The Liberation Saga

The pangs of partition, drew communal lines and divided the Bengal lands

East Pakistan, they christened Tagore’s native kingdoms eastern lowlands

 

In time Islamabad’s atrocities grew to purge the ‘bengali’ gene

Solemn verses of ‘Rabindra Sangeet’ couldn’t cull the dismal scene

 

As a feeble voice for equality, freedom and justice rose

The Liberation Saga

The pangs of partition, drew communal lines and divided the Bengal lands

East Pakistan, they christened Tagore’s native kingdoms eastern lowlands

In time Islamabad’s atrocities grew to purge the ‘bengali’ gene

Solemn verses of ‘Rabindra Sangeet’ couldn’t cull the dismal scene

As a feeble voice for equality, freedom and justice rose

as ‘Mukti Bahini’ with swords drawn, their freedom chose

the faint voice, now morphed into the ‘Bengal tigers’ bellows

As the guerrillas hit hard, giving the ‘khaki’ foe a bloody nose

The western neighbour’s soon reached out a helping hand

To give their Bengali brothers, their own promised land

Under Sam Manekshaw’s grand design for victory  

The tanks rolled and guns boomed to rewrite history

Within a strategic fortnight, the enemy forces in utter shock fell

As 90,000 enemy soldiers surrendered to flee wars living hell  

Never was so much, owed by so many, to so few

As a new ‘Bangladesh’, from the war debris grewas ‘Mukti Bahini’ with swords drawn, their freedom chose

 

the faint voice,  now morphed into the ‘Bengal tigers’ bellows

As the guerrillas hit hard, giving the ‘khaki’ foe a bloody nose

 

The western neighbour’s soon reached out a helping hand

To give their Bengali brothers,  their own promised land

 

Under Sam Manekshaw’s grand design for victory  

The tanks rolled and guns boomed to rewrite history

 

Within a strategic fortnight, the enemy forces in utter shock fell

As 90,000 enemy soldiers surrendered  to flee wars living hell  

 

