The moment the ‘Teaser’ for the latest blockbuster, ‘Sam Bahadur’ started doing the rounds on social media, I was the first one to rush to book the ticket for the ‘first-day first-show’ for my entire family. I couldn’t wait to show my family the man who was much larger than life and with whom I have had several chance encounters. I was craving to see the Field Marshal’s character come alive once again as I visited his house way back in 2002. It was a cosy house in the beautiful hills of Upper Coonoor near Wellington (Tamil Nadu), where I was posted. My thoughts further go back down memory lane to January 1972 when Field Marshal Manekshaw was being feted all over the country for leading the Indian Army to one of the finest victories ever in the annals of our military history. Field Marshal those days had turned out to be the hero of our country. I started harbouring two secret wishes in my heart. One was to join the Army and the second was to meet the Field Marshal as the wise people say, ‘Never want a thing so badly in life. God always conspires towards making all your wishes come true. I did work towards fructifying my first wish ie to join the Army but simply placed the second wish in my subconscious mind, thinking it merely to be a pipedream.
After serving for about 16 years in the Army, I got my posting order as the senior training officer at the Punjab Regimental Centre. I and my wife packed up the entire household stuff and moved the truck from Patiala to Ramgarh. The truck was already halfway when I got a call from the Colonel of the regiment, a Lt Gen, to ask for my willingness to divert my posting from Ramgarh to Wellington. I just blurted out, ‘Sir, just do whatever you deem fit’. The very next day I got a telegram diverting my posting to Wellington as the Staff Officer to the Commandant of Staff College. After a few days of joining Wellington, I learnt that my boss was to pay a courtesy call to the Field Marshal. My joy knew no bounds that finally I would get to see the Field Marshal in person. We both drove in the majestic car of Commandant, the ‘Plymouth’ which winded its way towards Upper Coonoor where the Field Marshal lived in a palatial bungalow fondly named by him as ‘Stavka’. Stavka is derived from the Russian word signifying the highest military headquarters. We both were ushered in by a smartly turned-out Gurkha soldier.
Like a good staff officer, I peeled away and seated myself in the large waiting room while the Lt Gen was escorted to the living room. A few minutes into their meeting, I saw my boss attending to a phone call leaving the Field Marshal unoccupied for a short while. I was nonplussed when suddenly I saw the Field Marshal striding towards me with a swagger in his gait. He roared, ‘So son, how are you doing’. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I managed to give him a smart salute. The Field Marshal didn’t leave it at that. He sat next to me and got me talking. He asked me when I would likely take over the unit as the Commanding Officer. Though he just spent barely ten minutes with me, he imparted wisdom which impacted the rest of my service career. He advised me never to say or do anything to please my seniors but to do what is good for your command. He encouraged me to be loyal to both superiors and subordinates. With this visit over we got back to our normal routine of staff college.
One day my wife like all the other ladies visited the popular staff college bakery to order cake for our wedding anniversary. The bakery with a narrow entry resulted in a long queue of ladies waiting graciously for their turn. My wife was the last one. Suddenly, my wife saw an old gentleman with a slight stupor joining the queue in the end. The ladies continued with their normal chatter but there was a sudden change of facial expression on the face of an old timer, the bakery wallah. “Good Morning Sir”, he wished him very respectfully. Thereafter, he whispered to my wife, “Ma’am, the Field Marshal is right behind you”. My wife, Nidhi looked back and tried to make way for him so that he could go ahead in the queue. However, she got a quick response from the Field Marshal, ‘Sweet heart I never throw my weight around. Don’t worry- you go ahead as you all are running the house and much more busy than me. I am just leading a retired life ’. The Field Marshal patiently waited for my wife and 11 odd ladies in the front to buy just one loaf of bread in the end.
The next month, Nidhi, my wife, a teacher at Army School, Wellington was conducting the Parent Teacher Meeting when she saw a Gurkha soldier standing in the end. He was the only jawan amongst all the officers trying to inquire about their child’s progress. When his turn came, Nidhi showed him his daughter’s report card and answer scripts worked by his daughter. He blurted out, ‘ Ma’am I can’t make out the head and tail of it’. My Sahab has told me to request the class teacher to get the report card to him. He had planned to come but was indisposed today due to a high fever.
As per the SOP of the school, she wasn’t supposed to hand over the report card.
Before she decided to turn him away, she casually asked him, “Who is your Sahab?”. Without batting his eyelid, he said, ‘Sam Bahadur’. Nidhi couldn’t believe her ears. He went on to add, ‘ I am his Sahayak’. She was floored by the personal involvement of the Field Marshal in his Sahayak’s daughter’s performance in the terminal exams. Hearing this she handed over the report card and answer scripts to him sternly telling him to return them by this evening. Return he did but he carried a very small note of thanks very gracefully written to me by none other than the Field Marshal which she has preserved till this very day.
Perhaps they never make men of such calibre these days. He is one person who truly deserves the Bharat Ratna.