😎THE OBSERVER-(M-27)😎
Sat 17 Oct 2020
RAISING DAY
While virtually driving down memory lane, more often than not, the very floodgates of the heavens open up. The world around gets drowned out in the downpour of memories from the hidden depths of the mind.The vision gets hazy even as the wipers work hard at keeping the windscreen clear. The roller-coaster ride becomes bumpy and milestones float by like driftwood, each one screaming for attention.It then becomes essential to pick a vantage point in order to be able to step aside and describe the happenings in a coherent fashion. Raising Day June 1983 was one such landmark event.
Raising Day of the unit in Chandigarh, for me my first.For the then CO his last as an insider . Due for posting soon after that, he was set upon making the event a memorable one. And so it was- for everyone ! Months of preparation and rehearsals in which not a single soul was spared. Each and every man jack had many a role to play in this Mega-event. For individual officers, it was supervision of at least one of these: PT display, Bhangra, Lezium, Jhanjh,Bara Khana and Mess Social in addition to routine affairs.
The ladies started their own preparations for an entertainment programme full of song and dance to be featured in the Mess Social, with all big-wigs in station in attendance. Every evening, It fell upon me to fetch the lady and daughter duo who helped with the music and dance from the city to the Mess for practice and drop them back when it was over.Other than that, i had to play my signature "Aŕabian Theme" on the harmonica and plà y accompaniment to another vocal Hindi number. The ladies took their act seriously and their rehearsals went on in earnest from day one.
The dance presentation by all officers was another story altogether.Many days had gone by with a lot of tall talk about it but there had been no tangible progress. During a lull in proceedings in one of the CO's conferences, an officer had casually remarked about having seen such a thing in some other unit's function . This "bright" idea immediately caught the CO's attention and he was all for it. Seeing the CO's keenness, the senior lot nodded their heads in agreement.The juniors cursed under their breath and silently condemned the chatak originator of this idea to a horrible and painful future. Those showing support and adding ideas to this suggestion (and there were many) were initially under the delusion that they themselves would not be a part of it. I also remained an amused spectator to these developments, fondly imagining that i would surely be spared the ordeal due to my other commitments.The CO soon set all these notions right when he announced that this was an item in which all except he himself would have to take part.
Finally came the day when the 2IC , prodded by the CO managed to get all officers to assemble in the Mess one evening, in an attempt to get things moving. There was a free flow of drinks and ideas which resulted in a broad game- plan for the item.Still, there was nothing concrete to show. It came to a point when everything else was at an advanced stage of preparedness except this event. It was as if everyone was inwardly wishing it would just be magically cancelled at the last minute, though none dared to say this openly.The day for the CO's rehearsal came and when he saw the confusion , he spoke out on the issue with all his might .He declared that the officers dance was going to be the Star item of the evening and it was not going to get cancelled at any cost, so better to get cracking rather than to cut a sorry figure on D-Day.
At last, some actual movement on this score was seen. One of the Coy Cdrs said he would organise recorded music for the evènt. The theme would be African. The dance costume would consist of painted bare upper-bodies with short grass skirts beneath and feather head-dresses on top. A senior Major volunteered to be tied to a stake as a female captive around whom everyone else would do the dancing..Most of these freaky Bollywoodish and outlandish ideas emanated from another luminary who was comfortable with the knowledge that he would be away on a Course when time came to go on-stage. By the time, the others realized this, it was just too late to do anything about it.
Before the Mess Social, came the Bara Khana, complete with an entertainment programme of its own. On the evening of this event, i discovered my immediate senior, Lt.P, pacing up and down his room in a nervous manner, trying hard to remember the lines he had to rattle out as the Emcee of the day. Taking quick stock of the situation, i opined to him that the best remedy under these circumstances was a couple of quick tots to steady the nerves, boost the spirit and toggle the memory . He was much relieved after the treatment and took to the stage in a confident gung-ho manner. But sadly, neither of us had catered for the additional liberal doses of tonic very kindly provided by the organisers and eagerly gulped down by the MC in-between announcements on stage. Following a couple of rather bombastic announcements, there was some commotion and confusion. As a consequence, the ready and waiting eager-beaver education JCO took over the task of Emceeing. Come to think of it, i would not be surprised if he had deliberately engineered this sequence of events. After all, he was the one who had so painstakingly prepared the script for the Emcee.My friend,despite all his protestations was shipped off to the MH in the ambulance on a stretcher by the unit doctor. Nothing was seriously wrong with him but in the eyes of our newly-posted, fresh from AFMC,chubby, pink-cheeked Regimental Medical Officer, no chances were to be taken. He made full use of what he saw as a Godsent opportunity to assert his expertise and importance .
On the Mess Social day, all the officers of the unit, after welcoming and offering the customary drink to invitees, kept disappearing back-stage one by one as the evening went by.The lights dimmed for the grand finale, announced with full fanfare - The Officers Dance.
Whooping and jumping wildly to the tune of African drum-beats, bare-bodied with short ( actually very short) grass skirts and feather head-dresses, the officers trooped on-stage, dragging a "lady" tied to a stake.The stake was placed in the middle and all danced around it, changing the dance - steps every now and then by following the leader. At this point, it would be pertinent to mention that with little or no proper rehearsals, this show had perforce become more or less an impromptu one, with the initiative very much left to the highly "spirited" souls.The idea was to keep prancing around the stage for the duration, and hoping for the best.When the time came for pants to come off and the grass skirts to come on, it was natural for all to fortify themselves with large doses of their chosen poison.Not to mention the expert advice on the subject that was readily available on the spot for any rookies in such matters.
The lady at the stake screamed as the dancers went around, taking a poke at her every now and then with the spears in their hands. After all known (and unknown ) dance- steps had been exhausted, a circle was formed around the stake, all facing inwards.In synch with the music, everyone bent forward from the waist, arms stretched forwards till the heads were between the knees.The music slowly faded till there was silence.So far so good. All was going on as per the broad script.
The twist in the tale came when the music did not come back into action as planned. Heads bent, we all turned our heads left and right,looking at each other, the bent position getting more and more painful with time. Spectators burst into applause, thinking the show had ended, albeit rather abruptly. Desperate loud whispers could be heard from backstage.The NCO in charge of the music system was explaining that the tape had got stuck.After what looked like ages,he managed to get the music playing once more. The lights onstage came alive and we all straightened up gratefully from the uncomfortable bent position and danced and whooped our way off-stage, carrying the screaming lady on the stake with us.Over the excellent dinner that followed, there was much praise for the extra- ordinary "co-ordination" shown in the dance, espescially in the last moments ! Unanimous opinion was that " The Officers Dance " was by far the item of the day.
After dinner, with all guests gone, there was wild celebration with Scotch till the early hours of the morning.An event to remember, indeed.
What started off as the tale of the Raising Day ended up of its own volition as the story of " The Officers Dance ". Are the two really any different ? When the CO conducts the proceedings and all officers are in attendance, the whole unit dances !
