MEA eases issuance of Passports sans Touts

Friends,
A few days back I went through the new procedure at the Regional Passport Office Chandigah, in order to renew my passport. I just could not believe that with the introduction of TCS in the loop things are working so smoothly.
I had to ask a few times IS THIS REALLY AN INDIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICE and met the Assistant Passport Officer and complimented her!
However, at two counters one had to interact with Government employees, luckily briefly and the difference was marked!
Lt Gen Harbhajan Singh (Retd)

Passport - new procedures
The front-end operations of all Regional Passport office have been outsourced as part of the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) project and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is all set to handle the front-end operations of all RPO very shortly. Union Ministry of External Affairs has already implemented the PSK project some of the passport offices in India. These centres have been set up on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as its service provider. The project has been designed as a citizen-centric and paperless service. All one needs to do is upload a passport application on www.passportindia.gov.in and confirm an appointment online. After which the support staff from TCS will guide the applicant through the biometric process. Walk-in applicants will be greeted by a floor manager who will help the applicants upload applications through a kiosk at the PSK. "The amenities and services at the PSK are in keeping with any modern bank or airport.

The implementation of the project has reached its halfway mark and will likely to completed by March 2012, The existing passport office will be responsible for liaison with the MEA, dispatching, printing, answering RTIs, and management of the PSKs. First time applicants no longer need to go the existing passport office.

According to the available information, TCS would receive applicants, guide them and handle the process for submission of applications, conduct the verification of the completeness of the application form and the documents attached therein. TCS would be in charge of receiving applications and guiding applicants, technical support and maintenance of the premises, while sensitive areas would continue to be handled by the passport office staff. The PSK initiative would bring in the much-required concept of “one-day visit to the passport office”, as the officials would tell the applicants the same evening as to whether their passport application forms and the supporting documents were in order and whether the passport would be issued or not. This would eliminate the anxious wait by the applicants.

Under the new system, photographs need not be affixed, image of the applicant's face will be captured at the time of applying online as is done in the driving licence process. In addition, the new system will involve taking the finger print (bio-metric) of the applicant and incorporating it in the database. Only if the finger print tallies, the applicant will be able to apply for other services such as spouse entry, address change or renewal of passport.

The added feature is that every police district will have access to the passport server for downloading the personal particular form online and to send the police verification reports online. This will obviate postal delay and laborious paper work. This will also ensure speedy completion of procedures which are time-consuming at present. Even passport issuance will be modernized with digital signature.

The place for these front-end operations has been already finalized for most of locations and started functioning. The new system will put in place a first-in and first-out concept, eliminating the practice of issuing passports out-of-turn. Under the new system getting passport will not take more than 72 hours. This turnaround time is from the moment of police verification to the issuance of the passport.Procedures for applying Passports under new system (where ever the new PSK system is implemented)For filling and submitting your application online, you need to be a registered user on the Passport Seva website.
Visit: Passport Seva Portal: Consular passport and Visa Division

Modern Engineering Marvels

Joyous Swiss celebrate longest-tunnel breakthrough

Swiss officials hug each other after a giant drilling machine beneath the Swiss Alps completed the world's longest tunnel Friday
By The Associated Press and Deutsche Presse-Agentur
SEDRUN, Switzerland — Workers hugged, cheered and set off fireworks as a massive drilling machine dubbed "Sissi" broke through the last stretch of rock deep in the Swiss Alps. There was delight at the end of the tunnel — the world's longest — when it was completed Friday.

The $10 billion, 35.4-mile tube will connect Europe's high-speed-rail network and is part of a larger effort to cut in half the number of trucks — now 1.2 million — that thunder through the Alps each year.

The pride felt throughout Switzerland over digging the Gotthard Base Tunnel reflected the one cause that unites the country's wealthy city dwellers with those living in traditional villages: Protecting the beauty of the mountains.

"Together, we risked a lot," said Swiss Transport Minister Moritz Leuenberger. "Together, we achieved a lot."

