Love and gods will ** 85

India, particularly in the city of Mumbai is a small tea stall run by poor women. These stalls are allotted by the government and they serve a definite purpose in society. Years back I had an emotional encounter with a young girl who ran a tea stall. I could never locate her again as she seemed to have vanished in the depths of this great city.

It all started in the month of June, the period when the monsoon is in full force. I drove to my office, when thunder boomed and boomed again. Torrential rain commenced and I thought it a good idea to stop the car and wait for the rain to stop. I looked around and through the rain espied a small Jhunkar tea stall. I rushed to the stall and saw it was run by a young girl. She was perhaps about 22 or 23, but she looked lovely in her sari that clung to her body.

She served me tea and hot samosa. I was loathed to leave and continued sitting there. We got into a conversation and she told me she was married for 3 years and had no kids.

This was the beginning and almost everyday I visited the tea stall. A strange intimacy developed between us and a few days hence , I became a more frequent visitor to her stall. One day I found her crying and she told me she had been beaten by her inlaws as she didnt have a child. Spontaenously I gathered her in my arms to console her. The effect was electric and we ended kissing each other

Love blossomed, at least for me and we had regular trysts in the stall. I was swept by passion and this continued for 2 months. One fine day, I entered the stall, but could not see my girl. An old woman sat and she prepared tea. I casually asked where the young girl was. The woman beamed and told me god had blessed her and she had gone to her village.

I sat stunned, wondering what to do. I didn't even know her name or address. I wondered what lady meant by the words ” blessed by God”. I had a lurking fear of what it meant, but fate had decreed and I had to obey. Memories die hard.

WWII and the Rail line from Thailand to Burma

After the battle of Midway where the Imperial navy suffered a catastrophic defeat, the Japanese had great difficulty in transporting men and material to Burma, where the Imperial army was fighting the British Indian army by sea, as their carrier fleet had been annihilated. This led them to plan to construct a rail line through the thick jungles to Rangoon. It was an arduous task and the Japanese thought it fit to use Allied Prisoners of War as labor for this construction. One of the most difficult stretches was across the river at Kwai. All around the river there were dense tropical forests and cutting through the forest and constructing the bridge over the river was a very difficult task.

The Japanese had a paucity of time and they wanted the bridge and rail line ready in as a short time as possible. this led a very harsh regimen for the prisoners who were made to work 12 hours a day with hardly any food to eat. This aspect of Japanese character has baffled me as they studiously ignored the Geneva Convention on POWs. The Japanese soldiers overseeing the construction treated the prisoners badly and many died during the course of the construction. it was a terrible time and after the war, the Allies tried many of the Imperial army officers and soldiers and hanged many of them.

The Bridge is still there and is a tourist site. There is also an excellent museum that showcases the construction of the bridge. All in all, it’s a place worth visiting.

South China Sea; Muscle power matters ** 88

South China Sea is an area of great economic importance. experts believe that there is more oil under the sea bed here than the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia. Obviously, China wants to appropriate the entire area as part of its economic zone. The Philippines and Vietnam are also having a claim to this area, but the Chinese have rejected their claim and by sheer muscle power have begun to exercise their claim over this sea. The Philippines are the hardest hit as they do not have the military power to match China and aware of the fact their president has stated that he will not go to war with China on this issue.

China continues its build up in the area and is like a bull in a China shop. The Philippines had approached the International Court and the tribunal has given a verdict that the sea is not the preserve of China. It has rejected the Chinese claim over the South China Sea. The Chinese have however rejected the international tribunal’s verdict and mocked the world. The USA for all its power and the defender of the Philippines have been unable to stop the Chinese from continuing its build-up and claiming the entire sea as their exclusive economic zone. The situation is fraught with risk and one wonders what will happen in future. can the world allow China to bully the world? the UNO and the USA must answer this question

Army Top Brass Responsible for present Imbroglio

But there is a bigger question and this  needs to be discussed by me. In fact a veteran gave me his input which I am presenting along with. The gist went something like this. The Indian army and sister services  and their  perks have been gradually eroded since 1947. Yet the army top brass themselves allowed it to happen. Why all this whining and crying now on OROP etc after 69 years when the defense top brass always said 3 bags full? Look, all the big names  and that includes Cariappa, Maneckshaw, and et all. They are culpable.

Talking of civil control in a country steeped in poverty is just hogwash and the situation in such countries is different from the developed nations.Here if the army cannot assert its privileges despite being the largest organized force, something is basically wrong. Has it something to do with  Hindu servility that has become ingrained in the army?. I cannot comment as I will have to study this comment. But the veteran was right.

 I wonder how many would like to comment. Yes, there will be no dearth of opponents but can we shy away from the fact that the present imbroglio is our own doing?

Horse Racing in Dubai ** 82

Horse Racing in Dubai

 Everybody loves to watch a horse race and some even bet money on horses that race. One cannot associate a horse race with betting in an Islamic nation. Yet in Dubai which is an Islamic nation, horse racing is allowed. In fact, Dubai has one of the best horse racecourses in the world. A retinue of workers from India and Pakistan help maintain this course. The race course itself is beautiful and it’s a tribute to the ingeniousness of the owners, the Dubai government that they have been able to transform a desert into a green race course that could almost give you a feel that you were in England.

