HARE RAMA HARE KRISHNA

Growing up in the 1970s, the only doable foreign destination appeared to be Nepal , and for a   reason  other than that of affordability was  Dev Anand’s Hare Rama Hare Krishna ( HRHK) , its iconic number Dum Maro Dum with its capture of the extant hippie culture .  However, a  proper visit to Nepal was to wait till 24th December, 2024 when, with my wife, I finally took off for Kathmandu.

Amongst the places we visited included Thamel,  the bustling  maze of of streets of  shops, nightclubs,

nightclubs and whispering touts that serves as the touristy hub of Kathmandu, the UNESCO World heritage sites of the Durbars at Bhaktapur and Kathmandu, and the tourist capital of Nepal called Pokhara . One thing which was common to all these places was that they have been locales of shooting for different  Bollywood  films spanning from 1960s to present times . However , the link of Nepal and Hindi films is not just about some  places of the former being the locales for shooting, but of a much more intricate tapestry of relationships between the two.

Although Nepal’s first cinema hall was started in 1951 by converting a Town Hall into the Kathmandu Cinema Ghar  and then Janasewa  with the inaugural screening  of Ram Vivah,  symbolizing the strong cultural ties between Nepal and India. it was  only with the accession of King Mahendra,  who ushered in partyless  multi-tiered

Panchayat democracy, that the Hindi, or Bollywood , films came  to make a deep impact in Nepal . The King was an ardent lover of music and films, a photo of his with Elvis Presley adorns  the walls of quite a few cafes - we saw one in Pokhara. His  many visits to watch movies during reserved shows at Ranjana  Cinema Hall ( opened in 1956 with the screening of “Bhai Bhai” ) have been recalled by the hall owner's son Keshav Shrestha. 

A society immersed hitherto in rituals and festivals, Nepal was completely bowled over with the realism of moving picture with sound or the Talkies of the Hindi films screened ( though with a delay of upto a year),  not only in Art Deco styled (like in many places in India as well) cinema halls of Ashok Hall in Patan, Biswajyoti, Jai Nepal and Ranjana in Kathmandu but also the movie theatres in Patna  and Darbhanga which could now be accessed via Raxaul - Birganj  axis with the facility of Byroad ko Bato ( built by engineers of the Indian Army ). 

Gerd Anita Weiser , a Swiss girl  who grew up in Nepal and along with another local Meena Singh of Padma Kanya Campus played the role of two local girls close to Jasbir or Zeenat Aman in HRHK )  and an avid film goer to the screens of the Jaya Nepal Cinema Hall and Ranjana Film Hall said , “I’d see many simple women who probably worked in their fields all day and had a hard life glued to the cinema screens,” she said.  “House Full” was the dreaded signage we feared to behold whenever we went to the movies as it meant looking at ticket touts who would extract blood,” reminisces blogger Subodh Rana.

A defining moment was of course the shooting of HRHK which took the celluloid stars closer to the people. The film, whose storyline was the outcome of a meeting  by Dev Anand with an Indo -Canadian hippie Janice ,whom he had chanced to see at the  hippie hotspot Bakery,  had the blessings of King Mahendra ,who advised him to retreat to the FishTail Lodge at Pokhara ( owned by his brother Prince Basundhara)  to write the script.  As Dev Anand wrote in his memoir, ‘Romancing With Life’, the 10 weeks of the shooting was, “one huge celebration” and Kathmandu was “agog with excitement, living day and night with the phenomenon called ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna”.

