The JDS MLA , MR. ABC from Karnataka was not a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the air-conditioned compartment of the Mysore Express could not cool his frayed nerves. He was the even entitled to first class air travel.
He opened his case and took out the news paper and determined to put the time to some good use.
"Are you in business?" the man beside him was staring appreciatively at the news paper .
%u201CNo I am a Ploiticain, serving the people of this country%u201D MLA replied
"You people have brought so much advancement to the country, Sir. Today everything is getting so easily."
"Thanks," smiled MLA , turning around to give the man a look.
He always found it difficult to resist appreciation. The man was young and well built like a sportsman. He looked simple and strangely out of place in that little lap of luxury like a small town boy in a prep school.
"You people always amaze me," the man continued, "You sit in an office and work very hard to keep the people happy , brining new schemes to the people, you don%u2019t think anything other than people welfare.
MLA smiled deprecatingly. Naiveness demanded reasoning not anger. "It is not as simple as that my friend. It is not just a question of writing a few lines. There is a lot of process/people /money that goes behind it." "It is complex, very complex."
"It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly respected ," came the reply.
RE:Gowda and company.........please read the story....
by manertesha on Oct 04, 2007 06:07 PM Permalink
"Let me give you an example. Take this train. The entire railway handled by most intelligent, highly qualified and hardworking minister . You can book a train ticket between any two stations from any of the hundreds of computerized booking centre%u2019s across the country. Thousands of transactions crores of rupees we collect, we make CM, PM, Ministers, we do all the work the most intellent people does in this earth, take example of our state we have government with only 36 MLA%u2019s , we made Deve gowda as our PM>%u2026%u2026
The man was awestruck; quite like a child at a planetarium.
This was something big and beyond his imagination.
"My friend," he concluded triumphantly, "you don't know what it is to be in the Line of Fire".
The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in realization. When he spoke after sometime, it was with a calm certainty that surprised MLA.
"I know sir, I know what it is to be in the Line of Fire." He was staring blankly, as if no passenger, no train existed, just a vast expanse of time. "There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture
Point 4875 in the cover of the night. The enemy was firing from the top. There was no knowing where the next bullet was going to come from and for whom. In the morning when we finally hoisted the tricolour at the top only 4 of us were alive."
RE:RE:RE:Gowda and company.........please read the story....
by manertesha on Oct 04, 2007 06:08 PM Permalink
"You are a...?"
"I am Subedar xyz from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak 4875 in Kargil. They tell me I have completed my term and can opt for a soft assignment. But, tell me sir, can one give up duty just because it makes life easier. On the dawn of that capture, one of my colleagues lay injured in the snow, open to enemy fire while we were hiding behind a bunker. It was my job to go and fetch that soldier to safety. But my captain sahib refused me permission and went ahead himself. He said that the first pledge he had taken as a Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and welfare of the nation foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he commanded.......his own personal safety came last, always and every time."
"He was killed as he shielded and brought that injured soldier into the bunker. Every morning thereafter, as we stood guard, I could see him taking all those bullets, which were actually meant for me. I know sir....I know, what it is to be in the Line of Fire."
The train slowed down as it pulled into the station, and Subedar Sushant picked up his bags to alight.
"It was nice meeting you sir."
It was the least he felt he could do for the country.
PS: The incident he narrated during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true-life incident during the Kargil war. Capt. sacrificed his life while trying to save one of the men he commanded, as victory was
within sight. For this and various other acts of bravery, he was awarded the Param V
RE:RE:RE:RE:Gowda and company.........please read the story....
by manertesha on Oct 04, 2007 06:09 PM Permalink
Chakra (Medal), the nation's highest military award.
