Journey of the lifetime - "Bharat Darshan"

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

-          Saint Augustine 

Mahatma Gandhi travelled across the country before he dived fully into the Indian Freedom Struggle. It is equally important for all of us that we understand the pulse of the nation, before we embark upon our respective journeys as administrator of this nation. Travel has often been regarded as the best way to understand and sensitize one towards ground realities existing in the country. I have read a lot about colour and diversity of the country, but the last two months gave me an opportunity to live it, to feel it and to imbibe it into my soul. I must extend my deep gratitude and thanks towards the Govt of India and the Academy, to present me with such a wonderful opportunity to explore my beloved motherland – at places where a few have gone, at places where civilizations have prospered for centuries, at places where divinity can be experienced and at places where modern dreams take shape of world class infrastructures.  I can do nothing but to be amazed and admire the beauty of her landscapes, the divinity of her soul, the richness and diversity in her culture, the glory of her past and the promises for her future. Such is my country, my motherland – India.

We left the academy on 20^th of December 2014 with excitement in our heart, dreams in our eyes and heavy luggage in our hands. Our first stay was none other than a forward post on the slopes of hills in Mendhar Sector in Rajouri District – just 400m away from the Line of Control. I had only heard about LoC in news, but it was a time to live it along with my brave jawans sharing their bunkers, toilets, kitchen and more importantly, their laughter and agony. I feel privileged to have stayed at such a critical place, where you are just a shot away from death, in the duty of my motherland. Trips to Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, HQ and support units of 5 Grenadiers, enhanced my understanding of the working culture of the army and the harsh environment in which they operate. Patrolling, ambush in night and raid demo – all are experiences which will keep reminding me of my stay. But, something that is closest to my heart is Barakhana – a farewell dinner hosted in honour of someone who is going on pension, the sympathy, the thread of belongingness was deeply touching. The leadership qualities of Bhatti saheb is what I am carrying forward from this place. I am thankful to army to present us with an opportunity to fire weapons like Pistol, MMG, LMG, INSAS rifle and AK 47. The inhospitable weather conditions, the tough terrain, the fear of death and add to it, the distance from the family, the conditions in which our army guards our border without an iota of slackness and with utmost sincerity and motivation, I don’t have words to sing their praises of glory. Only thing, I can do is to work equally hard and with passion, so that they do not have any problem when they deal with civil authorities. Equally fascinating was our trip to Indo Pak border at Jaisalmer, which was manned by Border Security Force. The patrolling on camel, jeep and foot, night surveillance – everything is done here. But, there is a difference between the conditions at International Border and Line of Control. IBs are more stable with not much activities of infiltration, especially after border fencing has been completed. But, the extremities of temperature in the desert, for hundreds of km no habitation is found, conditions are really harsh to operate and only the brave can survive. Next in line was Airforce station at Jodhpur. In a two day attachment we got to see modern aircrafts – MiGs, Sukhoi  and helicopters. MiGs takeoff and landing is truly an enthralling experience. Next was the turn of Navy at INS Hansa, Goa. We visited the air force arm of the navy. We went to visit the aircrafts, their hangers and maintenance station. The high point was the simulator room which simulates the flight. It was a wonderful experience operating flight in simulator where you get a feel of conditions in exactly same manner as if you are manning the flight. The visit to Navy Museum helped us understand the working of the navy and the structure of ships. After having covered Army, Navy and Airforce in isolation, we met officers from all three wings under one roof at Defense Staff College, Wellington. A state of the art, world class institution imparts training in strategy, planning and inter force coordination to the few selected elite officers from Army, Navy and Air Force. We also, got a chance to visit training centre of National Security Guard at Manesar, a force that specializes in handling insurgency and terrorism operations in India. Although in existence since 1984, NSG has gained tremendous popularity after their success operation in Mumbai Attack of 2008. We were shown demo on how NSG operates in different emergency situations and maintain VIP security. I must admit that visit to each one – Army, Air Force, Navy, BSF and NSG, was a unique learning experience for me that enhanced our level of understanding about these forces – their culture and mode of operation, introduced us to various operations conducted by them, sensitised us towards the harsh working condition under which they operate and am sure all this will contribute in enhancing the level of coordination between civil and military authorities in joint operations we undertake.

The external and internal frontiers of the nation are very much secure and unconquerable and hence, we move towards improving socio-economic conditions of the poorest of the poor section of the society. First such visit was to URMUL in Bikaner, which is working to improve the conditions of people living in arid regions of Northern Rajasthan, especially Jaisalmer and Bikaner district. URMUL functions as a multi nodal agency, providing infrastructure to sell milk, handicrafts as well as providing school education to girls. This has resulted in bringing economic prosperity and social balance in the region. We also, visited a village whose inhabitants came from Pakistan during 1971 war. URMUL provides work to girls and women who do beautiful embroidery and hand work on various clothes which are sold in market. In Mumbai, we visited a NGO called Masoom, which is doing a good work for night schools running in Mumbai. They oversee the working of schools; have enhanced their functioning capacities leading to drastic improvement in results in Secondary Examination. The schools which used to give 30% pass results have achieved 80 -85% pass result. A perfect example of NGO- Public partnership where NGO does not own anything but is only providing support to government schools through proper interventions. I also, visited one of their night schools and was amazed to see the enthusiasm to learn in the children and working teenagers. We also, visited Mallahatti village in Ooty, where small tea growers have formed a cooperative society, which has improved the socio-economic conditions of villagers. The most satisfying part is this whole cooperative is run by women. A visit to tribal school in Chandrapur, which I can easily put as one of the best managed schools. The school has a bank, library, vegetable garden and smart class, all managed by students themselves. The children seems to well aware in general studies and teachers all energetic and committed. All this has been made possible by having a management committee comprising only of women whose children are studying in the school. When we came back to Delhi, we got an opportunity to visit Night shelters – Rain Basera, run by the government for homeless people. This is an effort to provide a roof over head to each and every one. These are really changing lives of thousands of people living in the poorest conditions. Working in tandem are the government agencies, whether I talk of e-governance facilities in Jaisalmer or e-office at Sindhudurg or Water and waste treatment plants at Chandigarh. All these are making a conscious effort towards providing better and transparent governance to all.

