Atari or Wagah?

The Flag lowering ceremony is held at the Atari border?

How often have you heard the word Atari?
Hardly ever!

The Media with its extra national loyalties, has always called it the Wagah border. Our politicians of yore also took pride in calling it 'the Wagah border'.
Well! They had their own reasons.
But today we don't have to toe the lies.

The place where the border check post is built was called Atari in honour of the great Sardar Shyam Singh Atari, who was a chief in the great Sikh Army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. History is filled with the stories of these brave and fearless sardars who had defeated the coward Army of the marauders attacking India from the west.

All offices of the government, like the immigration, customs etc are located in Atari.
The Pak administration, however, had their side of the border as Wagah.

Our appeasing politicians(And you see them parroting similar lines even today), chose to refer to this place as the Wagah border thereby denying the honour to the great Sardar Shyam Singh Atari.

Next time, when we wish to visit or wish to refer to that great place, let's talk about it correctly and honour the name of our brave legend Atari!

      *                            *                             *

Big news from Kashmir.

* 71 bank accounts of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami frozen.
* Rs.52 crores sealed.
* Value of Jamaat assets Rs.4,000 crores.
* Over 60 Jamaat schools and Madrasas, offices and 8 houses sealed.
* Over 600 Jamaatis arrested.


Tailpiece.

Had got up about 15' late as I'd got up earlier to ease my bladder.  We went through our chores and were ready well in time. Washing machinex, watering of the plants etc were diligently carried out.

Is this state of alertness bleeding Pakistan?

In the flurry of war/no war, what many forget is that wars now are fought not just by men wearing boots carrying guns or air force/naval engagement but even more so by economic means and weapons.

The current status of the Indo-Pak engagement needs to be seen from that point of view.

* The fake Indian currency(FICN) business is almost totally wiped out.
* The meat laundries have been checkmated.
* The Pak Rupee is at an all time low and sinking further.
* Right now in Pakistan there's a shortage of all forms of foreign and domestic transport.
* The airspace closure over Pakistan impacts not just international East-West traffic, which
   routes via UAE options but more so Pakistan's own domestic and international air travel,
   passengers and cargo that has come to a halt as also the income over flights over Pak Airspace.
* Domestic movements by train are severely impaired because Pakistan railways, what's left of it,
   depends almost totally on diesel for locomotives.
* Road transport is much costlier and the Afghan trade which subsidised a lot of their livelihoods
   has moved to via Iran or over Central Asia.
* Another point to note is that Karachi is the only effective seaport for Pakistan and oil imports,
   especially aviation fuel and clean products, have come to a grinding halt as ships and shipping
   companies stay away, with huge insurance mark ups.
* Port of Karachi is almost blocked. Tankers are not reaching with oil.
* Fuel for their Air Force is down to 4 days.
* People are upset and trade is almost halted. Prices have shot up.
* Pressure from their own people on their government is huge.
* Pakistani airports and seaports are shut whilst not a single Indian airport or seaport is even
   impacted.

Instead of no war, this is the time for India to keep rattling sabres.
Pakistan is totally SHUT DOWN. 
Its economy is frozen.

This then is the time to continue applying economic and diplomatic pressure backed by not just the IAF but also the Indian Navy, whose presence in the Arabian Sea is formidable, to say the least and whose ports on both coasts as well as Andamans are simply not affected.

So, it's up to the Pakistani people to appeal to their elected representatives as well as their military to stop these terrorist movements from Pakistani soil.

Or, as Bhutto famously said, be prepared to eat grass.

                                     Give peace a chance, my foot - Nandini on Twitter.



Tailpiece.

Had got up with the alarm probably because we'd gone off to bed last night, earlier than usual as there was nothing worthwhile to watch on television. Went about our chores and were ready well in time.

Being Maha Shivarathri today, Lekha had gone to the Mammiyoor Siva kshethram for 'darshan'. On her return she'd picked up some grocery too. 

From here and there.

