A Few Good Men (Contd.)

            This goes back to Feb 1985 when the result of my DSSC Exams was declared. I was on leave when the result came. While returning to my unit in Jalandhar (Jullunder in those days), I stopped over at Delhi to say hello to my ex-Co, Late Col Pradep Kala. (He passed away earlier this year – God rest his soul). On arrival at his house in the Princess Park Enclave, Mrs Kala greeted me & Keerti and congratulated us vigorously for having been selected to go abroad. This was news to me as I was totally unaware and couldn’t believe it. But the lady assured me that it was the truth and would be confirmed in the evening when her husband returned from office – he was posted in MI Dte.

            Sure enough, Col Kala on his return from office in the evening confirmed the news and took me to the residence of Dir MT-2 which was a few blocks away in the same complex. It was then that I met Col (Later Maj Gen CS Nugyal) for the first time. He congratulated me and showed me the official letter for derailment of offrs on foreign Staff Course that year. After I had read the letter and was convinced that I was indeed going to Australia for the Staff Course, he asked me about my reaction. I told him the truth that I thought only offrs with ‘connections’ went abroad and that I never expected it as there were three Generals’ sons in the competitive merit list and that I was a ‘nobody’ from my pedigree.

            He told me that he too thought so before he took over his present job and decided to change the perception. So he issued the ‘letter’ without getting it approved up the chain for which he was even asked to submit an explanation ‘in writing’- which he did mentioning that it was “part of his charter”. Nothing happened to him after that. Some of you may have heard of his ‘deeds’ during the infamous Sikh riots of 1984 in Delhi when he went out of his way to take to safety many Sikh soldiers on his motorcycle from the murderous mobs on the streets of Delhi.

            It was because of such people who are exceptions to the ‘system’ that I – a ‘nobody’ was able to do foreign staff course and get exposed to a totally new environment. I would like to thank all these people with an ‘exceptional’ mindset and approach who made me what ever I became while in the Army and even now after hanging up my boots. Such good people though few and far in between continue to exist and do their bit within the ‘system’ and help maintaining the morale of the rank and file.