TV stations across Europe showed the event live. The embraces and cheers by the hard-hatted workers brought to mind the successful rescue of 33 miners this week in Chile.
Read More: Joyous Swiss celebrate longest-tunnel breakthrough

Soaring Hoover Dam bypass bridge finally complete

A soaring bridge that will let drivers bypass Hoover Dam - and steer clear of its security checkpoints and gawking tourists - is set to open after nearly eight years and $240 million worth of work. Julie Jacobson AP Photo

Dawna Robertson, of San Diego, Calif., takes a photo of Hoover Dam and the newly completed by-pass bridge from a Black Canyon River Adventures commercial raft on the Colorado River Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2010, near Boulder City, Nev. The bridge will be dedicated on Thursday and open to the public Saturday.

By OSKAR GARCIA; Associated Press Writer
Published: 10/14/1012:20 pm
BOULDER CITY, Nevada. A soaring bridge that will let drivers bypass Hoover Dam - and steer clear of its security checkpoints and gawking tourists - is set to open after nearly eight years and $240 million worth of work.

The 1,900-foot engineering wonder perched 890 feet above the Colorado River is expected to drastically cut travel time along the main route between Las Vegas and Phoenix, as motorists will no longer have to make their way across the dam's winding two-lane road at a snail's pace.

"I know that the Hoover Dam is one of the wonders of the world," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said at a dedication ceremony Thursday. "I don't know who gives that designation, but I hope the bridge will become another wonder of the world."
Read more: Soaring Hoover Dam bypass bridge finally complete

A visa request for Mansarovar

The grand view of Gulra Mandhata, Manasarovar and Ravana Lake hypnotises the onlooker into subliminal aura
While in my mid-twenties, working in 1978-79 for Gammon India Ltd, a construction company renowned for bridge construction in remote areas of India, I was posted for six months to the ADB-funded East-West highway construction project in Nepal, on the portion running from Hetauda to Narayangarh. The complete east-west highway connection was designed to run all the way to Nepalganj, past Lumbini, the birth place of Lord Buddha, across from Gorakhpur district in India. The highway was essentially located along the foothills and plains of Nepal, a simple artillery shot away from the Indian border. For this project, quite a few Chinese bridge and highway contractors secured contracts along various segments of this highway, and some were very close to the Indian border. Though their design standards and construction methods were old-fashioned and traditional (not as high-tech as Gammon’s), and I wondered why the hell was India scared of the Chinese when India possessed the better technology, the troubling feature was their proximity to the Indian border. I saw the Chinese companies first-hand at close quarters; I also witnessed first-hand on a visit to Lumbini how porous the Indo-Nepal border was and how easily the Chinese could slip through into India. I am intuitively quite certain that China infiltrated numerous spies through that route. China found, in a legal way, an opportunity to come close to the Indian border, and has always eyed the Indo-Nepal border for numerous opportunities of intelligence gathering since that time, 30 years ago. I do recall that the Indian government later protested those Chinese camps close to our border, and the Nepalese government responded favorably to our protests. However, the dismantling of those camps took a few years till the Chinese projects were over, because no one could prove the Chinese were doing anything wrong.

I continue to feel today that if there were a full-blown, no-holds barred war between China and India, the Chinese would come through Nepal and Burma, where we are least prepared. Remember, the Chinese wrote the book on the art of war. I might add that in March 1979 (I don't recall that it could be 1978), I rode in on my Java motorcycle into the well-guarded Chinese embassy in Chanakya Puri, where two guards opened the door for me very quickly (with respect) without stopping me. I parked the motorcycle below the stairs to the main entrance, and walked up to the reception asking for a visa to travel to Mansarovar. This I did at a time when China did not grant travel visas for Mansarovar. My father had cautioned me not to do this or anything like even entering the Chinese embassy, trying to emphasize that I would be entering "enemy territory" if I were to go into their embassy compound. Moreover, hardly any Indian nationals ever went into their compound those days, if at all. However, I was adventuresome and somewhat fearless (or foolish) when young, and so I didn’t care much for my father’s advice on this occasion, though I did listen to it and pay heed.
Click here to read the full episode

Dr Amarjit Singh is a professor at the University of Hawaii and Manoa. Expert on Highway Construction Engineering. He also writes on India's national security.
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Dr Amarjit Singh: Personal webpage

Footpaths vanishing in Indian cities

Footpaths, an Utopian dream in India
My ordeal to reach office and return home five days a week has become a curse as I happen to live in a big city like Hyderabad without owning a vehicle.