The Hindi films directly and indirectly helped configure perspectives, teach the the link language

of North ( as it  did in huge swathes of non Hindi speaking parts of India and Pakistan as well) and define fashion , much like in other parts of India - the girls braided their hair like Vyjantimala and boys strutted about in  drain pipes and later in bell bottoms. Traditional Nepali men attire Daura Suruwal and Gunyo Cholo for women have evolved over time as saris and lehngas, sherwanis and turban, have influenced wedding trousseau and even festival dresses  during Dasain, Teej and Tihar. Jeans, T-shirts, and casual kurtis worn by Bollywood stars in everyday scenes have become popular staples for Nepali youth. Slowly but surely, the  transcendence of portrayal of women in Bollywood films from the periphery to the core of the narrative  in such new wave films like Chak de India ( 2007), Kahaani (2012), English Vinglish ( 2012), Queen ( 2013), Pink ( 2016), Neerja ( 2016), Gangubhai Kathiwadi ( 2023)  have helped the female audience in Nepal find release from the immurement of submissiveness. 

One of the effects of Indian movies and its large body of actors, musicians, technicians and production facilities, was their catalysing nature in the development of Nepalese Indigenous film industry. An invite by King Mahendra to showcase Nepal’s early experience of the Panchayat System he had introduced,  made Bombay based director Hira Singh Khatri direct  (for Nepal’s publicity department),   its first homemade movie Aama with post production formalities done in Kolkata - he directed two more .The King was at it again to facilitate Nepal’s first homemade movie with private capital Maitighar ( with lead role by Mala Sinha  and her husband CP Lohani and guest appearances by Sunil Dutt and Rajinder Nath and songs composed by Jaidev and sung by Manna Dey, Geeta Dutt and the three Mangeshkar’s sisters  ) - he even wrote lyrics for a song sung  by Lata Mangeshkar in the film.

The musicscape of Nepal has had many borrowings from Indian- the Hindustani classical of which the Ranas were a big patron of, Modern Indian ghazals , the Hindi film songs from 1960s influenced  locally originating Nepal adhunik and lok geet  and finally to the end of the spectrum where Nepali Pop, in addition to western pop, has borrowed from developments of Indian pop and of the pop musics of the Indian diaspora, such as bhangra. 

Nepali music and musicians of Nepali  stock have also contributed significantly to the songs of

Indian film industry. Ranjit Gazmer  ( fondly called Kancha) was a key member of the trend-setting musical team of composers R D Burman and S D Burman during the 70s as his madaal ( a percussion and rhythm instrument that oozed of the sounds associated with mountainous landscape , hilly terrain and serpentine ghats of the Himalayan region)  playing lent a special tang to the compositions of Ravindra Jain, Bappi Lahiri, and Ram Laxman as well.. The legendary Nepali Band Himalayan Band’s ‘Musu Musu Haasi Deu’ inspired the song sung by Shaan in Pyaar Mei Kabhi Kabhi , the Nepali song Aage aage topaika Gola by Danny and Asha Bhonsle was adapted by RD B as Sang Mere Nikle Thhe Saajan in 1980 film Phir Wahi Raat song by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar  while the  1992 Bollywood film Bandhu was remake of Nepali Blockbuster Saino ( 1989) and even all the songs in the remake were inspired from the original . 

However, the contact of Indian films  and music with Nepal has not always been one of steady and happy relationship. 

There has been much insensitive and unedifying portrayal of Nepalis in many Hindi movies. The Gurkha , otherwise one of the most courageous soldier s in the world, is in a large number of  Indian films , a watchman who is either  dumb witted like Pran in Kasauti (1974) , funny, suspicious and loyal like Paresh Rawal  in Haseena Maan Jayegi ( 1999) , comical props like the aides of Mohan ( Pran in Johnny Mera Naam ) or  he is the blockhead Chunky Pandey and his henchmen in Apna Sapna Apna Money ( 2007).

But what adds salt to the wound is that his bodily markers are : national dress of Nepal ( the daura surval and dhaka topi which I saw so smartly  worn by the mandarins of Jhapa, Meiti and Elam during my coordination meetings as Superintendent of Police, Darjeeling , and also by my late friend Hemadri Shumsher Jung  Rana, grandson of the reformist Rana and a former Finance Minister Sir Major General Subarna Shamsher  Rana ) ; and the khukuri or knife which. is a symbol of legendary Nepali combat courage.

