Feast for Thought

Reading Indrani's salute to a fearless Gurkha and seeing TV bytes of India's military hero Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw brings back this flood of memories from a soldier who donned the Air Force uniform for a short six years. [Every soldier's life shows unusual colours whose shades are very different from moments in civilians' lives. While a Field Marshal's service displays several highs in 256 colours or higher, permit me to place much shorter service tenures at the lower end of the spectrum.] Nabhah Sprusham Deeptam - Touch the sky with glory: The motto of the Indian Air Force evokes a great sense of pride, patriotism and humble veneration of all things airborne, be it a soaring bird, a trail blazing jet or a rocket reaching out to the heavens. The blue uniform may be familiar to some, but few can ever understand or appreciate the spirit contained therein. When the early 1990's saw the entry of women into the non-medical, frontline arms of Indian Defence: th...

Touch(ing) the Sky with Glory - a phrase from the Bhagvad Gita (Ch 11, Verse 24) is the motto of the IAF, which celebrates 75 glorious years today - October 8, 2007. As the men and women in blue mark this day with parades and parties, their families continue to support them with happy homes, and contribute to 'blue skies' through community welfare activities. I am proud of my batchmates who continue to serve in the Air Force, since their commissioning among the first batch of 25 women engineers in the IAF on 06 April 1993 . They have served a good career span of 15 jubilee years - diamond to platinum - true value addition! These professionals continue to be pioneers and set examples of the right kind for other aspirants to emulate. A good number of women have been commissioned later in other branches of the IAF [Education, Administration, Logistics, Accounts, Meteorological, Flying]. What will the morrow bring? Here's wishing you - Wing Commanders AG, BS, PKA and VG -the be...