GETTING LOST

 GETTING LOST

 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

03/VI/2023

 

My wife and I were taking our after dinner stroll last evening. The weather has been kind. There is a feeling of being in Shimla. One couldn’t have asked for more.

 

Uncle, dekho safaid chiriya baithi hai, said our neighbour. People now understand our love for nature. One has been sharing pictures with nature lovers.

 

This one too looks quite similar to the one you had sent earlier, he said. It was dark with just the street lights on. One could not make out what bird it was. It wasn’t the usual ones we keep meeting. The way it was perched, it appeared that it was scared and holding on to that branch for dear life.

 

I rushed to fetch my camera to take a closer look. Indeed it was a white pigeon. How did it reach here intrigued us?

 

People here tame pigeons. This must have been a naughty one, who instead of going into its pen would have taken one last flight and got lost. Pigeons generally home on to their abodes but this one had drifted for sure.

 

It could have been that while it was in flight with its flock, a kite would have chased them. That is when it could have gotten detached from its mates and taken a detour to save itself and then could not have traced its path back. It must have found this tree close to our house as a temporary halt to re-orient, rest and recoup before returning.

 

We tried doing that ‘aa-aa-aa’ kind of talk with this pigeon, which owners often do. The little bird was too scared to react. Had we stayed longer, it would have felt more threatened and flown away and got lost even further. It was time to leave it there.

 

When the terrain is unfamiliar and you are lost especially beyond dusk, chances to trace back your steps becomes difficult. Tragedy can occur if this bird would have bumped into some obstacle and fallen on the ground. There are cats always on the prowl and would have swooped upon it right away.

 

This morning at dawn, I went to see if the bird was still there. It had gone. I prayed that it reaches its owner and be in safe hands.

 

Reminded me of my Jaisalmer days. With one pip on the shoulder, one got his maiden opportunity to command a platoon of BMPs. We were deployed for training with all our vehicles and equipment in a ‘hide’ (harbour). I had a ‘caravan’ exclusively for myself, in the rear of a thirteen and a half ton Russian BMP-I in the midst of the desert.

 

At the end of the day, it was customary to gather for dinner at the Company Commander’s caravan which used to be a modified 1 tonner. A couple of chota-chotas, dinner and back was the routine. Being the first day of deployment, the mood was ‘jazz’. The move and deployment had been by the book, so the company commander allowed us to let our hair down.

 

Happy and glad we broke off to hit the sack. My abode was not more than fifty yards from the Company Commanders set up. There was a small bundh which one had to cross and there you were. In between one stopped for a short break for No 1. It being a dark night, one lost his bearings.

 

One could hear the jackals howl in the distance, but not a sound or light could be seen anywhere else. One thought to return to the Company Commanders set up but the folks had stubbed out all lanterns. There was no point taking a chance, so one found a tree and sat with my back to it and waited for dawn. At the break of day, I realised, had I taken ten more steps, my BMP was parked there.

 

Had I told this episode to my crew, they would have had a hearty laugh. But a 2Lt could get away with anything. They did ask me where I was the whole night. I said, I was sent on a night guard check. They giggled and never mentioned it again. Probably, they saw me sitting with my back against a tree, catching up with those twenty winks which were required to start a new day.

 

I wish the white pigeon luck so that it reaches safety. Will it tell the other pigeons that it had lost its way? I wonder!!!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND

© ® NOEL ELLIS