We reached Wellington mid-March 1978 after a delightful ride in the toy train winding its way up the Nilgiris through lush green tea gardens. While taking in the scene, my mind dwelt on the twist in the tale of the last few years. Upto July ’73, it had been bluntly conveyed to me by the Personnel branch in NHQ that I had no chance of being selected to do the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) Course. Now, within four years, not only had I successfully completed the Course but was going to be on the Staff training future Admirals (Arun Prakash and Sureesh 'Faggy' Mehta went on to become Navy Chiefs and Raju Bharathan, Vice Chief). It is strange how just an individual can mar or make one's career. My first OIC in Signal School had all but written my naval career off while Rear Admiral Mohan Grewal resurrected me as soon as he became Assistant Chief of Personnel. Truly, 'the moving finger..having writ' in my favour, had moved on and neither the OIC's ‘piety nor wit…nor tears could wash out a word of it'!
It also felt satisfying in another way: It marked my 100% record of return on the staff of an institution where I had undergone training or a course. I had gone back to NDA as a Divisional Officer, Signal School as an instructor and now as Directing Staff at the DSSC. Back in school, old Father Mackessack had suggested that I should become a teacher!
We settled down in our allotted accommodation which was a first floor flat in the 3-storeyed New Nilamber complex on top of a hill. We had a spacious balcony and two terraces overlooking tea gardens and the scenic golf course. For neighbours, we had Wg Cdr Jain on the top floor and, on the ground floor, Lt Col Negi who was soon replaced by Lt Col Vijay Berry, my course and squadron mate from NDA and, of course, a good friend. His wife Kiran and Akhila got on very well too. Kailash and Kumud Kohli were also within hailing distance and on free evenings, either they were at our place for a drink or we at theirs.
The Staff College had a unique system named ‘Protocol Seniority’ for allocation of duties. Service seniority was put aside and one started from the bottom of the ladder according to the date of reporting at the College. The junior five tended to the 5 syndicates the students were divided in while the elite top 4 coordinated the programme, exercises, solutions etc. You moved one up as soon as someone got transferred and the newcomer took the lowest rung. Thus when I reported, I took the bottom spot looking after the fifth syndicate.
This protocol seniority business led to a controversial situation. The CNS was to visit for his annual lecture and a group photograph was planned for all naval officers. The CNS, the Chief Instructor (CI) (Navy) and the Directing Staff (DS) were to be seated with the students standing. The CI (Navy) held a meeting with the DS to discuss CNS’s programme. Kailash Kohli and I raised a point that protocol seniority was fine for day to day working but when it came to an official photograph with the CNS, we should be seated in order of our naval seniority. This was met with opposition from the elite who considered protocol seniority to be sacrosanct. The issue had the CI in a quandary who said he would give his decision later. When we went down for the photograph, we asked the CI for his decision. His reply, “Sit as you like!” There was a hush in which I, the senior most, made my way to the chair next to the CNS, Kailash next to the CI and everyone else took up his seat in order of naval seniority.
I settled down to the main task of teaching or directing which was really a more appropriate term. I found it very interesting and engage with the students, exciting. Out of working hours, there was a lot of free time except when we had to go through the students’ sometimes lengthy written solutions. The Wellington golf course goes all around the College and is so accessible that one could just walk to it whenever free. Kailash and I became permanent partners and our combination quite formidable. We easily made the DSSC team which itself was unbeatable. In 1979, the Commandant, Maj Gen Mohinder Singh, himself a good golfer, decided to appoint me the Golf Captain of the DSSC team and that year, the DSSC team won all the tournaments that we took part in.
Ruchir began his formal education in the Wellington School while Shumita was put in the nursery. With good domestic staff available, the wives had plenty of time to engage in hobbies. Akhila took up painting and some of her works adorn the walls in our Jaipur house. DSSC used to screen movies on weekends but to see the latest, we had to drive to Ooty half an hour away. One of the top releases of that time was Saturday Night Fever which had the whole College rushing to Ooty. Musicwise, Boney M was the rage and we were all singing and dancing to Daddy Cool, Ma Baker, Rasputin ('Oh those Russians!') and Rivers Of Babylon.
The Army frowned upon social interaction between the DS and the students but the Navy allowed us to mix freely. One incident best illustrates this. When the ’79 course had just started, a bachelor student, Neville Mehta, came upto me and said he would like to call on us in the evening. I asked him to come home for a drink at 7 pm. At the appointed time, the bell rang and when I opened the door, I saw Neville standing there with the entire syndicate and their wives! We were surprised but happy to welcome them. Fortunately, the bar was well stocked and our cook, Elizabeth, proved equal to the task by quickly cooking delicious snacks for all. In fact, we partied till the early hours of the morning and the snacks kept on coming.
Mid-’79 we went on an exchange visit to Munnar where DSSC teams played against the High Range Club in golf, tennis and squash. I was out on the golf course, Akhila was playing cards with the ladies and the children were keeping busy by themselves. Suddenly, a planter came running up to me panting and breathless and told me that my son had drunk a glassful of gin. I charged to the bar and found Ruchir sitting and looking quite sober with half a bottle of gin and an empty glass next to him. I asked him if he had had a drink. He said he had poured himself a glass from the bottle, taken a sip, found its taste terrible and had emptied it in a flower pot nearby. And would I please get him some coke! Smart thinking by a 5-year old and a crisis averted. I wonder if this experience left such a bitter taste in his mouth that he remains a teetotaller to this day!
Towards the end of the year, the Director of Personnel from NHQ visited us. He gave me the good news of my having cleared the board for promotion to the rank of Captain. Winter break came and I took some leave and we went off to Jaipur. Earlier, I had sold off my Standard Herald which had been my reliable steed for 11 years but now its parts had started coming apart. On one occasion, when we heard a noise, we stopped to check and found it was from the horn, only it was not its normal sound but that of its rolling on the road! Luckily, I found a ready buyer in my friend and fellow DS, Jhangoo Aga, who wanted a car for his father for short runs. He paid me Rs. 4250 and drove it to Bombay. He was so happy with the smooth run that he sent me an additional cheque for Rs. 250.
For ourselves, I bought a Fiat in Jaipur and drove it all the way to Wellington. Akhila, Ruchir and Shumita were, of course, with me and Mummy insisted on accompanying us offering to drive whenever I was tired. She was a great help though I spared her any driving. To avoid the dark on the road, we made stops at Udaipur, Baroda, Bombay, Belgaum, Bangalore and the Mudumalai game sanctuary where we spent the new year’s eve. On 01 January, we went around the sanctuary on an elephant which remains my one and only elephant ride to this day. In the afternoon, we went around again but this time in my car. We saw precious little wildlife but at one point deep in the jungle, about 15 men on horseback all dressed in black with faces covered by the bottom ends of their turbans, crossed ahead of us. On our return to our hotel, we inquired from the staff who those people could be. The answer, "Probably some dacoits!" Thanks for telling us now!
The drive from Jaipur to Wellington was troublefree with nary a puncture. Just as well as I had discovered halfway during the trip that there was no jack in the car! Looking back, it seems almost foolhardy to have undertaken the long road journey with two ladies and two kids 5 and 3. But then, my self-confidence in those days was high contrary to what I feel now in old age!
Meanwhile, my marching orders had come appointing me as Deputy Director (Navy) in the Signals Directorate, Army Headquarters, in the rank of Captain, in March ’80. So ended two wonderful years of my second spell in salubrious Wellington.
Very interesting as always.
ReplyDeleteVijji