ROOLDOO RAM !!!!

Image via Wikipedia

I was posted in Jammu and Kashmir during Indo Pak war in 1965. As an Artillery Officer I was attached with a Dogra Battalion which was a highly decorated unit. The Dogras are  known to be very fierce fighters.


The unit was located very close to borders between the two countries and every other day there used to be skirmishes between our troops. Often there used to be raids from the opposing side.


I was posted on a hilltop named Pt. 62 along with infantry officer Capt Anup.


We had to keep a constant vigil round the clock. We were directly overlooking the battalion headquarters.


The danger of sudden raids was so great that even the non combatants were issued weapons and were given  a preliminary training in the use of the firearms.


It also created very comic situations at times. 


I cannot help recall one such incident in which Rooldoo Ram, the masalchi or 'assistant of the unit cook' kept constantly firing from his trench and was controled after great effort  and lot of persuasion by the Subedar Major who belonged to the same village as Rooldoo.


Once on a pitch dark night the sentries sounded a raid alert at 0230 a.m. by blowing whistles and firing from verey light pistols. We as well as the other picquets surrounding the battalion also fired Verey lights.


The whole skyline was abuzz with verey lights and tracer bullets. 

Image by Digital Terrorist via Flickr

As per standing instructions by the Adjutant every combatant and non-combatant was to take immediate position or get into the nearest trench and challenge any moving object.


As soon as the raid alert was heard our cook and masalchi  Rooldoo Ram left everything and jumped into the nearest trench with there  .303 rifle and ammunition. Rooldoo Ram ducked his head and started firing indiscrimnately into the sky and shouting obscenities at the top of his voice.


The raid was repulsed successfully without any casualties apart from some minor injuries sustained due to the melee in the night.


But long after the raid was repulsed Rooldoo Ram was still shouting and hurling invectives at the enemy. He kept firing without listening to anyone. He had become hysterical and it became a problem

Image via Wikipedia

to pacify him. When every effort had failed, our Subedar Major who belonged to the same village as Rooldoo Ram, started shouting at very high pitch and matching every invective with an even dirtier invective in his native lingo. Rooldoo Ram suddenly stopped shouting and on recognising the voice of Subedar Major he uttered


'' sahabji tussi?''  he came out on the orders of Subedar Major, trembling like a leaf .


Next day he was hauled up and marched upto the Adjutant. The Adjutant handed out a very lenient punishment and let him off with a warning...


We all had a hearty laugh whenever we recalled this very funny incident. 



















    

SAJJAN TABEEB !

Image by patries71 via Flickr

سجن جے ہووے طبیب صدیندہ 

میں لکھ شکر مناواں

درشن کرن بہانے دل دیاں

پیدان لے کے جاواں

جد وہ میری نبض ٹٹولے  

جند تلی تے رکھاں  

اس دی چھوہ بن متی ہوواں 

چھوئی موئی بن جاواں

-  l. 

सज्जन जे होवे तबीब सदीन्दा 
मैं लख शुकर मनावां
दर्शन करन बहाने दिल दियां 
पीडां लै  के जावां
जद्द  ओह मेरी नब्ज़ टटोले 
जिन्द तली ते रखां
उसदी छोह बिन मिटटी होवां 
छुई मुई बण जावां !!


---दमन 
२९/०७/२०१०
ਸਜਣ ਜੇ ਹੋਵੇ ਤਬੀਬ ਸਦੀਂਦਾ

ਮੈਂ ਲਖ ਸ਼ੁਕਰ ਮਨਾਵਾਂ 

ਦਰਸ਼ਨ ਕਰਨ ਬਹਾਨੇ ਦਿਲ ਦੀਆਂ 
ਪੀੜਾਂ  ਲੈ  ਕੇ ਜਾਵਾਂ 

ਜਦ ਓਹ ਮੇਰੀ ਨਬਜ਼ ਟਟੋਲੇ

ਜਿੰਦ ਤਲੀ ਤੇ ਰਖਾਂ

ਉਸ ਦੀ ਛੋਹ ਬਿਨ ਮਿੱਟੀ ਹੋਵਾਂ 

ਛੁਈ ਮੁਈ ਬਣ ਜਵਾਨ !