While the developed nations have separate lanes for pedestrians and bicycle peddlers, in most Indian cities governments invest money and effort in cutting trees and removing pavements to widen roads. This has resulted in two types of roads. First, there are roads where pedestrians occupy almost the entire breadth and cars and bikes constantly honk to find their way out. Secondly, there are roads that are completely occupied by vehicles leaving little or no space for pedestrians. While the first kind is a pain for the vehicle drivers or owners, the second one is the pedestrian’s agony, the one that I face everyday.

In this second kind of roads, the pedestrian is treated like an illegal intruder who does not have any right to be on the street. The vehicles which always seem to be in haste keep honking behind him/her, even if he/she is on the left limit of the road with a part of the body brushing against the leftmost wall bordering the road. They, it seems, would not mind crushing her beneath their wheels. A solution is just a separate lane for the pedestrian, a footpath.

Yes, there are footpaths, footbridges and zebra crossings at quite a few places. It’s just that, the footpaths are less for man and more for manholes. They become the street dwellers’ accommodation, the street vendors’ outlet, the public garbage dumping ground and a lot more except a pedestrian’s freeway. The height and the number of steps in a footbridge are such that an arthritis patient or a senior citizen would prefer risking his life crossing the road to climbing up the footbridge. The ever fading stripes of the zebra crossings reveal their plight of being under the wheels of massive vehicles all throughout rather than the shivering feet of a terrified pedestrian.

As population increases, as the standard of living of the middle class Indian rises, as vehicles become more and more affordable, the traffic problem is only destined to aggravate. How far can the government accommodate the ever-increasing number of vehicles by clearing forests, widening roads and building flyovers? And where shall we finally end up by this approach of green murder and a devastated ecological balance? Isn’t it time to realise that a solution lies somewhere else? Encouraging car pooling, discouraging the unnecessary use of vehicles, developing better public means of transport, and building footpaths free of manholes, garbage, roadside dwellers and street vendors are not so difficult to implement given their huge positive impact.

A relatively simple step like building a separate pedestrian lane shaded by trees would serve more than one purpose. First, it would save the lives and ordeal of pedestrians. Second, it would provide relief to the vehicles which are constantly irritated by presence of the pedestrian on the roads. This would also reduce noise pollution marginally as drivers would stop honking. Third, it would contribute towards cooling and refreshing the atmosphere, playing its part in global cooling and climate restoration. Fourth, it would encourage more people to walk, especially in a tropical country like India where without tree shade walking causes more harm than benefit. This would not just reduce fuel consumption and air pollution, but would also assist in the creation of a healthy India.
Aparajita Banerjee
Footpaths, an Utopian dream in India

Stretches of Chennai Roads- sans footpath
Construction materials and encroachment of the roads- sans foot-path in Chennai

Comments
Bangalore and Chennai cities are twice as worse than Hyderabad. The footpaths are filled with building materials, used as toilets, occupied by vendors, used for vehicle parking, proliferation of footpath idols (annual increase is over 100% in suburban localities), paths dug up by telecoms, electricity and other utilities and footpaths are generally built over covered storm drainage which also carries sewer from residential colonies, overflowing and stinking due to drain blockages. It implies that footpaths only exist for namesake but no pedestrians can ever use the footpath so citizens need to walk on roads at their own peril. Greater question: Is there any citizen safety in India?

"The Third Eye": Recollection of Bhutan

Dear friends,
No one seems to be talking about Lobsang Rampa now, and "The Third Eye" has long since been forgotten. It was considered a fantasy even when it was a best seller, fifty years ago. I was in Bhutan as a young officer in the early sixties. During that period, I wrote a piece which surfaced recently. A very brief excerpt from that some what long article is attached for those who care for the world of the Lamas.
What appeals to me is the last sentence of the piece. And it makes me chant:

"Buddham sharanam gachhami
Dhammam sharanam gachhami
Sangham sharanam gachhami"
Maj Gen Surjit Singh (Retd)

“THE THIRD EYE” By Lobsang Rampa
I beseech you to forgive me for my jaded memory. I am a senior citizen and no one is willing to hire me for even a worthless job. Here, I seek apology for a very minor offence: I have forgotten whether I read the captioned book before 1964 or after that. And the reason why I seek this concession is that I am not sure whether I read Lobsang’s book before I went to Bhutan or after that.

