The Hindu Business Line : Friendly Field Marshal

"Do ??you know that Field Marshal S. H. F. J. Manekshaw lives in Coonoor? It could be worth talking to him," said a fellow-journalist from Malayala Manorama as we were discussing the murmurs that the Defence Forces should take over the country's administration.

That was in 1996, soon after Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee resigned within a fortnight of being sworn in as Prime Minister, failing to muster a simple majority.

Working with the Press Trust of India in Coimbatore then, I thought it was a good suggestion. There were a few more issues on which opinions were to be sought from the Field Marshal, I thought. Especially about a view that the Armed Forces could have gone deeper into Pakistan and also his views on releasing thousands of prisoners of wars.

Of course, it was the decision of the Government in power then but you never know what the Defence Forces really thought about it. How to get his phone number? Someone suggested I could try the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington. That didn't work but they said the customer relations people with BSNL could help. Finally, they helped me get the Field Marshal's number.

Gathering courage, I called him up and introduced myself. "Yes, how can I help you?" he asked.

"Well sir, I would like to meet and talk to you. Say, maybe, half an hour?" I asked him.

"No dear. I don't speak to the press these days," he replied.

"That's ok sir. But can I come and meet you," I continued.

"Sorry, dear. I am travelling out and won't be available," he replied.

Finding that I had hit a dead end, I said: "Ok sir, thanks. Maybe, sometime later, after you return, I will try again."

I think the Field Marshal said "Good Luck" or "God Bless", or something of that sort but I was impatient to hear it as I was disappointed that my efforts did not bear fruit.

I thought I could tell the Field Marshal about my memories of the 1971 war with Pakistan, when I was studying in the third standard. I could recall how there were "blackouts" whenever there was suspicion that Pakistan aircraft could strafe our territory; I thought I could tell him how even the dim lights in Indian Railway compartments were half covered with black paint in preparation for the blackouts.

Unfortunately, nothing worked out. Within a few months, I took a transfer to New Delhi where, during the late 1990s he spoke at a few forums. But I never got to meet him personally as, by then, I had decided to follow my first love - commodities reporting! What remains etched in my memory even today is the friendly and affectionate manner the Field Marshal handled a call from an unknown reporter.