Apart from having one of the finest race courses, Dubai also hosts the richest race in the world. The prize money is close to $ 30 million and makes it the richest race in the world. Known as the Dubai World Cup, the race attracts enthusiasts from all over the world. Some of the best race horses from the USA take part. I had witnessed the 2013 race when the American horse “Animal Kingdom” ridden by Jockey Jel Rasarion won the honors. He is an American

The F-117 Night Hawk a Stealth Fighter to Remember * 54

World's first Stealth Fighter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_F-117_Nighthawk

 When I visited the USA in 1998 as part of the air team we were quartered at one of the USAF bases. At one end (that area was kept off bounds) we could see dark bat shaped planes. They were part of the secret arsenal of the USAF and from my knowledge; I knew that this was the famous stealth fighter. It was given the number as F-115 and called Night Hawk. The plane at that time was the most advanced in the world and nobody had anything like it.

 The Night Hawk cost 111 million dollars apiece and was discontinued in the USAF after 25 years and replaced with the F-22 or Raptor.  Never the less the F-117 was something unique and incorporated the stealth technology. This technology was published in a research paper presented in 1964 by a Russian scientist named Pykr. The Russians ignored this paper but the engineers at Lockheed studied the paper in detail. In effect, the Prof has stated that a plane could be made that could allow the radar waves to bounce off the plane and thus render the aircraft invisible to detection by radar. it could only be sighted visually.

 It meant making a plane with an unconventional design > it had to have angles of construction, that were of a particular slant so that the radar waves could bounce off. The plane thus had the look of a bat and was christened the Night Hawk. The Night Hawk first flew in 1981 and a few years later was inducted into the USAF. The Night Hawk was a revolutionary design and for 5 years the Americans kept it secret before the world came to know of this unique plane. The Russians rued the development of the F-117 and wondered how they had missed the bus.

 The Night Hawk was put into operational use and used extensively in the air bombardment of Iraq, during the 1992 US-Iraq war. The plane despite a slow speed of some 660km/hr could not be detected. It had limited range of about 1000 km and thus for a target it needed mid-air refueling. It carried no defensive armaments relying on its ability to attack a target undetected. It carried 2 x 1000 il laser guided bombs that could penetrate even 12ft of concrete and was thus a force multiplier.  The Russians were however hard at work to perfect their own stealth fighter and the US the need of another plane was felt. Research started and this led to the led to the Raptor, which had a longer range and flew at 3 times the speed of the Night Hawk. 

 The F-115 remained the only stealth fighter in the world during the days of the cold war and even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the plane was the mainstay of US offensive action. It was used extensively in Afghanistan when the USA mounted an invasion and no plane was lost despite missiles with the Taliban. It hastened the defeat of the Taliban by a relentless bombardment with laser guided bombs. The plane was also used in operations in Kosovo and Yugoslavia.

 The Russians were wary of the Night Hawk and later they did develop their own stealth fighter, but one wonders whether the Russian plane is as good as the latest American plane with stealth technology the Raptor. 

Book Review: Sophia Schiller " The Race to Tibet"

Review of Sophie Schiller’s latest novel: The Race to Tibet

The novel “Race to Tibet”

Historical fiction is a class by itself. The latest novel of Sophie Schiller is a novel in this genre. The book makes interesting reading. The novel titled “The Race to Tibet” is a wonderful book by an American writer Sophie Schiller. The writer has written this book with the background of Tibet which for centuries was a forbidden land, where it was a crime for a foreigner to enter. It still remains the same as even now communist China has occupied the land and a bamboo curtain is imposed on Tibet, keeping the mystery of Tibet alive.

All credit to Sophie Schiller to have chosen to write with the central theme of Tibet. The novel’ The Race to Tibet’ is a great addition to historical fiction on Tibet which still fascinates scholars and common people.

Introduction

Fiction is the forte of writing interesting story's and vast number of novels and tales are published. One of the classes of books published is historical fiction which is a difficult genre to write upon. However historical fiction is a fascinating subject and one that appeals to many. As far as I am concerned, historical fiction is my liking and reading a good novel with a historical background is a worthwhile way to spend a dreary afternoon when one has nothing to do. A good novel on an interesting subject always fascinated and Sophie's latest novel comes in this category.

The Plot

The novel written in a racy style relates the tale of the French explorer and adventurer Gabriel Benevalot who along with Prince Henrie d’Orleans risked everything including their life to enter Tibet and meet the Dalai Lama. History tells us that this duo was the first to enter Tibet and reach Lhasa and meet the Dalai Lama. This makes a thrilling tale as the writer creates a fantastic picture of the time where instructions had been passed to kill all foreigners who entered Tibet. The novel brings out the character of Gabriel who was a French peasant and has the distinction of travelling to the forbidden lands of Central Asia.

The novel is well written and a great tale of adventure and Romance. Any man who loves historical fiction will find this novel not only thrilling but also add to his or her’s knowledge. Not much is known about this particular adventure of Gabriel Bonvalot and all credit to Sophie for having introduced us to this historical episode in the form of a thrilling tale.

Sophie Schiller

Sophie Schiller has written many other books also, but this is I feel her best work to date and sure to fascinate readers. The book is extremely well written in a lucid and racy style and engrosses the reader. There is no flagging of interest till the last page.

Sophie was born in Paterson, NJ but grew up in the West Indies. This probably has had an effect as she has a wider horizon. She lives in Brooklyn and is herself a lovely woman. Her earlier novel’ Transfer Day” was set in the Dutch West Indies. This novel “Race to Tibet” brings out the fluent command of Sophie over the English language and her portrayal of the characters in the book very realistic. The book is one of the good books in the field of historical fiction. All credit to Sophie to have penned this novel. Three cheers for her.