MHOW

:                               THE HOME COMING WITHOUT A HOME TO

 I was coming to Mhow, kind courtesy of Lt Gen Pant, Commandant MCTE, Who had invited me to deliver a talk on ‘Signals in Sino Indian Conflict of 1962 as it effected me.’ and also join the planned get together of SODE 41, as the   Faculty Commander during the tenure of the Course in FCE.

It was   a home coming for me, unfortunately without a home to come to. Our home, where we had lived during our last stint at MCTE, some time during 19 79-82, a Second World War Hutment on Generals Road existed no more It gave me no joy to see that the dilapidated hutment that we had moved in to and over time with love and effort    nurtured it into the most coveted dwelling of its type on Generals Road.. had been   razed and in its place had sprung two modern characterless looking bungalows.

 It was with a late evening Air India flight from Delhi   that I landed at Indore, with the city lights glowing all around.

 Indore  at  night appeared to be a stranger, my eyes  kept roaming , desperately and fruitlessly searching for some old land marks to anchor on , what I could see was a mass of new  buildings with  glass façades,  illuminated sign boards flanking both sides of the broad well metalled road from the Airport to the City. Strangely, though it was early night, the traffic on the road was rather sparse, possibly every one was glued to the TV watching the on going India Bangladesh ICC 20 20   match.

 The car took a turn   and hit the road to Mhow and then the nightmare began: there was hardly any road left  with  diggings  on both flanks, for flyovers under construction,  on going development  for new colonies, shopping centres   and what have you,  living little space  for the heavy two way traffic  of trucks, passenger busses, cars  and the ubiquitous motor cycles ridden  by daredevil riders, zipping  in and out of the non existing gaps in the chaotic  traffic on the now single lane of a road..

  The torture, from  blaring horns, head lights on full beams  making one blind to the oncoming traffic, lasted for long and ended only  when  the car crossed the toll barrier near Mhow and the   sailing  became  smooth  with the drive  now on   the reasonably good surface road  with  sparse traffic.

 Mhow Cantt at night with brightly lit roads, flood lit  prominent buildings, approach gates, sign boards and even some trees was shinning,: power appeared to be available in plenty .

 It appeared as if    the town   was awaiting   the arrival   of some VIP. However, for the time being it had to be content with me, a non VIPs’ arrival.

Nearing the portals of MCTE,  it was a different world altogether,  what was visible of  MCTE from the car window was shining like a new bride,  even the iconic tree  of HQ Mess appeared   much younger than it’s age.

Passing through and by a plethora of new constructions the car drove into the guestroom complex where I was received by Lt Col Preetal, the SO of FCC. Till now, in my retired life, I had   come across Captains and Majors of the other sex; It was for the first time that I was confronted by a Lt Col of their elk.

 Looking around I could see bright lights all around, what especially caught the eye was a brightly lit complex in near distance that proved to be the sports complex of MCTE.

 I had nagging feeling that I was in a different place and not in the Mhow of yore.  The place had changed drastically in the last ten years, from my last visit to Mhow.

 Mhow  Cantt by day  wore a different look,  still shining  bright with liberal application of Garu Chuna,  replete with massive,  characterless, new construction sadly interspersed with old bungalows with large compounds, in advance stages of disrepair,  with roofs fallen and grass growing through the  now gaping holes.  Surprisely, a few, though equally derelict, still occupied by some adventurer minded, diehards, unmindful. of the possible danger to life and limb.

 A  round   of  the MCTE Campus evoked a mixed feeling: the old buildings  that of  FCE, that I had commanded, the old mess barrack, where we as YO’s  had dined  for six months, the  dreaded  Commandant’s office complex  appeared to have lost their aura now downgraded   with  current   lowly ranked  occupants., the glamour,  power and authority having shifted    to  modern  and swanky abodes leaving history behind.

 The Passing out Parade Demo by the cadets was impressive and drew prolonged applause.  The following High Tea provided me a unique opportunity to interact with the cadets.

 The time spent with the SODE officers and their wives brought flooding memories of   my tenure as Faculty Commander where and when I had made a large number of enduring friendships.

  My presentation to a packed house, based on the question answer session, appeared to have been well received.

 The Dinner in Ashoak Vatika was an unforgettable experience.  the  soft lights dotting  the vast expense of the lawn , the typical  Malwa  evening breeze blowing mildly,  the myriad trees around, festooned with multi colour lights, swaying in the breeze the  old favourites being rendered  by   the   Gazal Singer in the back-ground, combined to make the setting memorable and  the mood go soft, albeit sadly  reminding  me, now alone, of such  Mhow evenings  of distant past spent together, with Jeet, my late wife.

 On a visit to FCE,   so different from that of yore, now located in the renovated/rebuilt Raman Block,   with Brigadier Bhatt   apprising and updating as to where the Corps has arrived technologically and also of venturing in the yet unexplored field of Robotics.  The Corps that brought in Computers has always been forward thinking and pioneers in new fields.

A visit to the ongoing exercise of YO’s  being conducted in the faculty premises convinced me of the new challenges to be faced  by Signallers, both present and future, of managing  the complex networks, providing voice and data, while not forgetting the requirements of logistics and man management.

The Dinner the next evening on the rear lawns of HQ Mess provided a unique opportunity to interact with young officers of different ranks and length of service and    renew friendship with old friends staying in Signals Vihar.

Preceding the dinner  we were witness to a unique function: a quiz on Corps Domestic Matters: organized by the Young Officer  and conducted under  a dynamic Quizmaster from staff, where along with    the  competing teams   the more mature audience also got a chance to participate, some times silently at others vocally.

The unique feature of the evening, apart from the lavish spread, was being serenaded   by a Saxophone player: a welcome change from the Bagpiper of yore.

 To catch the   returning flight from Indore I had to start early, with the morning Sun yet to emerge from the horizon Mhow Cantt, was still shining bright and had some early walkers already on the road. Surprisingly there were also some health conscious, unaccompanied, ladies also out.

Mhow happily was safe for ladies unlike the other not so lucky places in   the Country.