---ਦਮਨ ੨੯/੦੭/੨੦੧੦

     

I ESCAPED THIS 'SWEET'

I was on annual leave in 1965 and was engaged only a couple of days when one fine morning in August 1965 I received orders to rejoin my unit.Suddenly the atmosphere in the family changed from rejoicing to grim. Chitranjan, my fiancee was shocked at the turn of the events. Our happiness was short lived.

The call to the duty and my country was supreme.I left for Jammu transit camp by the evening train and reached Jammu in the morning of 6th August 1965. After a day's rest at Jammu we were transported through a Dakota plane to Poonch.

This sector was the hottest spot during the 1965 conflict. There used to be news in the media about Poonch sector every other day. This small hill town was on the lips of everybody in the whole of India.

The airstrip in Poonch was under constant observation by the Pakistani observation post named 'Preetam'. This picquet was situated on the highest hilltop in the area and commanded an excellent view of the whole of Poonch city and surrounding areas. All our movements were closely monitored by the enemy.

The airstrip in Poonch was within their shelling range. The planes had to undertake the landings and take-offs in the night with lights switched off. But because of the mobilisation of the troops and exceptional circumstances the landings had to be done even in the daytime.The engines of aircraft were kept running to be able to take off without any loss of time.

On joining the unit I was given orders by the adjutant to proced to observation post opposit 'Preetam' picquet to give artillery support to Capt Anoop.

Capt.Anoop, was a very fine infantry officer.He was very brave young officer and was decorated for exceptional bravery in the Bangladesh war in eastern sector six years later. We both were almost the same age and thoroughly enjoyed our stay together. Soon we became very good buddies.

We being on a lower altitude were under constant observation by the Pakistani troops. Slightest movement from our soldiers invited a barrage of MMG and mortars and guns.

They used to shell us on the slightest movement. Our troops had to duck to avoid receiving this 'prasad' or 'sweets' which were very generously distributed by them. We had jokingly nicknamed their shelling as 'sweets'.

During August 1965 major incursions of militants and Pakistani soldiers increased in Poonch and there were skirmishes almost every day. Some clever journalist coined the word 'ghuspaith' for infiltration. This Hindi word was on the lips of everyone in the country during this conflict in Jammu and Kashmir.

Everyday there used to be bloody raids and counter raids resulting in loss of lives on both the sides.

The war was declared between the two countries and our troops were on maximum alert. There were heavy casualties on both the sides.On 23 Sept 1965 a UN mandated ceasefire was declared between the two countries.

This picquet was a nuisance and it made our lives hell.The plans were made to neutralise this picquet and it was decided to assault it. All the available resources were mobilised and it was decided to assault it on 22 Sept 1965.

In the evening before the D Day the troops assembled to start an assault on Preetam picquet. It started raining heavily in the evening and the mountainous rivulet 'Betar nala' was to be crossed to start the assault. But on the evening prior to the D Day it got flooded due to a heavy rain in the catchment area thus forcing us to delay the assault by a few hours. We started the climb to Preetam picquet about 4 hours late.

When we were within 500 metres of the target the Pakistani troops manning the picquet got suspicious and started heavy shelling. This was the heaviet shelling in this sector on any day.Even the officers and personnel at the command post got suffocated.The smell of the gunpowder lingered in the city for 2 days.

The Pakistanis were desperate to hold on to this post which was an excellent vantage point from military point of view.

We suffered heavy casualties. Our anchor OP officer Capt Lal Singh also got killed due to a hit on the makeshift observation post.I just narrowly escaped tasting this 'prasad' and was lucky to miss the appointment with dame 'Death'. The shell which was directed at us fell a few meters short and I got a new life.

This photo of the splinter,which I have kept as war memorabilia for 45 years has a stamp on it which reads 'P O F 10/62' meaning 'Pakistan Ordnance Factory' and month of manufacture October 1962.

The wars are an abominable thing and can not solve any problems but bring misery all around apart from leaving scars in the minds of innumerable people. Let us inculcate the spirit of love and solve our problems through dialogue.

MAKE LOVE NOT WAR!!!!!