Be that as it may, there are two events which have left a profound influence on my psyche: reading the above book and my service in Bhutan during 1964-65 where I met a lot of thoroughbred Buddhists in Trashigong Dzongkhag. I was a little more that 22 years old then, and very impressionable. What I saw in that tiny Kingdom has left a lasting memory. I learnt a great deal from their unorthodox social order and it caused me to doubt the propriety of our social system.

Permit me to share something which I observed there. I was told that if a man was caught after having committed a crime in the Buddhist world, he was tried by the appropriate authority and, if found guilty, he was thrown into the prison cell. That is much the same as the rest of the world. The difference is that, in their system the term of the imprisonment was not specified. I was stupefied, and sought to know the reason for this. A learned Lama told me,

“A criminal is like a sick man. In the prison we ‘treat’ him. And as soon as he is ‘cured’ of his malaise, we let him go back to live with his people”

I probed further, and asked, “How do you find that?” and he said,

“Just like how you are able to discharge a patient from a hospital. Do you specify the period for which patients suffering from different ailments must stay in the wards?”

The argument makes a lot of sense to me. We human beings respond differently to treatment: some get cured early, others take time. If that be so, why should the prison term be specified?

I was also told that the condemned men were thrown into ill lit dudgeons and the ‘prisoners’ were made to undergo indignity. But in the evenings, they were allowed to take a stroll on the streets of the town, and breathe fresh air. The people are taught to look at them with a kindly eye, because, the Buddhists believe that, we would all be criminals, had we been caught!
Surjit

Spice Jet announces special offer to mark Republic Day

Spice Jet announces special offer to mark Republic Day. 100% discount on base fare for defence personnel. Spice Jet , India ’s most preferred airline, announces a special 60 day promotion for Indian Armed Forces personnel on the occasion of our 60th Republic Day.
This special offer is available to all serving as well as retired defence, paramilitary personnel and their families and they will be given a 100% discount on base fare.
Tickets purchased are valid for travel from January 26th 2010 to March 26th 2010.
Check out more details:
Spice Jet concessions for Indian Armed Forces Personnel

CAG raps IAF: UPA trying to drill austerity into the Military

NEW DELHI: At a time when the ruling UPA is trying hard to drill home the message of austerity among its ministers, it seems the government may have to work even harder to convince the services to toe the line. In a stark example of the taxpayer's money being splurged on personal travel, it has come the light that the Indian Air Force spent crores converting eight of its topline aircraft AN-32, meant to carry troops and transport arms and ammunition, for VIP travel. While no VIP travelled in the aircraft, these were used by armed service officers, their wives and defence ministry officials.

Shockingly, these aircraft were converted for use by VIPs- meaning the President, PM and Vice-President- despite IAF already having a fleet for this purpose which was underutilized by as much as 63%. In five years between 2002 and 2007, IAF spent Rs 75 crore operating these modified AN-32s, mainly for personal purposes by Other Entitled Persons (OEPs).

These are the findings of the government's official auditor, Comptroller and Auditor General. The Public Accounts Committee, which also looked into the issue and submitted its report to Parliament during the budget session, has asked IAF to immediately restore all the eight AN-32s for operational purposes and not divert any service aircraft for other use, sources said.

In its report, the PAC said it was "surprised" that these aircraft were used by the presidents of wives' associations of the armed forces, who clearly weren't covered under the category of OEPs.

The committee has sought to know how much was spent on the travel of non-entitled persons in these aircraft. It has also recommended a ministerial probe into the matter and sought a report within three months on the steps taken to prevent such misuse in future.

The CAG audit had revealed that of the 104 AN-32 that the forces had, only 50% were fit for operational use. Yet, the top brass had allowed conversion and modification of its frontline aircraft. IAF had purchased 118 AN-32 between 1984 and 1991. Of these, 14 had crashed over the last few years during operations.

More than 50% of the fleet was grounded for lack of operational capability. Still, IAF modified six AN-32 during 2001-03 for `VIP use'. It had earlier modified two aircraft for VIP use between 1992 and 1999. The modification was not only irregular but lacked justification, the CAG report said.

