Par(a) excellence

Brig Sapatnekar,who was also a prosecution witness (witness No. 186) in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination trial,grew up in a middle-class Maharashtrian household in Pune. A second generation officer,Sapatnekar’s younger brother,father and paternal uncle all donned the olive green uniform. Born in the year of the historic Quit India movement,Sapatnekar went to school in a ‘Poona’ where,as he describes it,”There were more tongas than cars and more trees than people.”

Soon,this bright student of the Bishop’s School joined the NDA. At NDA,the Drill Saab (Drill Instructor),by mispronouncing his surname,made him Cadet Safed-nicker,a funny surname which stuck for quite a while. After three eventful years at Khadakvasla,it was destination Dehradun,and the Indian Military Academy (IMA) for him.

Here too,there was no dearth of memorable incidents which were a staple of Sapatnekar’s life. One such incident which stands out is that of a ceremonial parade,during which the warm,muggy day took its toll on many a cadet,tired of standing in the sun for long hours. Yet,as Sapatnekar puts it,”In the Army,there are strict procedures for doing everything in the approved soldierly manner,from tying shoelaces to fainting on parade. If a GC (Gentleman Cadet) wants to faint,he must not. If he still wants to faint,he must do it like a soldier and that means falling to the ground ramrod straight,like a log,balli ke jaise.”

Commissioned into the 4th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment or 4 Para in 1961,Sapatnekar became the commanding officer of 10 Para in 1978. Before that,he participated in the Indo-Pak War of 1971,served in places as far apart as the Rann of Kutch,Sikkim,Ladakh and Nagaland. He was also the Assistant Military and Naval Attaché to the Indian Embassy in Washington DC and an instructor at the Defence Services Staff College,Wellington,along with being part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka.

Written in a lucid,eloquent style,the book is more than just the recounting of past events or the chronicle of a distinguished career in the Army. It’s an entertaining and thought-provoking read,with several incidents (like those about Commando Sukkha; God ‘shave’ the Queen; Miss Liberty and Miss Freedom and The Odd Couple) staying with you after you’ve finished reading it from cover to cover.

Yet,the lasting impression you get is that of all the human qualities,empathy and good humour are surely the most enduring. In Sapatnekar’s words,”To safeguard privacy,names have either been eliminated or changed. Their resemblance to persons living is purely coincidental. For that,they have my sympathy.”