If these indignities were not enough, there have been unflattering  or controversial references by some  Indian actors on Nepal or Nepalese,  though quite a few could be on account of dubious media reporting. Manoj Kumar, Nanda , Hrithik Roshan and Dharmendra all got it between the eye, and for all its success Sholay (1975) could not be shown in Kathmandu and other hill towns – because Dharmendra was one of the three male leads.

The vicissitudes of political relationship between India and Nepal (although this shall be the

subject matter of another writing) have also informed the hiccups surrounding Indian movies in Nepal. First is the issue of unresolved border disputes- especially those relating to Kalapani and Lipulekh, The second is the perception of Indian interference whose most recent example was India’s stalling the making and promulgation  of the new constitution. The third has been the hardships suffered in several economic blockades ( especially the last one of 2015) .  Further , references are made to “unreasonable” provisions in the Indo- Nepal Treaty of 1950 and India’s Big  brotherly attitude  by politicians of many hues.

Finally, the tendency by India - either the Indian state or its films or even the academia- to appropriate origins of everything of the wide religio-cultural Indosphere to present day India ( birthplace of Sita or Gautam Buddha or even the architecture of Hindu temples in South East Asia ) is naturally a source of intense indignation. In  June 2023,  the hugely Kathmandu Mayor and rapper Balendra Shah asked  for a ban on all Indian films because of a controversial dialogue in Adipurush where Sita was referred to as daughter of India,  and even deployed Kathmandu Metropolitan Police to enforce the ban -and soon Pokhara followed suit. 

These get exacerbated due to the China factor which  ( without much detailing of its financial heft and soft power penetration here )  pans out as a ‘ benevolent ‘  neighbour against the image of a ‘selfish’ India, to the extent that more than the annexation of Tibet by China in 1950, it is the incorporation of Sikkim in 1975 that raises more hackles in Nepal.  

To the extent that Indian movies are perceived as the prime motor of India’s cultural influence, they are targeted . Among the 40 demands made by the Maoists before they went underground in February 1996 was a ban on Hindi films. 

Kanak Mani Dixit,  a Nepali publisher, editor and writer and founder of the magazine Himal Southasian, wrote in “Kathmandu and the Reality of Bollywood, ” The radical politicos of Nepal have always carried an ultra-nationalist chip on their shoulder. ….A section of the Kathmandu political class, particularly student leaders on the make, is constantly on the lookout for slights against the Nepali nation made by Bombay actors”. 

The   Nepal based journalist Peter Gill in an article “Bollywood meets Nepali Nationalism”, mentioned how the  SRK Fan Club Nepal, founded by supporters representing  a variety of caste and ethnic groups – Brahmin, Newar, Chhetri, Tamang, Muslim, met with online hostility and trolling. One angry commenter wrote, “I’m a fan of my own Nepali hero Nischal Basnet [a popular director in Nepal], you guys are fans of that dhoti [derogatory term for Indians],” punctuated by several middle-finger emojis.

However, for all the ultra nationalism exhibited within Nepal and all the reservation against India’s big brotherliness, there is, what Dixit calls,  an” elastic nationalism” that informs the attitude of people of Nepal to India. This elastic nationalism derives from a need for differentiation from 'big brother' on the one hand, to the other, the reality of the open border, the simple practicality of a peaceful bilateral relationship with a massive neighbour and  fact that tens of thousands of mid-hill ethnicities are dependent upon the salaries and pensions of the Indian army". Al Jazeera quoted one Shishir Bhattari, 19, a trainee at Salute Gorkha Training Centre , Pokhara, '' I had a dream to join the Indian Army. So many of the Gurkhas [soldiers primarily native to Nepal] have served in India ... I also loved the Bollywood movie Shershaah whose storyline is about the Indian Army and that motivated me even more”.

