THE OBSERVER-(M-22)

 😎THE OBSERVER-(M-22)😎

Sat 12 Sep 2020

        MY NAME IS NOBODY

       Mouth shut, eyes and ears open,be seen,not heard were the golden rules laid down for the Young Officer.These I followed  gladly, even to a fault; except during drinking, eating and smoking.My second day in the unit began early. Waking up after a good night's sleep in the 1 x ton, i stepped out into the cool and refreshing desert air.The others were already up and about.  Gratefully sipping a steel  glass of  luke-warm tea offered by Pathak & puffing a cigarette, i peered through the gaps in the camouflage net at the hazy world around me. What next, i wondered,as I freshened up and headed towards the Mess at a quick pace.

A pall of smoke from the fires of various cook-houses burning firewood and coal hung lightly over the air with its typical smell.The sun was slowly rising over the horizon. The route to the Mess and back over the sand-dunes interspersed

with random thorny bushes had looked so simple and direct the previous day. Now it  seemed to have transformed into a complex maze.The tracks had been neatly watered down & tamped. The bushes were dressed-up with white mine-tape around them. Neat little metal markers pointed out the way to different locations. It took quite some time for me to realise that i had been actually walking around in circles and ending up at the same point repeatedly. Asking anyone for proper directions was a no-no for my own izzat's sake. My worst fears came true when a jawan who had noticed my meandering  offered his services to guide me to the Mess. This offer was accepted gladly with a sense of relief. Outwardly, i pretended to refuse. Apparently, movement around the unit during the previous day and the efforts at sprucing-up were the causes for the transformation of the landscape. As to why all the sign-posting had resulted in complicating matters rather than the other way round remains a mystery to this day !

       The first one to hit the Mess, i gulped down breakfast in a jiffy & parked myself at the Company office, waiting for Maj R,my esteemed Company Commander. A tent with a steel folding  table and steel armchair served as the Coy office. Another chair had been placed for me.The folding table was covered neatly with green blazer-cloth displaying the embroidered Coy insignia in front. The top was covered with glass weighed down by the customary pen-stand, paperweights and wooden in/out /pending tray. Sub KS, the Coy JCO,received Maj R. on his return from the Mess and submitted the morning report. After dishing out the orders for the day,Maj R briefed me about my duties over tea and  cigarettes. He informed me that i would henceforth be the Platoon Commander of No. 6 Platoon as well as the Officiating Coy Cdr. in

his absence.That done,I was ordered to immediately go to the Platoon location and get to know each and every person, details of his family and problems if any. Reading between the lines,i could see that he was not too keen for me to be watching the rest of his activities of the day with my super-keen YO eyes.Well,one knows how to take a " subtle" hint that one's presence is no longer required or desirable. A swift, expeditious and dignified exit 

followed.

I saluted and sped to the unit lines with the Coy Sub who took me first to the Mandir,Masjid & Gurudwara for blessings. By the time prayers had been said and formalities completed in each of these, it was tea-break, ideal for visiting the Coy langar. I enjoyed the proffered tea and snacks and lingered on. The Coy JCO excused himself and vanished. I kept chit - chatting with the guys, trying hard to remember names & details so that i could later jot it all down in the new note-book i had specifically opened for that purpose.

       Come lunch time,i made my way to the Mess. Unlike earlier, there was no beer before lunch, the atmosphere being businesslike.The list of Syndicate leaders and members was announced and Syndicate meetings were held after lunch. These were called brainstorming sessions but what i perceived was less of brain and more of storming. The unit had only recently moved to its then present location from the mountains. Many of the officers were newly posted. So this desert-warfare exercise was a new ball-game for all in which anyone could be equally right or wrong. At least that is how it looked to me. It was not at all difficult to remain a silent spectator to all the goings-on, merging with the background by pretending to be part of the furniture. Once again, one could not help regretting one's

own lackadaisical attitude during  the YO's Course training.

          But soon,the eyes and ears caught the familiar Lal Desh, Neel Desh narrative in a new setting. The OTA training came to mind and this gave a comforting feeling. Maps and sand-models oriented,  one began to get a glimmer of the larger picture that was being played out. Slowly, it began to sink in that  these goings-on were at a scale i had never dared even to imagine. Till that point,my musings on such topics had been confined  up to a level that was only one step above my direct  sphere of operation or influence. But here i was, an Engineer Platoon Commander in a Company which was part of a Regiment making up an Engineer Brigade,in the midst of discussions about the Brigade taking part in a major Formation - level exercise. Simply put -- Mind-boggling !

          The mock battle scenario was a swiftly changing fluid one. The CO returned from higher-level meetings and passed on news of the latest situation to the unit from time to time. This went on for some days after which things seemed to 

stabilise somewhat. Impending Engineer tasks were visualised along with resources that would be required in terms of stores and manpower . All officers were occupied in one way or the other with these planning  activities.

        Meanwhile, the rest of the unit ( rank and file) was kept occupied with repairing camouflage-nets and other routine maintenance tasks. This gave me an excellent chance  of interacting with the troops and getting to know them better. The tea-breaks and rum-issue days were best for this kind of work. Maj R had told me that he would be quizzing  me about such details at any time and i did not want to be caught napping on that count. After some initial hesitation, the guys opened up about their lives and problems. As for what was going on operationally they had no more idea than that the unit was "on scheme ". i rather liked their simple outlook, so practical. They accepted the fact that they were in for tough times ahead till the scheme lasted. The interlude before the next major activity was meant for relaxing and enjoying. As for the "scheme",they were sure that the Company Commander who was God personified, ably assisted by the Coy Sub, would see them through it all.The CO was a comparitively distant figure for them and the Commanders at higher levels even more so.

          Maj R held the reins tight over his Company and not a leaf could stir without his knowledge. The Adjutant was always on the lookout for adding to his own resources with the help of the Junior Adjutant who played the role of a talent scout for the regimental headquarters in addition to his regular duties. There were heated exchanges between the Adjutant and Coy Cdrs whenever it was felt that he was overstepping the sacred line. The temperature ( both internal & external) kept rising as the days went by and the unit kept moving from one location to another in preparation for the BIG EXERCISE.