A Passage to SPR -(Selected Place of Residence)

        I read an interesting narrative of one of my friends Ravi Nair, my name sake, about the good old times of his father, a VCO (Viceroy’s Commission Officer) coming on leave from Kashmir borders where the latter was posted. It read like an expedition to selected place of residence (Home Town- in military parlance) South of Vindhya Ranges!
      

 Reading this, I too was reminded of my travails home from the borders, half a century ago. I venture to jot down my memories for the posterity. I vividly remember coming on my first Annual leave from Mizo Hills, Vaphai Post, bordering Burma (today’s Myanmar) along Tio River.     

 On foot for four days, through the insurgent prone and leach infested thick jungles, to reach the road head at Tuirial- Aizawl, that too at the convenience of Link Patrols, which ensured the protection to the foot columns.

 

 Then to Laylapur Rear via Wrangte, , in a Convoy of minimum 70-80 vehicles, with a vanguard and rear guard of Armoured Cars. Crouched in the body of a Sakthiman or a Tata Mercedes Benz 3 Ton truck, winding down, forcing one to throw up till nothing is left in ones aching bowels.

 One night stay at Laylapur - the Rear Echelon of the Unit, to rest and recuperate and to deposit personal Arms ( SMC –Sten Machine Carbine) and ammunition. There, One’s  left behind heavy steel box containing civil clothes etc were to be sorted out for  accommodating the ‘essential’ liquor crates and stores purchased from CSD canteen, to be carried along for leave.! 

Next day move to Silchar via Masimpur to catch a meter gauge locomotive steaming out towards Halflong. From Halflong to Gauhati on a broad gauge rail chugging sedate in no hurry , and to be disgorged at Gauhati in the dead of the night. From Gauhati to New Bongaigaon was a nerve wracking traction on a meter gauge .

At New Bongaigaon, walk across the sand banks to the waterlines of Ganges, with the coolie following lugging one's steel trunk on latter’s head. By the way, the trunk had more of bottles than of any clothes, the latter acting only as padding between bottles so as not to break. Walk towards the River ends where the  Paddle Steamer operated by North Eastern Railway waited to ferry one across the Ganges at Farakka.

           Few hours in the steamer, listening to the lapping and splashing noise of its giant paddles in the water and intermittent booming of whistles, brought images of the huge paddle boats of Amazon. Being a First Class passenger the steamer provided steaming rice with watery daal and pickles as dinner, then in utter contrast coffee served with decoction, cream and sugar in separate ceramic pots (chinked and grimy) -in true occidental style. !

            On reaching the other bank long walk on river sand towards New Jalpai Guri railway station, where the rail rake awaited with similar seat/ berth reservation arrangements. The steam engine laboured the rake to Sealda Station and from there to Howra in a local train .

            Depositing luggage in the clock room. A quick shower and shampoo at First Class Waiting Room and ‘non-itinerary visits’ to Calcutta City just to have a feel of the metro life, and returning for the night train Coromandel Express to Madras. After two nights reaching Madras early morning.

            Once again the luggage to clock room. Taxi ride to relatives unannounced and to the 24 x 7 movie halls Diamond, Emerald and Sapphire, all housed in same building on Mount Road . Normally went off to sleep in the AC comfort of movie hall while intermittent watching of Taras Bulba, which had no END, kept repeating. Move to the Madras Central by evening to catch the night's Cochin Express 

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             The ‘Canadian Bullet Engine’ took on the initial traction and then local snub nosed ones which sneezed burning coal and dust through out, brought one finally to Cochin Harbour Terminus by noon. ‘Runglee Rungliot’ meaning ‘thus far and no further’.  That was the termination of journey on rails and thence forth in a ‘yellow and black’ Hindustan taxi for move to Alleppey 65 kms away.

            And, Alas by evening, after a fortnight of having set forth from Vaphai, one entered ones ‘selected place of residence’ and to ones Sweet Home, waking up and surprising his mother and siblings - as the FL (Forces Letter) -FOAS (Free on Active Service) one had posted a month early from ones picquet of announcing sanctioning of his leave and tentative travel plan, had not reached his mother, after customary sensoring at 99 APO, till then. Hence, surprised indeed - they were.

           The matted hair filled with few pounds of coal dust, grime and the telltale ‘railway acquired syndromes’ for over a week, like bugs and lice, had to be scrubbed off. Answer mother knew, bar soap (used for washing clothes) and ‘besan flour’ with abrasive ‘incha scrub’, ‘Amma’s special concoction of coconut oil massaged lavishly and washed down with scores of buckets of water from the well, drawn and ‘water cannoned’ by family’s ‘man Friday -‘ Bhaskara Pillai, who showed signs of kindness on promise of two pegs in the evening !

           By now the meager amount of Rs.200/- discounted through a bank cheque from unit Baniya (Wet Canteen Contractor), for the journey had dried out. First thing in the morning was to visit ones bankers to whom all the salary - a princely sum of Rs. 345/- was remitted after the TDS of Rs.5/- every month, irrespective of where one was posted. It was a big money indeed, as a Sovereign (Kuthira Pavan of 8 gms of 22 k gold) costed only Rs.90/-.! Also was surprised to find nearly 2k in the bank to blow up! Serving in field, the entire salary got accumulated in the bank as there were no scopes to spend on a picquet, where ‘roti, kapada, makkan’ were free.!

          With ‘kuppies’ (bottles) full in crates, crisp notes in the pocket, and cartons of 555 and Kent in lieu of few pegs to right friends with US connections! ; And ones First Love - the original British Royal Enfield KLT 7724, always fully filled—- life was worth living ——Till the ‘kuppi (booz)’ and ‘panam (money)’ lasted !!! Then people start asking ‘when are you returning?’.

         Finally one returns to the Mother for a ‘non- refundable loan’ for financing her son's ‘expedition back’. Totally demoralised and ‘home sick’ one ought to return!, which would take a couple of Long Range Patrols to heal !

        The present generation soldier cannot imagine such a situation. Airforce Courier service, concessional air travels, authorised LTCs by Air, fast electric trains and the Farakka barrage over Ganges, beautiful roads wider than NHs crisscrossing and ‘spiraling’ the Mizo Hills heights - where we once heaved and perambulated, and above all the mobile phones which announced and videoed live minute to minute progress of one’s move etc - were nonexistent and couldn’t even be thought of.

                                --To achieve surprise nowadays is difficult!!!

   - Ravi Nair- (Sikh LI)