We lived without many so-called “city comforts”, learnt to innovate with what we had, found ‘new’ uses for the same old things (fashionably called ‘thinking out of the box’ but a ‘box’ a.k.a trunk, was our treasured possession vital to transport our wordly belongings in our normadic existance), adopted a “live-and-let -live policy” with flying frogs, snakes, scorpions, monkeys and so on (our homes had a common habitat with theirs) and hopefully instilled the same never-say-die spirit in our children as well.
What we did have around us were strong, eternally optimistic, fearless soldiers who put their country and mission before their lives, who saw the lighter side of life in every situation and made a sure fire impression on every person they interacted with! We met wonderful people and developed friendships that survived several postings and learnt to stoically accept when Fate took away anyone from what was our extended family.
Life must go on, Impermanence is the very essence of Life…
Here is a recap from a couple of my older posts…
…. We had lived in dilapidated ‘bashas’, read freshly delivered 2-day old newspapers, stayed connected via trunk calls then STD PCOs, accepted snakes, leeches and scorpions….
We lived in clean fresh air, our kids had plenty of space to play… The friends we made are for life. The lessons we learnt still stand by us. The skills we gained come in handy even today in the urban jungle that is now our home….
All the very best to the Indian Air Force.
Happy Landings to all the men in blue.
Archana
