Administrative Nightmare

Administrative Nightmare

Dear Sree S Srinivasan,
Thanks for that favourable comment about my 'signature'. Earlier I used the saying ‘Choices are the hinges of destiny' at the end of every mail and now this which you seem to have liked too. But the credit really goes to my (now retired like me) the then Sgt. Thomas my first Clk/GD (Clerk- General duties) by trade, a great soul who taught me 'service writing' when I was a mere subaltern. I had just passed out (I don't know why they use this phrase because it really means something else) from Air Force Training College and posted to a remote unit as a Commanding Officer. I was egoism personified. And this 'Man Friday' Sgt. Thomas brought me to the ground.
"Be brief, and to the point, sir.” he would say "There is no room for frills here (-in service writing). Just the subject, predicate and the object. That's it"
It is strange how things come back to oneself----the memories of the past. Hear this:
I had just finished conducting a COI (Court of Inquiry) on the loss of I Card of an Officer of the neighbouring unit. Since the proceedings were confidential the papers were to be put in the envelopes personally by me. And that was my undoing-not to have kept Sgt. Thomas near me before I sealed them with sealing wax. The originals reached the wrong end where it was not supposed to. The recipient rang me up about the faux pause. But for Sgt. Thomas it was just another slip by a young green thumb, a subaltern.
"Do not worry, sir." he said and produced a draft which read something like this.
"Due to an administrative error, the original of the attached letter was forwarded to you. A new original has been accomplished and forwarded to HQ Wing/JA (Judge Advocate office). Please place this carbon copy in your files and destroy the original."
And I with all my sincerity under my command signed and sent it. Surprisingly the recipients now had no comments. When my Station Commander Gp Capt GHK (an Anglo-Indian) read it he rang up to say “Son, you sure will go a long way up the ladder. We all wear our brains up our sleeves. But after reading your letter I feel you have it at the right place viz. in your boots. And by the way march that Sgt. to orderly room when I visit you next"
Sgt. Thomas and I were much talked about commodities in all the Officers’ bars in Gujarat-Rajasthan sectors for several months thereafter!!!.
And hey! If I may call you Cheenu (fondly), reading your posts in this forum gives me an impression that you've got what it takes to deal with pretty much any problem that comes your way, even if it doesn't quite feel like it. Your posts have bolstered my self-confidence, so you've got to keep that going on, too!
And now our time is up. We both are skating on thin ice. It is not on in this forum, I mean "You scratch my back and I yours." But I decided to use it any way; WHY? Well…….
pustakasyaa tu yaa vidyaa, parahastagataM dhanam.
kaaryakaale samutpanne, na saa vidyaa na taddhanam.

Knowledge that is in note-books in (our) shelves, and (our) money now in the hands of others, both are useless. When time comes for their use neither that knowledge nor that wealth will be available.
Ciao
Warm rgds.
Yours never Unfriendly,
V V R (Air Vice Marshal retired & retreaded)
09-09-007