Fifty four
By Col J S Malik · green · 2302 · Re attired
कुंजपुरा डायरीज़... 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳 (My short parting speech at farewell dinner from Army) AT FIFTY FOUR..I HAVE A BIG SCORE Thirty one years since that cold winter day of 11th Dec '93 at IMA Dehradun, it has been a journey of learning, toil and vibrant mobility with each breath. But for my family and friends' shoulders to hang on, I couldn't have made it to this day of 31st January '25, when I hang my boots at 54.💥 Born at Hisar, brought up at Sainik School Kunjpura, my time at Echo squadron(83rd) was the toughest. But it carried me till this day. Amongst ups and downs of career & life, it's been a rollercoaster ride. Extensively travelled the length and breadth of our heritage nation. As a combat pilot, it was a visual feast looking at the beautiful landscapes & endless horizons of our mother land, akin from a bird's eye. Deserts, glaciers, jungles, snow, sands, lakes, coastal, Rann... lived it all, dunked it all.💥 Being a soldier, it was always a "in-person" contact with the five "tattvas" differently but in entirety. पृथ्वी(dash down crawl), अग्नि(in the line of fire), आकाश(my flying instructor would say even a monkey can fly in the clear blue skies !!), जल(who can forget the innumerable swimming lessons at the academy !!), वायु(the unforgettable blizzards at Siachen). Pains and thrills to the hilt.... conveniently free and in ample.💥 Metros, rural, banglow, hut, bunker, icy tops, riverside, remote, isolated...it's been a very fair deal of exhilarating adventure too. Trekking, fording, rafting, sliding down on icy slopes ...No easy task all this !!💥 "Play hard and run till you fall dead on ground" was the most heard motivation line from my boisterous seniors. Tried my hand at all field games(broke some legs too !!), racket games, cross country, polo, cycle polo, skating, croquet etc. Swimming was the craziest to learn (the army way you know !!), till I mastered and "enjoyed" it at my own will, later in service.💥 And never to forget the long "rides"(moving the army convoys across the country !!). And if you have not been the train Adjutant of an Army special train, you have not "done it" at all my friend. Endless gazing at the beautiful mustard fields from the roads and tracks of India, gave me my most treasured introspection moments. Travel teaches tolerance, they say. Transit and moves bestowed me the tempo that I shall live with for good.💥 Far and foremost, it was a proud privilege of serving with the finest troops in the world. I am immensely grateful for their loyalty, trust and care in the line of fire & in the line of duty. Most of all, I owe so much to my family for standing beside me all this while.💥 For my buddies in heavens too, who were always "watching" on me from above. You saw me through till this day.💥 कृतज्ञ हूं। आभारी हूं...माता पिता का, परिवार का, सेना का, स्कूल का , मित्रों का ।💥 I couldn't have asked for more. At fifty four, it is indeed a big score !! जय हिन्द 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳 कर्नल जितेन्द्र मलिक @ 2302 @ Green @ Class of '82 31Jan 2025