India continues to be Nepal’s biggest trading partner, accounting for 72% of its 

exports and 63% of its imports. Nepalese were not much behind the Indians to take a dip  in the Kumbh Mela even as the country’s premier airlines, the Buddha Air,  pastes stickers of Varanasi and Kathmandu, the two premier cities of Shiva”s temples, as an exemplar of emotional and cultural  connectivity between  the two countries.

Peter Gill writes “ despite moves to align more with China politically, people-to-people ties remain much stronger with Nepal’s southern neighbor. This is exemplified by the popularity of Indian films — both Bollywood and South Indian — whereas Chinese films are rarely shown in Kathmandu”. The ban on Sholay hardly deterred Nepalis from flocking to Kolkata or towns of Bihar to watch the film and repeating the iconic dialogue” Arre O samba”. Dev Anand and Zeenat Aman remain reigning deities even decades after the movie HRHK was released. 

“It’s not that we don’t like Indian people, it’s the government we don’t like,” said Anoj Adhikari at the SRK rally. “They always interfere in our own matters. But the citizens aren’t bad — they are good.”

During my visit to Kathmandu, I saw the movie  Pushpa 2 in a packed  multiplex in Darbar Mall while the whole town was abuzz with excitement over Sonu Nigam’s Musical Nite during Christmas at Hyatt Ground . When I went to Chandragiri Hills, with the luck of  a sunny day and clear sighting of snow capped mountains around, I stepped on a rotatory with a gyro camera to dance,  to the tune of  the Nepali influenced Hindi song  Keti Ko from Unchai. 

Even as I finish this piece, the welcome news  that appeared on 20th March edition of Hindu

is  that Nepal’s iconic Khukuri Rum, started by three Parsi Nepali businessmen in 1959,  is coming to India, the country of the Old Monk. One wishes that this could be the harbinger of another good news for both the countries- the resumption of recruitment of Nepalis in the Indian Army, stopped in 2020 after the introduction of the Agnipath Scheme. If there is one connection that predates the popularity  of Indian films in Nepal is the chance of employment  in the seven  Gurkha regiments of the Indian army. In this context , the statement of General  Dwivedi highlighting India’s willingness to resume the recruitment process” in a manner respectful of Nepal’s sovereign decisions “ since  resumption of Nepali Gorkha recruitment is not just a matter of military significance but also a question of maintaining a cultural and historical bond, is indeed welcome. 

 

 

Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan

"Modern Bombay, in a sense, has its genesis in the poppy fields of Bihar" 

- Amar Farooqui in Opium Enterprise .

Anil Yendluri is a batchmate with a difference  in that  he dared to leave the service  after  becoming an Inspector General in God’s Own Country. The scope for personal growth , he said, was  tapering  and he wanted to take up new challenges and be a part of new changes . So off he went and joined Vishwa Samudra (VS) whose tagline incidentally is Challenge it, Change it. But more on Anil. credited with developing the world class Krishnapatnam Port and his Chairman Chinta Sasidhar, a bit later.

From the verge of being abandoned by the British in the late eighteenth century for

producing very little revenue , Bombay ( as Mumbai was called those days), bounced back on the transit tax levied on Malwa opium once its export was allowed from there, and became , over the years, India's premier economic and financial city. Today,  Bombay is Bombay, rest is India , many say. . The skyline of the city spans across the city’s shores , and in a rather amphibian way, goes even under it . Yes . I refer to the Worli Sea Link, the Atal Setu  and the tunnel segment of the Dharmveer Swarajya Rakshak Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Coastal Road  which passes about 20 meters under the Arabian Sea. The Metro and Monorails have already added new dimensions to the city’s public transport which , till a couple of decades ago, was limited to the local trains and BEST buses. New skyscrapers continue to be built, to be lived, bedazzle , evoke wondrous envy with prices of upto Rs. 1.5 lacs per square feet - and galloping further. It still remains India numero uno city for people to chase their dreams - and for many, to shatter them as well.

