Page 113 - Musings 2022

your quarters in the barracks. Go settle yourself there and relax for today. We will meet

tomorrow morning for your debriefing.”, he finished. With the thrill of working at an unknown
place, Rajesh resounded” Sir, yes sir!” and moved forward with the other corporal showing

him the way.
Rajesh was sweating in his uniform like a pig. He adjusted his uniform to allow more air into

his from the table fan nearby. Standing on the top area of the DAC watchtower, he recalled the

events of the day. He had woken up early at 5 pm and did his routine workout. He brushed,
bathed, and dressed up as per the proper code of conduct. He then met up with the master

sergeant at the field office. He was there on time, as usual. He then received the briefing about
his work area. The forests of Ratangarh were nothing less than a dungeon. They were full of

Naxalites, eager to kill anyone who did not support their cause, and poachers, who wandered

into the forests and hunted the rare animals like stags present in the area. Even that was not all,
bears were living in this part of the forest. Their sounds were audible when they came to drink

water from the small water canal nearby. If even one kept these things at bay, the scorching
heat and humidity of the forest would be enough to kill anyone. Rajesh was wondering why

his drill sergeant had sent him there for duty. He was cursing the drill sergeant while watching
the forest trail nearby. The forest winds were scorching his face but he had to stand guard and

do his duty. Walking on the watchtower pedestal, he wondered what his mother would be doing

at home. Her smile was the power that kept Rajesh working even under such harsh conditions.
There were frequent raids of Naxalites. Last week, they attacked with petrol bombs, trying to

break the garrison fence. Rajesh had to rush to handle the situation when the barracks office
corporal called over the radio. The situation was controlled. Similarly, just two days ago, A

Naxalite broke into the base armoury at night, trying to get ammunition and some new

weapons. However, Rajesh and the others successfully defended against those small raids.
Even on normal days, when there were no raids by Naxalites, there were sounds of bear howling

from the waterfall nearby. Whenever Rajesh had to go out for patrol away from the watchtower,
he would be scared as the sounds of bears could be heard from about just a dozen metres away.

One morning he thought that he would be unable to continue to hold his post and was

considering giving his request for transfer to the field HQ. He thought,” These working
conditions are unbearable. I need to give my transfer request to the officer-in-charge

Sukhwinder Singh.” However, his heart had trust in his drill instructor. “There must be a good
reason that my drill instructor has sent me here, maybe I should talk to him first.” Rajesh

wanted to talk to his mentor before giving up the post.

113