Garrison Churches
Garrison Churches The British built garrison churches in the Cantonments that they established in various parts of India. In 1947 they were handed over along with everything else in the Cantonments. The process was not difficult because an Interim Government had been formed in 1946 itself. Moreover, the Chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force continued to be …
The Soldier Undraped – Story of Late Col Satya Kumar Kohli, pen named Colls
FOREWORD, by Wg Cdr J Thomas, VM (veteran) Colls was our Cadet Sergeant Major in our second term at NDA. A fine cadet and senior, he maintained discipline without indulging in ragging or making our life miserable. I do remember a few occasions when we lifted our cycles above our heads. But that was good exercise. The only …
DIVINE FORGIVENESS
Our parents, whom we addressed as ‘Pitaji’ and ‘Jhaiji’ were a study in contrast. Pitaji was a man in a hurry, forever chasing his self-assigned goals and objectives. He was an intense person: focused to the point of being ambitious. He was an achiever, in every sense of the term. Jhaiji, on the other hand was laid back, relaxed and …
YEH DOSTI…HAM NAHIN TODENGE!
A Jubilee Studded with Diamonds 10th December 1962 was a historic day for the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. It was the date on which the President’s Colours were presented to the Academy and the illustrious personality who presided over the ceremony was Dr S Radhakrishnan who needs no introduction. The 30th regular course passed out during the parade and …
ONE BREATH POETRY by NEENA SINGH
Haiku is the Soul of Poetry A book with the above title has been lying on my desk for more than a year. I have opened it several times, but could not make much headway. It contains nearly 200 three-lined poems which have no titles. The poems are not in verse, and they can be recited in one short breath. …
The Genesis of two “Farooka” Schools
The Sindhu river was called “Hindu” by the Persians. The name passed to the Greeks as Indós. It was adopted by the Romans as Indus. The river’s annual flow is about 243 cubic km — twice that of the Nile River and three times that of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers combined. The earliest chronicles and hymns of ancient India, the …
MY TACHYCARDIA
August 1949 I was eight years old when our father was posted to the Indian Military Academy as an instructor. We saw the above spectacle every six months during the next three odd years, and it got embedded in our subconscious minds. We wanted to be a part of the scene. Our eldest brother was selected for entry into …
AFTER SIGHTING 1000 FULLMOONS
Prelude Attaining the age of eighty acquired some significance for pensioners when the government instituted additional allowance to the elderly persons who were classified as ‘super senior citizens’ about fifteen years ago. I was wondering why the figure 80 was chosen for the award of this bounty. In an idle reverie, I was surfing the Internet when I discovered …
A NAVAL AVIATOR’S TRIBUTE TO ASTE
Admiral Arun Prakash grew up in the Kashmir Valley, where his father rose to be a District Commissioner of Leh. His two elder brothers served in the army. The eldest was a Gunner and retired as a Maj Gen. The middle brother served in Int Corps and retired as a Brig. The Admiral had a long and distinguished career both …
YOU HAVE LEFT US LONELY AND FORLORN, SURINDER!
Foreword There are billions of people on the earth. In the Chandigarh tricity itself, we have more than 11.69 lacs of citizens. The demise of just one person has caused many of us to feel forsaken. Reminds me of a couplet written by Nida Fazli and sung by Jagjit Singh and Lata Mangeshkar, which says, हर तरफ़, हर जग़ह, बेशुमार …