To  the many reasons Mumbai attracts me is now the added one of our daughter staying there - having joined the ranks of  many young corporate lawyers- with dreams in their eyes, punishing loads of labour as weekday and even weekend, office as well as home, companions. But the breed has a Yeh Bombay Meri Jaan exuberance to rough it out despite all odds and not miss a  chance to live life kingsize. 

When Anil offered the  options of participating in Vishwa Samudra’s signature Golden

Eagles Golf tournament, an amalgamation of Golf, Glamour and Glory and a brainchild of the group's Chairman, at either Delhi or Mumbai , it was the latter I opted for - forsaking my regular partner  and occasional foe of the Kolkata fourball ,  Herman , who lugged it out at Delhi ‘s ITC course a week earlier . Herman , Ramphal , Sujoy and I could  play only thanks to the CEO Anil’s invite . The takeaways at this tournament are staggering, but more than that, Anil ensures that all participants feel as if they are part of Vishwa Samudra’s family - to be extended warmth and camaraderie .

The venue at Mumbai was the Bombay Presidency Golf Club or BPCG , a course I had played over ten years ago and had completely forgotten the outlay .This is a lovely course , each hole seems to have a character - fade , draw, undulations , water bodies to teach you humility, a clutch of Out of Bounds to make you despair and swear,  and the warning signs about poisonous snakes to keep you alert .

The counting for assembly elections was in progress on 23 rd November ,the day I

played a practice round at BPCG, but so unexpected was a coalition’s sweep that it even left the winners stunned. Maybe that is why I could not see much jubilation - of colour, sound or dance during my drive from Chembur to Saat Raasta or even in the late evening when I went for dinner at  O Pedro in BKC with my daughter Tanya , and school friend Alok Bahl.

On Sunday, the tournament kicked off with the introductions in which Anil spoke about VS’s current projects like the aerial cablecars of Varanasi, a slew of Highway projects from Kashmir to Kollam, a greenfield port at Mulapeta in Srikakulam, a novel cement additive to lay roads , and a clutch of CSR outreaches. Amongst the many organizer's flexes that dotted the course, an. interesting one was of a bull on treadmill which Anil said also manufactures energy , and enables keeping bulls viable for farmers - otherwise the only presence of bulls would have been  in the sperm banks .

The four ball I was drawn into was a varied lot - an executive of an electronic

manufacturing company in Pune , an owner of an IT firm and another of an E Commerce platform . Pretty competent golfers , focused , talked very little about politics and had no curiosity whatsoever about travails of and travails by police officers - it was so different from Kolkata. T Parthiv , a two handicapper , even managed a prize later - an Apple 16 pro . I enjoyed their company , though I did have a few distractions- the fantastic victory where Boom Rah’s boys berthed the Aussies at Perth , the news of IPL auction and the occasional calls for some help from Kolkata by friends - ranging from cyber crime frauds to need for  FRRO’s  intervention  in some visa stamping matter.

The mega evening event ended on an intense foot tapping note . While VS roped  in Ajay Devgn and the Deshmukh duo , the star of the show , like last year, was Kapil Dev . After ticking off the Emcee for not speaking in Hindi , he proceeded to plod on, in a much improved English - maybe the transition from cricket to golf had something to do with it . Accessible , the iridescent smile never leaving his face , he wished Shashi , Chairman of VS, to make more profits and host more golf tournaments.  Anil was there with his family - wife and two lovely daughters , looking after his guests . As usual , the intensity and infection  of his smile never dimmed throughout the day.

One cannot escape Mumbai 's peak time traffic , of pythonic proportions and

laboured slither , on the Eastern Express Highway . As Shankar , my friend Asim’s driver missed an exit , we took 15 minutes more to reach the house of Rohit , classmate of my school De Nobili, Dhanbad . Bright as always , Rohit is now a Professor at IIT Powai where he researches in computational neurophysiology , and also pursues writing fiction. He has two novels to his credit , and a host of professional works .  His seniority has now got him an independent double storied bungalow where amongst other things his wife and he have to be watchful of poisonous snakes and keep their knees in shape .

