On a different trajectory

The classroom of India's nuclear scientists in the midst of the Rajasthan desert beckoned. We were to go to Pokharan. A word that divided...

The classroom of India8217;s nuclear scientists in the midst of the Rajasthan desert beckoned. We were to go to Pokharan. A word that divided India into patriots and CIA agents. The site of the Bharatiya Janata Party8217;s greatest achievement. 8220;That8217;s the Jaisalmer fort, on your right at 2 o8217; clock,8221; the pilot told me as we approached the landing strip.

All I could see was desert sand, a vast expanse of it, nothing else. Then over the horizon, through the simmering heat, we saw a mirage. No, that was the fort. A huge structure. But there was no time and the pilots after circling over the desert city landed at the fighter air base. Everything here was painted in desert colours, light brown and dull mustard with a little green thrown in at precise intervals.

8220;God forbid, in a war scenario, the enemy aircraft won8217;t be able to make out the difference between the landscape and the air base,8221; a fighter pilot explained. The bomb-proof hangars were painted the same way. We hacks had been specially flown in fromDelhi to witness the fire power capabilities of the air force.

8220;Make sure that desert sand does not get into your eyes, it is radioactive and you may lose your eyesight,8221; I said, trying to scare a colleague. The air force officer accompanying us glared at me, especially after my colleague demanded a pair of sunglasses. 8220;How far is the area where the nuclear tests were conducted?8221; we asked the officer. 8220;Classified information,8221; he mumbled and shepherded us all into a waiting helicopter.

The desert sand rose as our chopper descended at the air force firing range some 20 minutes later. There was a sea of faces here in the midst of the desert to witness the exercise. Defence personnel from all over the country had come here and the air force kept thanking Doordarshan for showing it live to the entire nation.

8220;Earlier we used to have this fire power demonstration near Delhi. It used to be a mega affair on a weekend. We used to advertise in advance and people would drive from all adjoining areas 8211;Delhi, Gurgaon, Meerut, Faridabad 8212; to see the air fire power. But with commercial activity increasing over Delhi8217;s air space and a lot of houses coming up in the Ghaziabad area, we had to shift from there,8221; Chief of Air Staff Anil Yashwant Tipnis had explained to us earlier in the day.

8220;But is the air force trying to send some kind of a message to our neighbours across the border by holding an air superiority demonstration at Pokharan, less than a year after conducting the nuclear tests?8221; we asked the air force personnel and got stoic silence for a reply.

Story continues below this ad

The demonstration no doubt was impressive. Well, that8217;s an understatement.

It was simply breathtaking. The state-of-the-art fighter jets breaking sound barriers, making a loop flying thousands of feet above sea level. Strafing enemy airfields, destroying their fuel dumps, communication systems, bridges, just like what NATO forces seem to be doing to Serbia day in and day out. What I liked the best in the fire power demonstration was our proudacquisition: the lean, mean, fighting machine, the Mi-35 attack helicopter.

It was during the demonstration that news of an air crash in Delhi killing a large number of air force personnel came in. We rushed from one officer to another trying to get information and details. None was very forthcoming. I still wonder whether it was uncaring of us to tuck into a hearty meal that afternoon and down gallons of thick Rajasthani lassi and fly back in a similar AN-32 aircraft 8212; or whether we were simply fatalists with an if it has to happen it will happen attitude.

None of us appeared to be scared flying back in an AN-32, most of us were still fast asleep when the aircraft approached the runway at Palam where hours earlier precious lives had been lost. But then life is like that.