According to rules, these VIP aircraft are to be used by the President, the Prime Minister and the Vice-President. Senior officers of the defence ministry or the services can use them if it is absolutely important. The conversion was considered unjustified given the fact that IAF already had a fleet of more than 14 aircraft and half-a-dozen choppers for this purpose as part of its Communication Squadron meant only for VIP travel.

The Communication Squadron consists of two Boeings, seven Avros, four executive jets and six helicopters. Despite this huge fleet for three persons, the government acquired three Boeing Business jets at a cost of more than Rs 900 crore in 2008. These aircraft were meant to fly the PM and the President to far off locations and to be used for other domestic flights.

It was found during the audit examination that the existing fleet of the Communication Squadron was utilized by a mere 27% between 1999 and 2007.

A senior defence ministry official said, after the rap from the Public Accounts Committee, IAF has given an assurance that all the modified aircraft had been restored back to operational requirements.

Interestingly, in 2001 the then defence minister, George Fernandes, had asked the then defence secretary to constitute a high-level committee with representatives from armed forces to "look at lavish lifestyle and misuse of service aircraft" by IAF officers and their family members. The orders had come after repeated media reports that some of the senior IAF officials' wives had misused service aircraft to fetch lobsters and pastries from far off locations. However, no such committee was ever formed, a senior defence ministry official told TOI.
Planes for VIPs used by IAF officers, wives

Romance of Photography down the Century

It started with the advent of Polaroid film and cameras which produced instant colour prints, a case, of wonder and amusement. And then came the earlier digital cameras expensive and with not so good resolution. However, the down slide had started. The film camera were loosing the battle slowly albeit surely. Earlier one bought the film, loaded the camera, over time exposed the 8, 12, 20 or 35 exposures of the 120, 620 or 35 MM film, every time struggling to find the right combination of the shutter speed, lens aperture and the depth of field; all depending on the ASA or the DIN rating of the film and the light conditions of the day and time.

And then came the ‘Aim and Shoot’ camera first the film and later the digital, taking out the drudgery from picture taking as also the creativity. I do recall, me back in 1952’s and 53’s, moving up and down the mountain trails of Nanital and surroundings, with my Franka Solida or the Agfa Silette, both loaded with black and white 200 ASA film, looking through the view finder, not at the lcd screens of today, seeking for a picture and not just a photo.

Pushing the exposed film roll across the counter of the Photo Shop for developing and printing, waiting anxiously with anticipation till the next evenings for the wallet with the negatives and the prints, holding the prints like a hand of playing cards, looking at one at a time; at times with dismay at the blotched result and others with excitement at the Gem in my hand: that was Romance of Photography.

Today with every thing ‘instant’ with click, view, save, delete there is no anticipation left nor any suspense felt for the expected and the unexpected, especially with the advent of the camera in phone now all and sundry have become photo artists: the romance is truly dead. Long back in 1958 with my first face to face with my future wife, the ice, during the first awkward moments between the two strangers, was broken with my handing over one black and white print after another, from my collection, to her. Each photo as it passed hands, the hands, at time, touching inadvertently, introduced the family and me to her, in pictures and in steps, one at a time. Each print, exchanged bringing us one step closer with her finally becoming my stand-in model.

Possibly in present scenario, I would have been sitting at my PC, the digital pictures appearing in a slide show, with her standing by the side, disinterested, unfocused eyes drifting around and away from the fleeting images hardly making any impact emotional or otherwise with little chance of a romance budding. With her gone and no model at hand I keep looking at my three film cameras lying desolate and unused with my Nokia camera phone in hand. Click View and Delete; the romance of photography as also the literal is truly dead; right and proper, at least for me.
Brig Lakshman Singh (Retd)

A ghost story for the brave hearts

Dear Friend,
One of the shortest ghost stories of our childhood was about a paranoid traveller who checked the cupboard, then looked beneath the bed, closed the window then bolted the door. He got into the bed and as soon as he blew out the candle, a voice said, loud and clear, "Now we are locked in this room for the night!"
But the story which Talat Zamir has sent in is far more scary. And to make things worse, she tells me that it is a true incident, which happened to some one she knows.
Please proceed further only if you are not suffering from any heart related ailment.
Maj Gen Surjit Singh (Retd)

This happened about a month ago near Lonavala.
A guy was driving from Mumbai to Pune and decided not to take the new expressway as he wants to see the scenery. The inevitable happens and when he reaches the ghats his car breaks down - he's stranded miles from nowhere.