Third in chain are the institutions that are making us self reliant and taking our economy to the commanding heights. The Pride of the Nation – Nuclear Power Plant at Tarapur, is one of the icons of Modern India, showing our worthy place in the world. It was a dream comes true for all of us to make a visit to Nuclear Power Complex where all four reactors along with Power house and Central Control Room are housed. A high security zone area along the coastline of Arabian Sea, where the scientific marvel of India is present. Experience and study of Mumbai Metro Rail, Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers and Tea Factories at Ooty, showed us the glimpse of varied sectors of our economy. Each one of them excelling in their field and setting new benchmarks worldwide.

Moving to the softer part, India is the birthplace of three major religions of the world. We have a culture and society where we have assimilated all religions and imbibed them in our lives and soul. The attractions of the trip were Divya Darshan of Mata Vaishno Devi and Lord Balaji at Tirupati. Cleansing of mind and soul, experiencing divinity in the surrounding and peace of mind, we take blessings of Supreme Being to bestow us with the powers to stand on ground of morality, dharma and truth. The management of lakhs of people who visit these temples daily without any fail, providing them with accommodation, food and the best experience in darshan is a goliath task and are possible only with God’s blessings. We were fortunate to visit Tanot Mata Temple at Jaisalmer ( witness of Battle of Longewala in Indo Pak War 1965 and with Mata’s blessings 250 bombs went unexploded), Karni Mata Temple at Bikaner ( temple of rats) , the famous Siddhi Vinayak Temple at Mumbai and Srikalhasti Temple in Tirupati. Visit to churches of Goa and Mangalore, took us to the European architecture of 16-17^th century when Portuguese and French landed in India. And last among all, was visit to the Temple for Freedom Fighters, the Cellular Jail, popularly known as KalaPaani. We visited the jail and relived the dark period of British rule through the music and light show, which narrates the story of KalaPaani. I bow down million times in the respect of martyrs of Indian Freedom Movement.

With the human civilization history of more than 5000 years, India has a rich historical background. The majestic palaces of Rajaputanas kingdom of Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur stand testimony to the grand power of Indian rulers and kings in the past centuries. Junagadh Fort made of red sandstone, Jaisalmer fort of yellow sandstone and Mehrangarh Fort all are glorious examples of military acumen and top class designs to build unconquerable forts. The strength of these buildings is as such that they have stood strong to all attacks from human to nature for last 500 years. Laxmi Niwas Palace of Bikaner and Ummed Bhawan of Jodhpur are two grand buildings who with their grandeur and beauty can mesmerise any visitor and are second to none. They are the symbol of wealth and prosperity as much as of architectural richness of Medieval India.

We have studied a lot of cultural diversity of India, but you must live it to feel it. Whether I talk of Rajasthani dance and song at Camel Festival of Bikaner or Handicraft Mela at Jodhpur or Dance Show at Jaisalmer, the tune of “Kesariya Balam Padharo Mhare Desh” still rings in my ear. From the folklore of Rajasthan where the music is from the local instruments we moved to Cruise Dance of Goa, performed by fishermen and other artists on electronic musical instruments. And, there was a folk dance with villagers of Mallahatti village in Ooty, the richness in art, dance and music of India is beyond comparison. Visit to anthropological museum at Andaman exposed us to lives of Jarawa tribe who still live as nomads and hunters. It is quite unbelievable that such a variety exists in India.

India is perhaps the only country bestowed with beauty of all geographical landforms. The mountains, glaciers and valleys of Himalayas to the Plains to Ganges to the Deserts of Rajasthan to the plateaus of Deccan to the beaches of Goa and Andaman, you get all you wish to see. Some of the most beautiful views we had of snow covered Pir Panjal range at Mendhar, Desert Safari at Jaisalmer, Lively Beaches of Goa, Pristine beaches of Sindhudurg and heavenly beauty of Havelock. All of these are a must visit and are in my list of second visit.

Different people call this journey by different names, some call it Bharat Darshan, some call it Winter Study Tour, but I call it a “Learning Trail”. It has been rightly said; nothing can teach you better than experiencing it yourself. I along with my 17 friends lived each and every moment, felt the pulse of the nation, understood diversity and colour of tradition and culture we have. India is not just a geographical boundary or the law of land that binds her people together, it is the common thread of “Being Indian” that runs in our blood, in our genes. It is this emotional connect that we share, binds us as a country together. I will cherish these memories for life long and will keep the spirit of a traveller alive in me.