Never was so much, owed by so many, to so few

As a new ‘Bangladesh’, from the war debris grew

JEEVAN Lunches

Gone are the days of a wonderful past with facebook, baatcheet and media trends

Of an Olive green bunch of the G1s who kinda seemed like some long lost friends

We were all stuck in that old dungeon of granite called the South Block

Where it was only those G1 lunches, which made the darn place rock

What with Pancholi’s Artillery of adventures in fratricide and Islam

And Vishal Sir’s aloo da Paranthas, to make you absolutely calm

Awesome Lunches where Vidhyarthi’s anecdotes of Punjabi troops

Kept the workaholic mood light and jovial like tequila with fruity loops

With Archie’s frequent tripping and taunting of General Anshul Gaur

making him stop his ‘hands on’ eating style and turn his mood sour 

As Marian quietly watched with her baatcheet aura and little lunch boxes 

which with its rice and rotis could still amazingly feed a pack of hungry foxes

Sprinkled with Col Vamsi’s tales of cardio and draught beer

The G1’s went on director bashing with absolutely no fear

Be it Hairy Pillai’s rebounding drafts or Rattu’s daily morning steamy blows

These lunches were what brought a smile and sanity into the buggering lows

Can’t forget Bopanna’s Coorgi taste of some awesome fried Pork

while Anshul went about hogging on his greens n dals without a fork

Or the Biryani feast and 100 idli’s that Bhagwan and Col Vamsi brought

making each fill their belly twice and charge all out on the yummy pot 

The small dingy room filled with stories of elves, chudails and ghosts

As the monitoring room and its exhausted four turned into warm hosts

And despite Rattu’s frequent exasperating calls for who is on duty

It still was a place of laughter, jokes, anecdotes and culinary beauty

Col Amit’s slowly quips about military humour on handling horrible bosses

As he silently devoured his sandwiches and chapathi’s like holy Moses

Col Vishal’s anglicised quotes from Military leaders and life’s philosophy

Made us steer clean out of trouble through PI’s seas- so damn choppy

Col Chaudhary’s adventures in Bars and other places

Kept us glued with a smirk on our bright eyed faces

But who cared as long as there was awesome food to eat 

With all charging like crazy if someone brought any meat

With Col Bahuguna and his Engineers YO tales to lighten the mood

As you felt that in this gruesome place  he was the only cool dude

While Anurag feverishly typed on his COAS questionnaire with no care

And smiled coyly as we cracked jokes and laid out eachs character bare

Oh yes and then Kunals regular promises for taking us to his friends bar

While he tried convincing us on buying bitcoins and become a financial star

Or Rastogi sirs claim to fame designing that made it a mandate for future 

As we tried devouring each others paneer chicken and sweets like a vulture

And don’t forget Mr congeniality Pradeep with his princely suits

While he was stuck in media room procurements till his boots

Or Sumit sir with his Gorkha demeanour all gentlemanly

As he came from Hairy Pillais den flustered and insanely

We hhad them all from vaishnav sirs armoured thrust of fauji gyan

To Kotnala’s professional and subtle Perceptiin Management charm

Or  Amit Bhatnagars crib for being shunted around the place

And Aluwalias talent as a mature man with superb grace

We all broke bread together, as we shared our frequent daily blunders

in Facebook, monitoring or drafting amidst our bosses vocal thunders

t’was a place to vent out the brewing steam

while cribbing about the system as a team

Which ##@& in his right mind would put an end to these lunches?

Must be a Form 10 arsehole says my incredibly accurate hunches

Why would those envious bastards pass such pissed off orders

Might as well post us out and pack us off to the active borders

Hope the lunch tradition continues despite all odds

Even if it meant rebellion against those military gods

Please understand our deepest pain

And Let us break bread in peace again

HOLIDAY SURPRISES AND LONELY AIRPORTS

Sitting in a state of hopeful bliss
I sit in the airport for what i did miss-
A VIP suit case full of holidaying spirits
With plans to surprise with special gifts

In times little misadventure of sorts
I've ended here like a prince of sorts
The wait here is an endless trauma
'What might be!' is the funny melodrama

My brother has made calls to kill the surprise
My wife in smartness, is sure to pay the price
oOf one more wide eyed wonderful hello
Being spoiled with a silly telephonic blow

Will she be shocked or waiting smiling?
Will she know of my pitiful trying?
Would a knowing smile welcome me home?
Or a shocked and gaping jaw, worth a poem

I'm still in wait as faces pass by
Not in any mood for giving a try,
To get back empty with no baggage
No gifts, shoes, clothes or wage

Passersby watched this soldier somber and lost in thoughts
A few did come over and listen to my plans muddled in knots
Sure was a romantic move to surprise ones lady love from  the war zone
Though wasn't so smooth with baggage lost and me waiting there all alone

Finally did the suitcase come trudging through the baggage check
With a smile drawn sigh I hurried to surprise her whatever the heck
So with a taxi cruising through Bangalore I dream of the suspense
When my wife sees me in awe, a thousand miles from the LC fence

Guess, she was not smart enough to understand my brothers botched up call
When her eyes wide and jaw picking gravity saw me in fatigues standing tall
When?, where?  n how? she wondered through the pleasant surprise
Of seeing her man a thousand miles from the border's mountain heights

That sure wasn't the first one or the last from my olive green world
Of sending shocking surprises once in a while just to put life on hold
And bring a relishing smile back on the lips of the lady of my life
For life as a soldier has only such moments to overcome the strife.

DEATH BECOMES MINE

It was a steel core that ripped through his chest

Dug a gaping hole through the bullet proof vest

Wound ballistics rummaged and tore tissue

Muscle, blood and bone gave in right through

The propellant stung and burnt his skin

The pain inside numbed him from within

He looked down at his now reddening stock

Surprise soon turned and merged to shock

He fell down on the ground and lay there

As a face loomed above him in his despair

His buddy spoke words which were distant

His thoughts drifted in a limbo that instant

Its caliber was 7.62 millimeter

Now it made his feeble life wither

It was his soul’s coldest dark winter

With death thrusting an evil splinter

He could feel his life force draining

Bit by bit his consciousness waning

He knew this day would come knocking

And bring in deaths spiteful mocking

In flashes he remembered his kin

Old acquaintances through the din

Friends, buddies and family did he see

Who by his side his heart longed to be

Life as he knew it, was lingering at its very end

Everything he had ever been, was now penned

His heart ached when he saw the futility of it all

His soul ached as grim reaper gave the final call

Helplessly his mind blanked out in darkness

As overwhelming pain engulfed in harshness

His mind in silence accepted his gloom

His mind knew it was his eternal doom

If life could be lived differently he would choose peace

If his beloved saw him now, his misery would cease

But now he lay asunder in a land far off with jihadi blazing guns

In throes of darkness he saw loneliness amidst a thousand suns

Would he a soldier be if given a second run

Or would he relish life and love by the ton

Would he want life with the same fate of doom?

