Look at the picture. You see an antique lamp. In fact it is made out of an inkpot. A wick has been drilled into the stopper to create this improvised contraption. And yet the flame is  bright; complete with an orange tip at the top. And, it is lighting up the environs, and shall continue to do so until the dawn breaks in.

Now, take a good look at the following pictures. The first one was taken on 4th Nov 1957, when I went to Bangalore for the first time to appear before the Selection Borad, and the second one was taken on 10 Sep 2012. By a queer coincidence, there are seven people in both these snapshots. The difference is that in the first one we are all full of dreams for the life ahead of us, while in the latter picture, most of the life is behind us. Sheikh Farid says,

               “Aage nerha aaya; pichhe riha door”   (the destination is near, the past is left far behind)

The names of the sixteen year old kids in the upper picture are of no consequence. Their faces are merely representative of the youngsters who joined the Academy in Jan 1958. But for those who are our contemporaries, let me introduce the gentlemen in the lower picture.    Sitting on the chairs are (from left) Suresh Hiremath, PJ Jacob and  AC Goel. The people standing behind them are Joseph Thomas, Lalit Dutta, Jaykar Pai and Surjit.

In a manner of speaking, the seventy odd year old men are still emanating light, and have bright faces. Actually, all of them are medical specialists. Each one of them has gone through his share of ailments, and they know all about the medical jargon their particular disease. They also know that the knowledge of the doctors has limitations, and,therefore, they do not expect very much from them.   But ‘jab we met’ we decided not to talk about our health.

We are all agreed that the moral standards in the armed forces have gone down, and that the government has given a raw deal to the soldiers. And so the topics ranged from scams and corruption to the poor water supply in Bangalore.

Fortunately for us, the ECHS gives us ‘dawa’ (medicines) and our ‘daru’ (liquor) is subsidized. The quality of our drinks and snacks was excellent, and so very soon our spirits were soaring. Incidentally, four of the seven were from the Air Force, one (Jacob) a deep sea diver and two came from the land forces, called ‘Pawngoes’ and therefore the balance was maintained. However, the real reason for the joyous meeting was the six ladies who graced the occasion. Here is their picture:

Sitting in the front row are Jennifer Dutta, Saiga Jacob and Elsie Thomas. At the rear, we have Surinder, Kiran Goel and Sudha Hiremath.

Lalit Dutta is as fond of Urdu poetry as many of us are. He wanted to know the meanings of a ‘ghazal’ by Ghalib. Without doubt, it is one of the most profound pieces composed by the master. The first couplet is :

aah ko chaahiye ek umr asar hone tak
kaun jeetaa hai teri zulf ke sar hone tak

‘aah’ is a sign of grief or yearning. And the poet wants  it to be long enough to become effective. 
‘Sar Hona’  means, ‘to be conquered or subdued’. The second line,therefore, means, “Who knows whether I will live long enough to conquer your love?”

The actual ‘ghazal’ has several couplets, but Jagjit chose to sing only three more. These are :

aashiqi sabr-talab aur tamanna betaab
dil kaa kyaa rang karun Khuun-e-jigar hone tak

.
ham ne manaa ke taGaaful na karoge lekin
Khaak ho jaayenge hum tum ko Khabar hone tak.

Key to some Urdu Words: aah = a sign of cry/ grief / yearning ,, sabr-talab=patient, tagaaful=neglect/ignore,   juz = other than; marg = death

The last couplet, (maqta) of this ghazal is:

Gham-e-hastii kaa ‘Asad’ kis se ho juz marg ilaaj

shammaa har rang mein jalati hai sahar hone tak

 ‘Maqta’ in Urdu poetry always comes at the end. In this, the poet reveals his name. Here, Ghalib uses his given name, “Asad” And these two lines mean, “The pain and sorrows of life can only be cured by death. But the spirit of life, which is signified by a candle, must ‘burn’ intill the break of dawn! 

For those who like, I am giving below a link to the above ghazal as rendered by Jagjit,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk-3ZBlPCqY

The picture below catches the spirit of the get together.

 And before we parted, Pai clicked the following group photograph

I met Lalit Dutta after more than twenty years. I noticed that he has an intense love for fine arts, including poetry and music. Add to it the influence of Jennifer, and you get to know why Lara Dutta (now Bhupati) has become a celebrity!