With heads held high

the old glory days and foster camaraderie

Old buddies meeting,some after a gap of 20-30 years,swapping stories of their postings and heroics in the face of danger – such was the scene on Sunday,May 15,as the Cavalry Association,Pune Chapter,held its bi-annual dinner. Held at Hotel Sagar Plaza,Camp,the event saw over 130 officers and ladies of the armoured corps,both retired and serving members in attendance. “The event was basically a get-together for us retired folk,” chuckles Major General Ivor Satur (retd). “Our unit used to be on horseback in the olden days,before converting to armoured vehicles like tanks around the time of the World War II. We have always been an elite branch of the Indian Army,since the establishment of the unit in the 18th century,both under the King of England and the Government of India. To celebrate the glory of our corps,we hold two dinners,one in the summers and one in the winters. We were very happy to see officers coming from not only Pune,but also Ahmednagar and Mumbai. A few even flew in from abroad,” he adds.

“We usually get together to celebrate Armoured Day,which falls on May 1,to commemorate the commencement of mechanisation of the cavalry regiments of the Indian Army,” says Brigadier Deepak Bajaj (retd). “Normally we celebrate it at our alma mater,the Armoured Corps Centre and School at Ahmednagar,but this year,due to some constraints,the celebrations did not take place. Thus,we decided to call officers from nearby areas for our dinner,where we combined the celebrations of the two events. The biggest aim,of course,was to reconnect will all our colleagues.”

What is very impressive is that the event was completely organised and paid for by the Pune Chapter. “We all contributed and paid from our own pockets,” says Brigadier Bajaj,proudly. “We did not seek any help from outside and one of the biggest reasons that we did not hold the celebrations in the army mess was to ensure that we were not dependant on any resources of the services.”

Also present at the event were Lieutenant General AK Singh,General Officer Commanding-in-Chief,Southern Command,and Major General AS Chabbewal,Commandant,Armoured Corps Centre and School,Ahmednagar. “Lieutenant General Singh had even organised memorabilia to remember the occasion by,” says Colonel Venkatraman Ram. “Besides the novelty of the occasion,it was also a chance for us to relive the old days. We came dressed in our ceremonial uniforms and had even organised for traditional Cavalry lances,which were positioned along with lance men at the entrance of the venue. All in all,it was a great way of fostering camaraderie and the Cavalry spirit,” he concludes.