With no one to comfort his sentence of gloom

Realization seeped through and spoke

Without life and love he was but broke

The Boy Scout adventure was now over

He would want a life much more sober

Life could be just fine by a meadow

With canvas and poetry for the dough

Sprinkle of some friends by his side

Churning laughter through life’s ride

That will only be just a dream

Now he lay in deaths regime

Maybe he lived the best he knew

Maybe his life was red not blue

Maybe Providence had got his life right

And sent him for that righteous fight

Maybe after all fate was not so bad

His life for his men, ohh was he glad

His comrades saw his final story

A fight for just honour and glory

His life had he sacrificed for his men

The truth of it all struck him just then

His life was worth, for it was lived for others

For his family country and military brothers

He sighed as satisfaction seeped through

His life seemed now to be of a better hue

Slowly his sparkling eyes closed

Surely his failing heart composed

For country and love; the end he braced

With open arms his death he embraced

WHERE DEATH MET VALOUR

The acid night was like any other, a twisted tale of déjà vu

Blurring angst of the pouring rain, in darkness that bore through

A concoction of questions and riddles that fueled my crystalline doubt

Each step a little slow, every breath laboured as I moved about

The melancholy of the angry rain seeped through in subtle fury

My fate lay in oblivion with the dreary landscape and its morbid story

Every sound roared as thunder, every quiver let a serpent of fear flow

Thoughts of bitter loneliness in a vague nightmare crept through slow

In the din of impending danger my thoughts froze, profound and fearful

The training of ages past slipped my grasp in eluding shadows sad and woeful

“Enemy ahead” – the words from the first scout caught my senses in a frenzy

Death, doubt, fears clouded my being as every muscle twitched in misery

“Where was I-the enemy or the comrade?” - left me in a dark lonely hole

Click! Weapon readied, eager eyes scanned as every curve bore my soul

The darkness within and without engulfed the scene in an eerie silence

Was I blind, afraid or cautious, I could not perceive in absolute violence

The rain still poured its woes on mother earth’s belly

The fear still jiggled my senses like evil jelly

The darkness still merged every shadow in a macabre spell

Weaving a tapestry of dilemma and blindness in a silent well

Utter nakedness stripped me of my deepest fears

Helpless, immobile - the soul let out a crippled tear

Momentary lapse of tactics in a starless sky

Temporary grasp of fearful agony in a two faced die

I couldn't run – the image of a leader haunted me

I couldn't act thoughts of losing a comrade let things be

Surprise my only armour was withered and dying

As streaks of mauve sent a blush into the purple sky

The dawn would soon make a sojourn of joy

Yet steal the purpose and density of a plan so coy

In utter arrogance I moved towards the enemy within

Crawled, crouched and slithered to commit sin

Blood shot eyes over hung laboured breath

As muscle made way through cover in stealth

In a matter of time I moved in towards the house

As fear and impending danger in my soul arose

Kaboom! Followed by a blitzkrieg of flying lead came my way

With cruel intentions to make that my last ugly day

Yet providence in all sincerity saw me to safety’s home

And pulled me out of the guerrilla's impressive kill zone

In sheer panic I squeezed my fearful grasp

Just to let out bullets like a hungry wasp

In chaos they found their destined mark

And left me standing unscathed, tall and dark

In a moment of sheer blunder and terror

I saw my foe fall to death for one untimely error

As fate would play its cards, I stood there a hero

Only I knew how close I was to ground zero

First blood – first tryst with death on an oft walked track

Death meets valour, as they call me the hero of the pack

SUCKER PUNCH

 





In a self inflicted dream of guts, glory and more,
A boy took his steps into an olive green lore
Where he envisioned a knightly sublime life
With company of honour, glory and strife

His fantasies of war and soldiering brought him here
A step inside the training academy for more than a year
Where boys are made into men and men into a soldier
Where honour and sacrifice is planted into the beholder

