FIRST PARA JUMP
LT COL NOEL ELLIS
23/V/2022
21 May 1991 was a very special
day in my life and army career. Let me elaborate.
From the Mech forces serving in the
deserts of Jaisalmer, one was thrown into the frozen desert of Ladakh. The
‘Second to None’ Battalion became ‘my’ battalion in High Altitude. The
picturesque Pangong Tso and mountain ranges surrounding it would be my abode
for that tenure.
A Mech Inf Officer, posted to an
Infantry Brigade/Battalion, above 14000 feet, with operational areas another
four thousand feet higher appeared to be a dream. Troops were “Maroon berets”. Officers
of the battalion were mostly from Infantry. CO a Para Commando, 2IC too was
from PARA regiment.
Orders for the first Long Range
Patrol (LRP) for the season was received. Contents of the letter were
“Confidential”. Behind the same letter, recommendations the patrol leader were scribbled
by the Adjutant. Yours truly was sent to say ‘Ni-Hao’ to the Chinese.
Send this ‘Mechy’. Chushul to
Mahe via numerous mountain passes was my itinerary for the next twenty-one
days. We had more Yaks & ponies than men on the LRP. This was going to be
my bread and butter and the excitement peaked. Our patrol brought all the “khabar”
as desired. Pat on the back was given for a good job done but got a kick in the
ass for completing it four days earlier than the stipulated time.
Hadn’t even opened my boots in my
‘Basha’, when a Pinja came to deliver a message from the Adjt. Next patrol
along Shyok river was in the waiting. This time I protested. CO heard me out
& replied, ‘tu sala Mech wala hi jayega, koi shak’. “Peechay mur daur ke
chal” was the only thing one could do.
Pinjas were sons of the soil &
tough. That LRPs was a life time experience. We were treading on virgin soil
overlooked by picturesque mountains. There was snow and ice, lakes and streams,
gushing rivers, with birds like Ram Chakor, animals like marmots & Ibex
crisscrossing. Streams were teaming with brown trout a staple for me to feed
on, it was fun.
Another Mech Officer got posted
to the battalion. We were having drinks together in the Mess, when someone
said, you bloody Mechy’s, thou shalt not sit together. It hurt me a little. Next
day I was sent to Lukung post and the other officer on the next LRP.
Though I was wearing a maroon
beret, I wasn’t wearing a ‘para wing’. The mere absence of which churned my
mind. I volunteered just to see what these para guys did special, which we Mech
guys couldn’t do. ‘Para jumps karne ka bhoot sawar ho gaya’.
Landed at Para training school. Two
weeks of gruelling PT and rolling followed. You stand you roll; you sit you roll;
you see your instructor you roll. Roll and nothing but roll all day till you automatically
rolled while entering your tent. Wife was accompanying. When she got fed up of
me, she told me to get lost and get rolling.
Came the fateful day of 21 May
that year. It was the day of our first jump. We all charged up to go. J-Hour
was fast approaching.
The night on the eve of our jump we
called on the Chief Instructor & got sozzled till the wee hours of the
morning. At 4 am we realised that we had to ‘fit chute’ on the tarmac at 0530
am. None could walk straight after that binge. We reached the dumbbell just on
time.
I don’t remember who helped be wear
my parachute, who was in front of me or behind me. It was a MI-8 which flew us
to the DZ (Dropping Zone), I recall. Standing inside the chopper was like being
in a local bus, shaky plus the rum effect still hadn’t worn out. We could
hardly balance ourselves. We flew into the rising sun.
The ‘dummy’ got kicked out of the
chopper and so were we. “Green on go”. Out we went with a prayer on our lips
and a loud cry “Chattri mata ki jai”. Earth approached faster than expected and
landed with a big thud. Most of us forgot we had to roll which we had been
practicing now for two weeks.
The next day was our second jump.
By afternoon we heard the unfortunate news of Mr Rajiv Gandhi passing away in a
bomb blast. It was the same fateful day of our first jump, 21 May 1991. One had
mixed feelings. Happy because we had successfully completed the first jump but
sad as our PM was taken away so tragically. Some days are just etched in your
mind for posterity.
Having earned my ‘wings’ four
jumps later, there was no more patrolling for me when I reached back the
battalion. I was now a Pinja. Kisi ko koi shaq? I wonder!!!!!!!!
JAI HIND & TASHI DELEG
© NOEL ELLIS
PS – The ‘paratrooper’ motto
says, MEN APART EVERY MAN AN EMPEROR. They also said, ‘you jump from thousands
of feet but it is the last inch that matters’…..How true.
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