and pleasant. The weather was conducive and our travel was on a Tata Sumo Vehicle of one of the units. I learnt that it is authorised for the Second in Command of an Inf Bn. A lot of development was noticeable enroute; KLP constructions of unit lines, the development of roads and bridges was very encouraging. We the ”guests” were served piping hot dosas, idli and vada as breakfast at Midpoint. The scenic beauty of the tea gardens was pleasing to the eye. Tezpur, the city of eternal romance, is the second largest city of Assam. It is also known as the cultural capital of the state. Its university is one of the largest educational institutions in NE India. Mythological reference of the bloodshed which ensued between the armies of Lord Krishna and Bansura, gave the town the name. (Teza - Blood and Pura - Town) In 1962 when we marched through the town enroute to Tenga and Bomdilla, it was a ghost town as many had fled and vacated due to the Chinese threat. Now it is a bustling township with visible development in all respects. The first event we attended on 3 Oct, was the Gajraj Utsav at the “Meghna’’stadium, which included, hot air ballooning, para display, motor cycle display, trick riding, dog show, besides cultural dances. The weather god enabled the uninterrupted conduct of the events. The bara khana was well organized and enabled the veterans to interact with the troops with ease in an air of total informality. On my interaction with the troops I was immensely pleased with the state of high morale and jubilation on the Corps celebrating its golden jubilee in a befitting manner. They were very proud of the various achievements, especially of the project “Satbhavana” that they have been able to achieve amongst the local population. The interest shown by them to get to know the real actions of 1962 and 1971 operations was very encouraging. The staff officers had done a lot of spadework to call the veterans of the two operations by going through the ORBAT of the period and writing to the units to trace out the addresses of the decorated individuals, POW and the wounded. Personal letters were sent to invite them. Out of the 75 invitations sent, 5 of us only, could make it. The oldest and senior most was the 90 year old Brigadier RN Mishra VrC of the Punjab battalion at Namka Chu battle. He had become a POW and had many experiences to share. His old unit is presently in the Corps zone and the “grandfather” was affectionately looked after. He had come alone by train from Lucknow. The other PsOW were the 77 year old Maj. Kartar Singh SM of Grenadiers and 76 year old Brig Bhup Singh of the Rajput Regiment who were also in the same area in 1962. Brigadier AS Brar VrC and self had fought in the Indo Pak War of 1971 in Bangladesh and won decorations. A Hony Capt