Pain and exhaustion rip through eighteen months
With seniors and instructors adding to the mean brunt
Mercy is unheard of and toughness ensconces the soul
With every weary day gone by, building to the final goal


Like a solitary lone wolf, trauma of hard training he endured
Yet through all the misery, noble qualities had his soul cured
The Academy credo shaped character as officers and leaders
The Honour code nourished intolerance for liars and cheaters

On a bright day it was letters from the normal world
Letters from friends and family would put life on hold
And redeem the pain from days of sleepless exhaustion
Bringing in hope, warmth and love in its purest dimension

A letter from afar cost an eager soul 100 pushups and more
Yet, pleasures of reading ink was heaven for a heart gone sore
A phone call too meant the informer got his due treat
Be it sweets at the café or an extra omelet and meat

Life was of front and back rolls with hot and cold sessions
Till they see blood ooze or till you learnt your painful lessons
The horse, vaults and 10m dives loomed large and dreadful
With each class a battle against fear and redefining painful

Failures were living hell as every test overshadowed the next
All that was left to finish the race was a swim and ghoto the text
Some ran with disabled limbs, some with joints giving way
No one wanted to fail and have another term here to stay

Life with comrades was a fast flow of jokes so swell
With laughter and smiles even during what was hell
The toughest days went by like an old photo album
The best of buddies blossomed in the thickest of glum
The common pain spills out a man’s hidden evil and lies
Which breeds brotherly camaraderie and lifelong ties
The best of souls see their darkest shades and selfish whims
With a series of mental cauterization embracing their baptism

Then came time for each to walk a different path
Some longed for ease and some for the bloodbath
Each cadet went on and chose his best choice of arm
With peace and glamour flourishing over threat of harm

For many the fear, difficulty and separation were a chronic allergy
And drew them to greener pastures with better peaceful synergy
The ones with the boyish desire for adventure and raw energy
Went on and took oaths as infantry called out for a fear orgy


The ones who opted for the tough life in the harshest zones
Took the infantry dice and made everyday seem disaster prone
In leech infested jungles, deserts and torrid cold mountains
In terrorist infested lands with death and bloody fountains

As they uphold the intrepid warriors solemn pact to serve
Threats of life or limb, they face it with a steel cold nerve
Through hell, high water and storm they silently trod
To fight like brothers for country, freedom and lord

JAB WE MET

Feb was a week and two days when a girl came calling
In my Saturday night high it just seemed a bit too appalling
That someone would stroll into my life like a breeze
And make green boy awful weak in his bruised knees

With the story of a radio show she sneaked into my world
Man was she crazy… sweet, … cheerful and oh! So bold
Like a soaring bird I glided in the breeze she was churning
Like a sweet dream my life’s wheels of glory were turning

It took her a little bit of sugar coated guilt and kindness
To spill out, the “radio” was to cover up awkwardness
In just a matter of a few days sweet talking, I felt drawn to her
In a matter of moments, I knew we were so meant to be together
On valentines I wished she was with me and I with her

Well I came home high on rum and with an empty feeling
When she set things right and called up late in the evening
Oh we did speak like we could talk about the bird and bees for ever
By the time we finished talking it seemed like I had always known her

The evening faded to morning and I still had more than enough to share
I knew that she was the one who would understand and more than care
She felt like telling everything and man was I too in complete surrender
My heart smiled and the blues swept away like a long forgotten blunder

She had so much pain and hurt welled up inside her and for oh so long
I could see her bleeding as the words came out in silence like a sad song
Yet in all her misery and troubled past he saw the birth of a blue diamond
She was a gem that was grounded and bruised to finally sparkle that second

It was a masterpiece of a painter that was lying covered in coats of dust
Hidden from her eyes lay her strength and beauty with a shade of rust
I know she was too hurt and blinded by her life’s story
I knew I had given up love in a quest for honour and glory

To let my heart feel so wild and so totally out of control
I so wanted to be hers and be hers alone forever to hold
Four days of sleepless nights and dreamy ways later
I was finally able to build up the courage to ask her

In a moment of emotional tranquillity and total clarity
I asked her hand in marriage to be her love for eternity
I knew she was young and somewhat different
I knew she was my missing rib and life’s present

When she said yes in stunned silence and awe
I couldn't help but thank heavens with my paw
Life seemed like such a beautiful thing
True agape’ love made me smile and sing