LT COL NOEL ELLIS 29/XII/2024 My heart is filled with grief after the passing away of Dr Manmohan Singh. One did not have to know him personally, but deep within one relates to this man for his vision, humbleness, and knowledge. May he continue to inspire us and many of our countrymen in the future. Having said that, the state declared a seven-day state mourning. As things would go, the National flag, wherever it is displayed, would be flown at half mast in respect of the departed soul. All state functions have been postponed or cancelled for that duration. Another gesture to pay reverence to his service to the Nation. Is state mourning only for everything ‘Sarkari’? Or, is state mourning applicable to the civil streets also. I am not getting into politics of any kind but asking as a common citizen. What caught my attention was a phone call by an NCO of our Army Institute. Sir, the function which was supposed to be...
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LT COL NOEL ELLIS 27/XII/2024 Last night one heard a heart-breaking news of the passing away of Dr Manmohan Singh. A sardar with a big Dil and a sharp Dimag. My heartfelt condolences to the family and every citizen of India. Let me share an anecdote of a chance encounter with his office three decades ago. It was in 1993-94, he was the then ‘Finance Minister’ of India. The story goes that we were part of the "Ski-Himalaya Expedition". The expedition was preparing to traverse a 1500 km ski touring voyage from Karakoram Pass to the base of Mount Kailash in Nepal passing through the states of J&K, Himachal Pradesh and UP. Those days, it was not easy to fund the expedition. We found a few sponsors. Let me confess, we were under the Army adventure cell for the preparations. The internal ‘red tapeism’ was killing us. Delays in procuring equipment due to the complex ‘Kagzi Karwai’ was taking too much time. Our window of skiin...
IT IS CHRISTMAS TIME AGAIN LT COL NOEL ELLIS 23/XII/2024 Christmas time is here. We waited all year for the ‘yule tide’ to come. Cold weather, celebrations, parties, carol singing, pot luck dinners, picnic, socialising, variety of winter flowers, Christmas trees, non veg preparations, baking Christmas cakes and Pakwans is synonymous to Christmas. Last but not the least we fondly remember the ones who have slept in the Lord. The house looks Christmassy and smells Christmassy too. Buntings, decorations, lighting up the home, and decorating the Christmas tree is done. The Carol Singing party visited our home and sang with full josh. Rejuvenating friendship, kinship, relationships, bonds, and ties is the essence of Christmas. Rekindling and remembering good old days and friends are part of the merry making. Festivities, feasting and gifting will extend well into the new year. Our kitchen would be the hub centre of...
LT COL NOEL ELLIS 17/XII/2024 Visiting a railway station always brings out the child in me. Moment, I see steam engines, my heart beats like a train on a track. Those Chuk-Chuk sounds are like lub-dub deep inside the chest. Mind gets flooded with memories and consumed in nostalgia. My favourite ‘Iron Horse’ enchants me no end even today. At the entrance of Jodhpur railway station, we have a ZB class meter gauge engine standing as witness to the years gone by. This old man saw meter gauge turn to broad gauge, steam giving way to Diesel engines which further are on their way out for Electric engines to take their place. However, the passengers and their behaviour has not changed and the rush has not reduced either. The good old ticket window from where we used to buy those cardboard platform tickets has been replaced by an automatic ticket vending machine. Staircases have been replaced with escalators and lifts. A Se...
LT COL NOEL ELLIS 13/XII/2024 Most of us have had an experience of visiting a “Sarkari Daftar” sometime or the other. Some would have had a good experience and some not so good. Let me share a recent experience. Firstly, the 'signages' there are misleading, outdated and worn out . If you are lucky, you would be told to visit room number 19 (just saying). Once you reach there, you may find that room under renovation and a paper stuck on the door, saying this office is on the first floor. You finally locate it, only to see piles of files and tons of paper tied in cloth bundles gathering dust. Are these pending files or old records? It gives an eerie feeling and emanates a typical ‘sarkari odour’. A ‘Babu’ would be sitting behind a desk peering over his computer screen. His desk littered with paper and files, a bottle of water and a cup of tea with its residual brown liquid should not surprise you. This man would be busier than the Prime Min...
LT COL NOEL ELLIS 12/XII/2024 In today’s times, our minds are restless, wavering, and uncertain, sometimes ambiguous. Mind is not thinking but over thinking and constantly conjecturing, sometimes agitated, restless and nervous. Most of the time it gets disturbed and disconcerted. Reasons, most of us know but refuse to accept. The way to find peace of mind for oneself was discovered by me recently. The struggle was on to somehow understand the nuances of this fluctuating mind. Why does it get worked up at things which are beyond one’s control? Why do I have to react, if there is something which I can do nothing about? Money is one big factor. No one knows how much he needs or what amount will suffice. ‘More’ is what we desire. How to earn it? By hook or by crook, fair means or otherwise, by investing, or working for it beyond your own limits and limitations, the list is never ending. Contentment was the key. Health ...
LT COL NOEL ELLIS 11/XII/2024 It has just snowed in Himachal and the rippling effect can be felt here in the Blue City. Mornings are like Shimla, afternoons are hot but evenings are comfortable. The minimum temperature dips to 6 and falling. I recall my days serving in the ‘desert sector’. A crust of ice used to get formed on our ‘canvas’ water buckets if left in the open. Mornings used to be calm but the wind used to pick up speed as the sun came up. The sand would hit your face like tiny needles pricking you. The only comfy place used to be inside your BMP. Sometimes, while out of the cupola & looking for directions, a blast from its ‘exhaust’ would hit you in the face. Believe you me, there could be no better, comforting and warm feeling than that. At the end of the day, you could be smelling of diesel. Your dress would get pock marked with black droplets which shot out of the exhaust. Don’t ask me how we did it in the summer...