A Thousand Salutes!!!
(Written on the day of my retirement from Indian Navy)
It’s an awesome feeling to
don the sparkling white uniform. On the lines of the advertisement of Bournville chocolate, you can't buy a pair of stripes on your uniform; you need to EARN it. It takes months / years of self-motivation to earn those golden rings on
shoulders of a soldier. We all take immense pride in earning those Nelson’s
rings on our stripes after the never ending days of training in Naval Academy. I
don’t know about other fellow officers in Indian Navy, but my chest definitely expands
little more than 9 inches every time I receive a salute (I am sure it must be
more for others!).
Salutation is a customary
thing for men and women in uniform. It’s a mark of respect that everyone has to
follow till the time you are in uniform without any excuse. However, just to
satisfy my innermost desire, I had decided to count every salute that I get
during my tenure in Indian Navy. I am sure; it must be quite a silly thought
for all of you! Before you infer
anything on me, let me clarify my thought. I’m not a maniac to waste my time on
counting the salutes that I received almost every other minute when I was in
uniform. I know that as long as I’m there in that immaculate attire called
“Vardi”, all my subordinates would salute me with or without their choice. Hence
I did decide to count only those salutes that I received when I was not in
uniform, nor in my office and not in informal rigs for a formal official
function. Now that’s what I call earning a salute. To simplify it further I
will only count those salutes/wishes that I receive when I am in casual or
formal attire either in civic streets or holidaying somewhere. That means
someone has to recognize me without uniform and salute or mark his/her respect
just out of respect for me but not for my position.
I still believe in PRIDE;
the core values of Navy (P-Patriotism R- Resolve and fighting spirit I-
Integrity D- Duty and commitment E- lead by Example) that was taught to us in
the training days. But more than that I believed in one thing; first be a
gentleman then an officer. Every soldier I had come across was always treated
with equal empathy; may be that ensures today I have earned 999 salutes in ten
long years. In today’s world, forget about a salute getting a simple wish from
your subordinate (be it a sailor/ jawan or a junior officer) when you are not
in uniform is an achievement! It was a hell of a task for me to keep count of
the salutes (with my conditions applied to them) for years, but it gives me
insatiable pleasure when I see the number 999. On this day of my retirement, I
was at a juncture where I would hang up
my uniform forever. Somewhere I was feeling little greedy to achieve the mark
1000. Obviously it’s fabulous to retire with 1000 salutes rather than 999. If
not others, I’m sure Mr. Sachin Tendulkar would agree with my feelings on this.
Now I can imagine how he must be feeling when he was struggling for his 100th
century.
Chances were bleak that I
could achieve the 1000 mark, but still I had kept my hopes alive. Though I was
getting salutes more than a normal day, sad thing was none of them could add on
to my count of salutes as I was in uniform. I was quite apprehensive now about
getting that single salute with my conditions applied to it. After the
customary formal sending off party, I was supposed to go back home. No ways I
can get a salute from someone to make it the golden figure of 1000 for me.
The event took place in
the evening with me wearing a formal rig and being the guest of honor.
Eventually farewell party was over. It was getting more difficult for me than what I thought it would be. I was getting
choked inside with nostalgic feelings of these glorious years as a soldier. I was leaving that my place of duty with a heavy heart and a token of love that
was presented by my last unit members in the farewell party. I won’t don that uniform anymore, I had turned into a civilian. My hope prevailed
till I reached my quarter. The driver kept driving at a speed
which is similar to slow motion shots in Bollywood movies. Still there was no
joy !!
Finally I am back at home
in my formal attire and a count of 999 salutes. That’s all I could get!! I am
not Tendulkar who did reach that magical 100 centuries. The irony was I can
only keep a count; the one who can help me score has to be one of my Navy colleagues.
Around 11pm at night, I can’t expect anybody to come to me and salute. Anyways I was feeling happy about 999 salutes by then.
With a grin on my face, I
glanced through all my group photos taken over the years. Every memento in my
living room had their own stories to say. When I was getting lost in the
thoughts down the memory lane, I noticed a packed gift kept on the table. Must
be the same token of love I had received in the party. I remembered my senior
most sailor’s word while handing over it to me. “All we can say or give you is
this. Wish u a happy life ahead. We’ll miss u, sir.” I could not stop my tears that time.
I was more thrilled than
shocked to see the unwrapped gift. What I could see was unbelievable; the entire team in
sparkling white uniform standing together and saluting the naval way. And I was
looking for one salute to reach the magic figure 1000!! A gesture like this only
made me feel that no matter how many salutes I could earn, each one them had a
message - “YOU are worth it”.
Even today, I get goose bumps
when I say ‘Jai Hind’. Even today I feel proud to say “I was a Soldier”. Even
today my hand comes up when I see a national flag to SALUTE.
A big salute to all those
soldiers who are worth it !!! Jai HIND.
can i give u the 1000th salute????
ReplyDeleteIt will be an honor....Thank u!!!
DeleteSalute to all soldiers.
ReplyDeleteRespect !!!!
DeleteIt's by default.
ReplyDeleteIt's by default.
ReplyDeleteIt's by default.
ReplyDeleteI wish that RESPECT comes by default to every Indian. Jai Hind !!
DeleteI wish that RESPECT comes by default to every Indian. Jai Hind !!
DeleteJai hind......
ReplyDeleteJai Hind...dear Soldier!!
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DeleteNot you was a soldier, you are a real warrior
ReplyDeleteSalutes you
Thank you...Jai HIND !!
DeleteThank you...Jai HIND !!
DeleteBeautiful lines amiya..im sure like your chest was broadened doning the uniform so does every indian citizen feel towards the men and women in uniform...afterall for their tomorrow you sacrifice your today....bravo
ReplyDeleteThanks Pooja...I am still sacrificing my today for their tomorrow...u know how..!! :P
DeleteAmiya..It is a proud privilege to be a soldier – a good soldier … with discipline, self-respect, pride in his unit and his country, a high sense of duty and obligation.
ReplyDeleteProud to be friend of a great soldier, Jai HIND .. Salute to all great soldiers
Thanks Viraj....Salute to every soldier ..in or out of unifrom..jai Hind...!!
DeleteYou stood up for something in life... your efforts were testimonials to your devotion. I can vouch for your skill " Mastery of Men "
ReplyDeleteYou stood up for something in life... your efforts were testimonials to your devotion. I can vouch for your skill " Mastery of Men "
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThank you Cyril..Keep inspiring me to do much more..all my life...Jai Hind.
DeleteJai hind...
ReplyDeleteJai Hind !!
DeleteONCE A SOLDIER ..ALWAYS A SOLDIER....true feeling of a real soldier. Jai Hind
ReplyDeleteJai Hind...Dear Soldier !!
DeleteBande mataram....by gul...one more salute from my side
ReplyDeleteVande Mataram ...cheers to Gul...let her join me in saluting our national flag...when i say..Jai Hind.
DeleteYour worth is much more than 1000 salutes. It's just that your sense of gratitude has made you more humble and yes...you are undoubtedly a Bournville man :-).
ReplyDeletedunno whether i am worth those many salutes...but i know the worth of each salute...coz i have earned it...thnx for the tag # Bournville man. Jai Hind.
Delete