For me , apart from a chance to catch up with him ( last was in his flat overlooking the Powai Lake) was to get his wonderful book The Enclave , which I had finished a few days ago ,signed by him . Rohit writes for his own satisfaction and for what he owes to the language and craft of storytelling. For those who understand both , his novels are entertaining and unputdownable.

The class of '79 has now moved on. In addition to Rohit, there were Asim, Alok and Debu - and a chance to catch up with his wife Shivani, a professional career counselor . There was a fair amount of wellness talk , especially as Shivani goes about caregiving her 92 years father - insulin resistance , sugar spike , knee extensions, the demonisation of cholesterol, the dangers of statins , strength training, etc . After some time she took leave of us but not before getting the dinner started - no mean task this. The senior citizens also cleaned up the table, and with guidance from Rohit, completed the management of left overs as per the exacting standards set by the lady of the house- a task achieved with an after dinner combo of shots of Singleton and double scoops of chocolate ice cream .

The return journey from Powai was quicker , the sleep deeper , and I woke up in time for the morning  return flight . The Terminal 2 dazzled , the staff at Adani lounge satiated my hunger with a decent cheese omelette and an iced Americano . Just as I boarded, received the news that my batchmate Rashmi Awasthi was back in saddle as the top cop of Maharashtra as the ECI’s Model Code of Conduct had been withdrawn.

THE WRONG STEPNEY

Dream Range 

"Vivek, I am sending you to what has remained a dream range for me . DIG Jalpaiguri Range, ok?"

I told him, with much feigned humility that it was indeed a privilege to be chosen by the HoPF to live his dream on my promotion to the rank of DIG in 2004. Anyways, as I had the security of retention of a government flat at 32, Ballygunge Circular Road, where Bhaiya  also stayed in the same RHE, I went to what was a moth eaten range it now remained, leaving my family behind. When I was SP Darjeeling, the Range DIG, Jalpaiguri looked after all the districts north of Farakka ( I hope my readers born and brought up in Kolkata can name all of them ) but now it was just Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts. 

Prod  for peacekeeping 

When my batchmate Zulfiquar messaged from Freetown  to try for a Sierra Leone  UN Peacekeeping assignment (UNAMSIL)  , I jumped at it. If one has to stay away from the family, then one might as well go abroad, earn some dollars and acquire  international work experience to boot. As luck would have it, I was selected and on 4th of September, 2004, along with  Amar Pandey, Indu Bhushan , Tanamay Ray Choudhury and Vimal Bisht , we boarded an Air France  plane, transited from Paris to a place called Conakry , and then were heli lifted to touch down  on the UN Helipad just as the sun sank into the Atlantic beyond the Lumley beach.

The why of UN Missions 

Many are curious to know what a UN Peacekeeping Mission is and why policemen are  taken on these missions. Even though not mentioned explicitly , peacekeeping draws its locus from Chapter VI( Pacific Settlement of Disputes )  and VI of the UN Charter It is a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions to progress towards sustainable peace. United Nations peacekeepers have taken part in a total of 72 missions around the globe, 14 of which continue today. The peacekeeping force as a whole received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988.

Missions have been established for a variety of reasons- to observe and maintain ceasefire like the 1948 Arab- Israeli conflict ( UNTSO) ; international conflicts like in Cyprus between the ethnic Greeks and Turks ( 1964)  or Iraq- Kuwait Observation Mission in 1991; to facilitate  decolonization  like ONUC in Congo (from Belgium);  a large number of Middle Eastern conflicts like UNOGIL in 1958 at Lebanon,UNYOM in Yemenin 1963; civil wars  related to ethnic cleansing and genocide like in Rwanda and the ones following break up of Yugoslavia ( the latter saw eight missions), Somalia, Haiti, Sudan, Liberia , Burundi, Ivory Coast ,etc; and for independence facilitation in Namibia, East Timor and Western  Sahara.

