Ceci est ma Vie

After I posted about the Mig -25 on my blog a few of my friends ,recent ones, called me up and asked me why the obsession with fighter planes.I must say its no obsession.When I was a id,almost all of my male friends wanted to be either an astronaut or a fighter pilot.Inever knew what I wanted.The profession of a pilot never really appealed to me.My interest started when I started watching the various news channels dissecting the implications of the tests and of the sanctions that would follow.I never knew that there was so much going on in this world.

Then I got that life altering oppurtunity.As the head boy ofmy school I got an oppurtunity to visit the injured soldiers of the Kargil conflict at the Army Base Hospital in Delhi.It was a heart wrenching experience tohear the stories of battle and to talk to brave soldiers of the Indian Army who were more pained by the loss of their "brothers" than their own limbs.I spent a good 5 Hrs.with those brave souls before leaving to meet the Adjutant General of the Indian Army in the Rashtrapati Bhawan.I saw him and thought to myself.."what marvellous presence can a man in uniform have."His talk impressed me even more.I presented to him a cheque for the humble amount that we had collected from within the school.He told me that although he appreciated the gesture,the Indian Army is not short on funds.through me he wanted to convey to my schoolmates that what an Army Jawan really wants is respect."If you ever see an Army man behind you in a queue , step aside and let him go first"...were his words.After that day I have never missed an oppurtunity to do the same and express my respect to the brave men of the Indian Defence forces.

You perhaps might want to ask me why I did not join the a defence force myself...well that`s a long story for some other day.