Having no choice he starts walking on the side of the road, hoping to
get a lift to the nearest town. It's dark and raining. And pretty soon he's wet and shivering. The night rolls on and no car goes by, the rain is so heavy he can hardly see a few feet ahead of him.

Suddenly he sees a car coming towards him. It slows and then stops next to him - without thinking the guy opens the door and jumps in.

Seated in the back, he leans forward to thank the person who had saved him - when he realizes there is nobody behind the wheel!!!

Even though there's no one in the front seat and no sound of any engine, the car starts moving slowly. The guy looks at the road ahead and sees a curve coming. Scared almost to death he starts to pray, begging the Lord for his life. He hasn't come out of shock, when just before he hits the curve, a hand appears through the window and moves the wheel!

The car makes the curve safely and continues on the road to the next
bend. The guy, now paralyzed in terror, watches how the hand appears every time they are before a curve and moves the steering wheel just enough to get the car around each bend.

Finally, the guy sees lights ahead. Gathering his courage he wrenches open the door of the silent, slowly moving car, scrambles out and runs as hard as he can towards the lights. It's a small town.

He stumbles into a dhaba, and asks for a drink, and breaks down. Then he starts talking about the horrible experience he's just been through.

There is dead silence in the dhaba when he stops talking .....

.....and that's when Santa and Banta Singh walk into the dhaba. Santa points and says "Look Banta - that's the weird guy who got into our car when we were pushing it "
......Just a Stress Buster:-)

Travel and Adventure: Jaipur- Land of Palaces

Dear All,
Views of Capt Deepak Sikand who stayed at Devi Niketan Villa Jaipur are placed below. You may like to stay there whilst at Jaipur.
Regards
Cdr Sharan Ahuja (retd)
Member Core Group IESM

My dear Sharan,
We have just returned from a short holiday at Jaipur. We stayed at Devi Niketan B&B run by Admiral Madhvendra Singh. The arrangements were superb. The Admiral personally interacts with each guest and attends to each detail. What you get is a 5 star comfort at affordable price. True value for money and a great experience. Recommend it to anyone visiting Jaipur.
Capt Deepak Sikand (Retd)

View of Devi Niketan
Devi Niketan
Devi Niketan is a family owned and operated Heritage Hotel which was inaugurated on 22 Feb 08. It stands on a big plot with large, lush green lawns in front and rear of the building. A double storied heritage house, it is part of the 140 acre estate of the former ruling family of Chomu. It was built in the 1930s by Thakur Devi Singhji, the ruler of Chomu, for his sixth son, Lieutenant K Bhagwati Singh. A grateful son named the building after his father. Thus was born “Devi Niketan” which continues to be a prominent landmark in Jaipur.

Adjacent to Devi Niketan is “Govind Niwas”, the residence of Admiral Madhvendra Singh and his wife Kumu, who own and run “Devi Niketan”. Govind Niwas too stands on a big plot with plenty of greenery. Taken together the two properties stand on a two acre estate which gives a feeling of space and tranquility - even though it is surrounded by a bustling city. With twenty five varieties of indigenous trees on campus, it is no wonder that you can still hear the calls of Peacocks, Partridges and Lapwings, as also the cooing of doves on most days – something rare for most Indian cities. In addition you may see or hear many other bird species that frequent the garden.
Devi Niketan

THE TIME MACHINE: Musings of a Veteran

Now on this morning, taking a flight from Delhi to Banglore as I strap myself in the not so comfortable seat of the economy class Air bus, though, far more comfortable than the hard wooden berth of the Third class railway compartment I traveled on for my earlier journey to Banglore that I am reminded of.

It was some time in late 1952, then a student of MSc Final in Lucknow University, that I got a call from Army Headquarters to report to the Services Selection Board (South). The UPSC had been kind to me in that, for the combined written test, preceding the Board, I had been allotted Allahabad, not too far from Lucknow as the Exam Centre. Army HQ had no such, considerations and I was required to travel to Banglore, some where down South, just a spot, which I remembered on the map of India, in the Geography Class of yore as a student of Class X.