Moneybags peacekeepers 

UN assignments evince mixed reactions from colleagues and friends. Most think of them as fun jaunt with dollars in the bargain. It is often forgotten that UN Peacekeeping Missions are established in countries in violent conflict , and chances of falling in the crossfire - either being taken hostage or even getting injured or killed remains a real threat. UNAMSIL , when it wound up, had a total of 192 UN fatalities: 69 troops, 2 military observers, 2 international civilians, 16 local civilians, 1 police, and 2 others ( a memorial in honour of martyr Havildar Krishna Kumar of INDBATT in UNAMSIL built by locals at a place called Daru is affixed), In an earlier Mission to Mozambique in mid 1990s, a peacekeeper from West Bengal was taken as hostage. 4207 ( maximum 175 from India) have died - I think now the figure is higher. When I was Sierra Leone, I had received a mail from DPKO to assist some officers from DPR Congo to render assistance to their officers for exhuming the bodies of that country’s peacekeepers who had succumbed to Lassa Fever- and given its infectivity, the medical protocol demanded an immediate burial in graves deeper than the normal and exhumation only after six years.

UNAMSIL 

The Mission in Sierra Leone called UNAMSIL was established in 1999 to end the civil war , after consolidatory work by a previous mission called United Nations Observers Mission in Sierra Leone or UNOMSIL . It was to implement the Lomé Accord which included demobilisation and disarmament of the RUF, a rebel outfit supported by the the renegade President Charles Taylor of Liberia , and their reintegration ; protection of civilians ; humanitarian assistance, etc. The Civil War in Sierra Leone had been one of the bloodiest - killings, amputations, sexual assaults, vandalism and arson, up-roofing of houses and destruction of community/government properties. 

The initial  years 

The initial years of the Mission had been rather eventful, one of which was Operation Khukhri-

a joint land and air British and Indian Army units of the UN to rescue over 500 peacekeepers from Kailahun who had been surrounded by RUF rebels - this operation was to inspire a movie by the same name starring Shah Rukh Khan. However, by the time we reached in 2004 , peace had been largely established , but the Indian army which was in the lead in the initially tough years of conflict, had withdrawn .When we reached , it was the Pakistani Army under its Force Commander Maj Gen Sajjad Akram which was in the lead - my first UN Peace Medal was pinned by him only.  

Induction into the Mission

The start of the  mission was a bit stressful. We were lodged in the ground floor rooms of Hotel Mammyoko, the HQ of UNAMSIL. Wary of contacting cerebral malaria, we went out in  full sleeves- but despite precautions, all of us contacted the cerebral malaria- yours truly twice. Unfortunately, the first test for motor driving permit was conducted by one Irish officer Francis - and none of us could pass. We didn't know, like I believe 90% of Indian drivers,  who has the right of way among vehicles approaching a roundabout or a crossing, how often to look in the rear view mirror or even pull up  the vehicle properly ( later on, after a month of two, under a benign Cameroonian examiner, we passed our tests). Tanamay and Vimal hyper stressed poor Indubhushan suggesting, after the first failure, a second one could invite repatriation! It did not help that UN  CIVPOL ( Civilian Police) Commissioner was a bit hostile and sent us to the provinces - and me to the most distant, Kailahun. 

Anyway, there were silver linings. Firstly our Indian colleagues, Zulfiquar and Thota Rao, at whose house we would visit and  stay during HQ visits, were immensely helpful . For most of the evenings, the only source of light came from the candles mounted on empty bottles of Jim Beam - the National Power Authority was a hugely Non Performing Asset.  Secondly, there were other senior Indians, notable Major General Bhagat (Retd), Rajinder Dhawan and a large number of other countrymen in the technical services of the Mission, Thirdly,  the Pakistanis, being in command , were quite helpful. Post Kargil wounds had healed , and it was quite a bonhomie. The Pakistani Army was all over.  Fourthly, Amar and I had become members of Freetown Golf Club - an 18 hole course with browns instead of greens - by the Atlantic. At the club, we made friends with one Vinod , an Indian married to a Sierra Leonean lawyer , Luba, a woman of Chinese- Russian extract whose ex husband was a local minister in a previous government, many officers of IMATT ( mostly British) and even a Lutheran Pastor from Germany called Fritz,  Of course, we gradually made friends with a large number of UNAMSIL colleagues from other parts of the world as well. It was my first exposure to truly international cuisine and lovely beaches as well.

