An Unfinished Story

An Unfinished Story

This story started around 70 years ago. The autocratic Lord of the house decided to hand over the property to the deserving native people. But one last sadist twist he made was to divide it amongst the brothers. While the central part of the property was handed over to Kishan, the left and right were given to Ishaan.

By nature Kishan was peace-loving while Ishaan was aggressive, greedy and unethical. After Lord’s departure, he immediately entered into Kishan’s territory and grabbed an unoccupied room of his property. He wanted more but Kishan arrested his foray. Kishan did not retaliate further and compromised with the situation of a room occupied by Ishaan. Kishan was always mightier than Ishaan but his upbringing did not permit him to use his muscle to get his property back. His reaction was only to ask the colony people to mediate and sort out the unauthorized room. However, nothing happened.

Ishaan wanted more, especially the room next to the one illegally occupied by him. After some years he made attempts to grab it but was contained by the superior might of Kishan. In the next attempt it was worse; Ishaan had to lose his entire right property due to internal family dispute.

His property was truncated and he was humiliated but Ishaan did not give up his evil designs. After some years he grabbed a small piece of land next to the room he desperately wanted. Kishan again threw him out from there but made no attempt to capture Ishaan’s property or even take back his own.

Knowing that he cannot fight Kishan in direct combat, Ishaan decided on a different strategy. He handed over the room illegally occupied by him to a non-paying tenant, Rihaan. Rihaan was a hooligan working for Ishaan and made many attempts to damage the property of Kishan.

When Rihaan’s activities, backed up by Ishaan, increased manifold, Kishan entered Ishaan’s property and slapped Rihaan on his face. That should have ended the evil ambitions of Ishaan-Rihaan combine but, possibly on a suicide mission; they further enhanced their destructive activities.

  

When it crossed the limits, Kishan again spoke to the colony people who, barring one Chan, accepted that Kishan has a right to take measures to protect his property. This time Kishan entered Ishaan’s property, found Rihaan and broke his leg. Next day, Ishaan sent an assault party to destroy Kishan’s property but was duly repelled by Kishan who threatened Ishaan of similar reaction when and if required.

Will it be the end of their confrontation? Or should Kishan have destroyed Ishaan’s property once in for all or, at least, taken back his own property, to ensure this?

Readers to answer; advise Kishan accordingly and end this story suitably.

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Sleep Well, Indore!

The regular stone-pelting on my army colleagues in Kashmir reminded me of an article of mine published when Indore had communal riots in 2008. Just replace 'Indore' with 'Kashmir' and it is as relevant today!

 Sleep Well, Indore!

That stone had absolutely no business to be so damn accurate! And fatal! None! It was hurled by a 12 year old innocent totally untrained in warfare. This boy may not have even shaved once! This stone had a very stupid shape; the weight was anything but balanced. It must have been difficult to hold it, leave aside throwing. That too so accurately! The visibility was very poor with so much of smoke around, half created gleefully by the rioters and the rest by a scared police. It is said that in Mahabharat time they used to call off the war the moment the bugle was blown at the dusk.  Unfortunately, there are no such rules in this deadly game the politicians have expertised in. That’s why it will always remain a mystery how the hell that ‘stupid’ stone found the exact spot in the head to hit and the exact penetration to make to ensure that the highly decorated soldier had no chance whatsoever!

Compare this stone with the many instances when sophisticated weapons in expert hands failed to accomplish this task.

Compare with that bullet which was fired by that well trained Chinese soldier who had all the time in the world to aim in the semi darkness at Nathula, when this soldier, Rakesh, was a young officer. Okay, it missed only by a whisker, but miss it did! Or with that land mine 4 days later which was just 3 feet away from Rakesh when it tried its evil designs? Fine, it incapacitated him for some time, he was unconscious but that was surely not the performance desired from a state-of-art land mine which was well concealed by expert hands! Or compare with that attempt by the Nature itself when that huge land slide near Lungthu which almost buried Rakesh, now a Captain, almost alive? Is it not great inefficiency burying 3 vehicles of the convoy along with 7 persons but leaving the primary object unharmed save for a leg fracture?

Next, compare it with that LMG burst which was fired from a point-blank range in 1965 at Khemkaran sector but managed to just put some lead in Rakesh’s left arm? What should be the cost of one such bullet with all that administrative and training support put in (even if we discount the life of that enemy soldier who was pierced by Major Rakesh’s bayonet), as against the stupid shaped stone in 2008?

If you are still not convinced of the gross injustice and unfairness, remember 1971? That fierce attack launched on Major Rakesh and his troops? And do you remember that evil-looking pistol which was trained on Rakesh’s temple for what seemed like eternity before that technologically advanced weapon, so well maintained by the Pakistani army, decided to get jammed? Oh, losing out to the stupid stone!!

If so far it did not happen - the protagonist survived - definitely that dark night in 1976 in Assam should have done it through that ugly looking knife of the nexalite which pierced the right shoulder of Rakesh? But then it was only a partial success - which turned out to be a failure actually- as that shoulder was decorated with higher rank! No Sir, it’s really absurd!!

Srilankans are very brave and determined; LTTE should have comfortably finished this ‘task’ in 1988. After all it was their terrain, Rakesh knew nothing about it; they had the huge advantage of surprise as they had ambushed the IPKF in the jungle. So many bullets, so close, not one piercing through any of the sensitive parts of Rakesh so as to ‘accomplish the task’! How do they place Guerrilla warfare so high in military training?

And how come this ‘stone’ competed ‘successfully’ against the brute force of the rebels in Somalia which hated the peacekeeping Lt. Col. Rakesh and had surrounded him from all sides?

Yes, it was a close shave for Colonel Rakesh at Kargil, just 50 feet below the steep climb looking into the barrel of the machine gun well held by the confident adversary while Rakesh was as it is half-dead  with exhaustion. But other than grazing his back, it did nothing substantially against Rakesh!

So all the fuss on terrain, technology and training failed; allowed Brigadier Rakesh to retire gracefully and settle down comfortably at the historical town of Indore to a well-deserved rest and comfort after all those bloody battles and sufferings.

And, suddenly, here comes that real gem - a ‘stupid shaped stone’ hurled by an equally stupid looking 12 year old hitting Rakesh on his temple absolutely accurately, killing him on spot while he was just buying vegetables for his family!!!

So, Indore feel good, we have 12 year olds who can achieve without any training (and expenses) what many armies and terrorist groups could not!!

Moral of the story then is “sleep well, Indore.”

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