Taking a rickshaw from the hostel, with just a hundred rupee note in my pocket, I arrived at the Charbagh railway station. Traveling third class, changing trains, at times near mid- night, finding a berth and managing the connections was in itself an adventure. As the trains sped south, the ever changing vista, unfolding and speeding backwards, had me riveted to the scene outside, it was the geography lesson coming alive. The aroma of the unfamiliar food items on the stations where the train halted, the cacophony of the un- understood combined gibbering of the hawkers, porters and the multitude of passengers all in a melee, did provide some diversion and mental relief from the long and tiring journey. Five days, four changes, Kanpur, Jhansi Secundrabad, Guntkul, later I arrived at Bangalore, having, in the process, acquired a stiff- neck from looking out of the window during the waking hours and a nagging pain in the back due tossing and turning that too with difficulty, on the narrow hard wooden berth. I was hungry but had no appetite for the Idli, Dosa and other fare, for which I had yet to acquire a taste, available en-route, which were as foreign to me as Banglore.

Banglore, those days, was a retiree’s heaven, with a lay back life style, living in bungalows with large compounds, flowers and tall trees. It was a city full of greenery, clean and fresh air, with only a few vehicles plying on the wide roads that too under the strict and watchful eyes of the traffic cops. There were rows and rows of ice-cream parlors, coffee shops, and a multitude of cinema houses. sixty-four or so that I counted on the guide map, and the ubiquitous Uddapee restaurants, specialists in Idli, Dosa and coffee, the cup of tea that I was so used to sadly conspicuous by its absence.

The aircraft door closes with its characteristic bang and whoosh, sealing us in the air-conditioned capsule After two hours plus of looking out, of and on, from the window with nothing much to see except some clouds floating down under, flicking through the newspaper, the Swagat in-flight IA magazine and pecking at the served snacks, drinking cups of coffee and water from a couple of miniature water bottles, I felt the plane letting its nose down and once again we were on mother earth. The Ac door opened, after a bit of ceremony by the cabin crew and we were in Banglore.

The time machine of IA had taken just hours of so to bring me to Banglore of the day, a Banglore so different from that of yore, totally .unrecognizable- in a hurry, chaotic and moving at a snails pace. The high power cars crawling helplessly, the daredevil two wheelers sneaking through nonexistent openings, the ramshackle buses spewing black clouds of unburnt diesel, and gleaming High rises, replacing the earlier bungalows and the green trees, the hiding the sky, the price of progress, it was distressing to say the least, albeit with one saving grace; tea and North Indian food now available at every nook and corner.

Alas the IA time machine which had so effortlessly compressed five days in hours cannot take me back to the Banglore that I had visited in 1952 that had captured the imagination of a young me. However, wonder of wonder what IA can’t do, the present Government of Karnatak has done with one single stroke and taken every one back way down the time by just adding a few letters to Banglore and making it Bengaloru, indeed really a Time machine.

Brig Lakshman Singh (Retd)

The triumphant Herald Car

We would be scooting along, the four of us, Jeet,on the pillion with Chotta in her lap and Chotoo standing on the foot rest, clutching the handle of the Vespa, on the streets of Poona on the week-ends. Both of us would be covertly looking at the Heralds of many colours zipping past, not that a Herald could zip.

We took a major decision I had an offer of a plot in Dehradun, the two of us had a long discussion to buy a plot of land or to buy a car as affording the two together was just out of question. The need of a house was still in distant future while a car was some thing immediate.

One day we decided to take the calculated risk and exchanged the Vespa for a ‘Conifer Green’ Herald, thanks for a 16,000 Rupee Government loan, returnable by monthly instalments of Rupees 200 for next six or seven years. This reduced the already meagre take-home pay of a senior Major of the Army to Rupees 800 per month, for Jeet to run the house and spare me 100 for the hundred litres of petrol consumed by the car every month.

Every one was excited and waiting for me to bring the car home. Jeet warning Chotoo and Chotta, again and again, all sitting on the front steps of the house, to act normal and not show any excitement on my arrival. However, all the effort was in vain; as I drove in through the gate, on to the short drive-way, both the children rushed towards the car with Jeet following slowly and with dignity. How could they resist we had over the time graduated from cycle to scooter and now to our own car.

Soon we were all in the car for a long spin towards NDA. Luckily with this in mind I had tanked-up filling petrol en route for a princely sum of Rs 20. Incidentally even after the acquisition of the car and the monthly deductions from the salary every month we still had enough to manage a decent life style.