Kailahun and  PAKBATT mohabbat 

I was initially posted to Kailahun, an eastern province abutting Liberia. Kailahun also had a PAKBAT HQ which  was also the provider of our meals . Every evening from the team site where the CIVPOLS ( Civilian police of UN ) and MILOBS ( Military Observers of the UN) stayed next to a mosque , two team site vehicles would go to fetch biryani and korma from the PAKBATT kitchen at a nominal charge of a dollar per meal , which was good enough for two meals, dinner and lunch. Breakfast was milk and muesli and egg at the team site which was equipped with a coffee machine, microwave, fridge and a stove. 

There was this Uruguayan MILOB  ( Military Observer ) who would insist that I go with him .

“Vivek, they pamper and give you huge quantities of food , but they starve me.” 

“Saab, bahut khata hai yeh mota ,” Havildar Sikandar Khan would tell me”, chaar aadmi ka khana akele kha jataa hai.” 

When the unit wound up and departed, we moved into the site vacated by PAKBATT. While leaving, the Havildar handed me a huge store of jams, ketchup, juices, pickles, etc. 

The PAK BATT would  distribute biryani twice a day to about 30-50 people everyday, as part of its community outreach. When it was leaving, as  part of Mission drawdown, I asked the local police station commander , one Sylvester Kamara, whether he apprehends unrest by the people who would no longer get free food. He said, absolutely not. All these people were solvent enough to have food at home, it is just that when free food was offered, no one refused. And he was bang on target. There was no murmur of protest. 

Flat tyre 

When I returned to Freetown from Kailahun , and later assumed the charge of OIC CIVPOL ( heading the UN Civilian Police ) , the bonhomie continued. Maj. General Bhagat was heading the Mission integrated technical services , and often he would organise parties where Pakistani military officers were sometimes invited - and the language of the evenings would generally be Punjabi.  My Punjabi being even worse than my driving , I limited my interest to food and beverage, and gossip with the Pakistani police officers -  one was a Sindhi and other a Baluchi , both not really enamoured of the  Army and the Punjabis in their country. 

Once , I had just returned to Mammyoko Hotel from Koidu where my colleague Tanamay was located. It was a long drive, and I had driven alone in the Nissan Patrol .The Nissan Patrol was issued to heads of sections , but the basic and almost omnipresent vehicle of the MIssion was  the smaller  Toyota 4 wheel drive model. On return , after an almost 350 km journey, through jungles , mud tracks , and deserted highways , I left the office to go out for lunch, only to find there was a flat tyre in my car. Major Zaman who was walking with me when I spotted it,  asked me to leave the matter , and instead asked one of his Havildars to change the tyre and get the punctured one fixed at the workshop. I was grateful, I had never replaced a flat tyre , except once in a test on Motor Mechanics Test at NPA, Hyderabad. 

We walked back for lunch, and when I returned, the Havildar was there to hand me the keys.

“Shukriya,” I thanked him.

“Janaab, ik baat bolni thhi.”

“Boliye.”

“Khuda ka shukr hai.”

“Kya hua?”

“Aapki  stepney iss gaadi ki  thhi hi nahin. “

“What?  Kiski thhi ?” I blurted , in alarm .

Scenes of vehicles , pulled up for running road repairs, in alarmingly  empty stretches in dark hours  on the Freetown - Koidu highway, flashed by in my mind. 

“Toyota ki thhi,” he smiled, saluted, and walked away.