How it became the fifth member of the family for the next 22 years needs narration. It an integral part of the family, a home away from home, a home on wheels; a dependable and loyal new member of the family, also some one to hold Jeet’s hand especially during my extended absences from the family due to my numerous postings to non- family stations.

The Herald was there always at the beck and call when needed, to ferry the children to school, emergency visits to hospital and shopping and also to carry the family for joyous reunions at the Railway station when I came home on annual or casual leave, with picnics and long overdue family outings. It served us faithfully with trouble free trips both long and short.

From Poona to Dehradun and back, the trip taken just a couple of days after bringing it home that we piled in with the luggage packed-up in the trunk, Chotta and Chotoo on the back seat, Jeet in the co- driver’s expertly acting as the navigator, with the AAWI (Automobile Association of Western India) handout for the road.

All of us were in a state of excitement but for different reasons the children for the prospects of the long car ride, the two of us of showing our new acquisition to our respective families; albeit I all the time keeping the many of my worries of possible road- hazards, the reliability of the untested car and possibility of a breakdown en route some where in the wilderness far away from any help of the risks involved while traversing the dacoit infested section of the road between Bhind/ Moreina and Gwalior and a few more to myself.

Much later from Ranchi in Bihar where I was posted to Secundarabad in Andhra Pradesh on being detailed for the Long Defence Management Course, this time with less worries, better prepared and organized. We made frequent trips to our native village on bad roads as also on no roads and innumerable drives to Dehradun when posted at Delhi. The Herald also travelled the length and breadth of India by train on my postings along with our baggage safely lashed in the EVK the special railway wagon. For the next 22 Years it served us well but for occasional flooding of the carburettor, mainly due to my flooring the accelerator pedal; direct fuel injectors for petrol cars were still in the distant future, it never let us down or met a road accident. However, with age catching up it started needing frequent visits to the mechanics and started eating into the off days to the chagrin and irritation of Jeet, naturally as she had lined- up some other plans for the day.

One day it had competitor. On the insistence of the family we brought a Maruti Omni home. Now the Herald would remain parked outside waiting for some one to brush the accumulated dust from the body, give it a wash, crank the engine and take it out for a spin but in vain. Sadly one day with a heavy heart and deep- felt sorrow I sold it. Parting from the loyal companion with heavy heart; however, I was glad to see it leaving under its own power. Seeing it disappear round the corner I had the same feeling of loss that possibly Rosy’s parents would have felt seeing the green Chevrolet sedan carrying their daughter, with me till recently a stranger, when it disappeared from their vision as it turned round the corner and sped away on that day of 22nd November 1958 from 18 Old Survey Road at Dehradun.

Brig Lakshman Singh VSM (Retd)

Clarification of Highway Toll Tax

Dear Brigadier,

Please refer your e-mail to the chairman NHAI dated 03 Jan 08. The letter enclosed by you does not exist and is being circulated to misguide ex- servicemen as the toll collection work is being assigned only to DGR sponsored agencies of ESM(O) and employing 90% ex- servicemen.
Based on provisions of Indian Toll (Army & Air Force) Act 1901, exemption is available only to serving Defence Personnel and these provisions are being implemented. Recipients of Gallantry Award as per Gazette notification no GSR 84(E) dt 27 Oct 2003 are covered in exempted category.
No exemption is available to ex-servicemen unless they are recipients of listed gallantry awards.
Thanking you
Yours faithfully

Gp Capt Vinay Kaushal VSM
General Manager (CO)

The above letter was received by Brig CS Kamboj, VSM (Retd) which is reproduced for information of all ESM.

Nano Car for Ex Servicemen

I observed families riding on two-wheelers—the father driving the scooter, his young kid standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him holding a little baby. It led me to wonder whether one could conceive of a safe, affordable, all-weather form of transport for such a family. Tata Motors’ engineers and designers gave their all for about four years to realize this goal. Today, we indeed have a People’s Car, which is affordable and yet built to meet safety requirements and emission norms, to be fuel efficient and low on emissions. We are happy to present the People’s Car to India and we hope it brings the joy, pride and utility of owning a car to many families who need personal mobility.

Ratan Tata, Chairman Tata Motors