1. My Take.

    While the opposition is clamouring for details of the recently conducted surgical strike by the IAF
    on Balakot and whatever has been put across by the government, thus far, here's my take on the
    issue from the facts available.

      That it's a training facility with an attached Mosque is known and therefore, would have had
      many terrorists-in-the-making(You can't call them under trainees, you see) within it, without
      doubt. Now, when such a destruction was possible on the buildings, the entire lot of inmates 
      must have been burnt to nothing. Neither Pakistan nor the terrorists will tell the world that
      they have lost so many.

      The narrative is not yet over, we'll hear more about it in the coming days. My personal thoughts!

 2. Kuldip's Musings.

     Kuldip is my friend and course mate from the Academy. A voracious reader and in the know how
     about a whole lot of things. Kindly peruse what he has to say about the people's adulation for our
     hero, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

     "So, what was exceptional in what he did? 
      Actually, our expectations to the contrary are what are troubling. 
      I think we were expecting him to start weeping, begging, bawling, crawling. And it is the
      standard that we as soldiers(And veterans) are holding him up to.
      And now that we see that he did none of that, he is a hero.
      That's why I say that we need to be careful of our warmongers - they think that war is akin to a
      militant encounter - in which we surround the culprits with large numbers and heavy weapons
      and unlimited ammunition and have a turkey shoot! And everyone who got a hit on any militant
      gets a sens medal for bravery".

 3. A Whole New Meaning of Timing.

     This is from a friend who's an unapologetic fan of our Prime Minister and he puts out his
     interpretation about the Timing of the Surgical Strike 2.0!

     "As per the battlefield rules of the days of yore, Mahabharatha, if anyone attains Veergati(Dies
     on the battlefield),

     after 12 days of mourning and rituals, on the 13th day before the sunrise on the Brahma
     Muhurtham, the kith and kin go back into the battlefield to avenge the death......

      It's called 'Veer Sradhanjali'........
      Warriors aspire to seek such battle. Mahabharatha commentary by Sanjaya.

     The day the Indian Armed Forces bombed the terrorists' hideout within Pakistan, was the 13th day
     after Pulwama attack,

     Muhurtham was 0345 hrs and that was the Brahma Muhurtham for the uninitiated.

     According to sources, 'Jai Bhavani' was the code word uttered by the Prime Minister during
     Kumbh, signalling the Indian Armed Forces to go to battle.

     He wore black and took a dip in the Ganges on the 11th day as prescribed in the scriptures.

     The entire process was in compliance with the Hindu scripture recommended for"VEER
     SHRADHAJALI" done for war martyrs in a family.

      Am proud of my PM! Vande Mataram!!

     My take.

     This is the limit of adulation!
   


Tailpiece.

We'd decided, last night, to get up a trifle late this morning, being a Sunday. However, by habit, we'd got up at about a quarter past 6 and were ready well in time. We went about our morning chores and had our breakfast at our usual time.

Lekha undertook the watering of the plants and the grass patch while I went about the washing machinex that we've decided to do on alternate days.

A hotch potch.

From here and there.

1. The reality.

    The reality of Imran's peace gesture and Pakistan Army's 'good' treatment of Wing Commander
    Abhinandan Varthaman:-

    (a) Abhinandan was locked up in a solitary cell, without access to television, radio, telephone or
         newspapers immediately.
    (b) Abhinandan had no knowledge about Imran's decision to release him when he was forced to
          record a statement(Prepared by his captors) praising the Pakistan Army. Under the
          circumstances, the brave officer did his best in being matter of fact, forcing so many cuts in
          the video".

 2. A journalist's input.

     Some journalist at 'The Wire' was complaining that Narendra Modi didn't tweet about
     #Abhinandan_Varthaman. She belongs to the bunch that are offended by Modi's frequent
     travel.

     Let this be known. Geneva Conventions have been around since 1949. It was there when the
     missing 54 and Saurabh Kalia happened. This time, in less than 24 hours Pakistan announces
     our pilot's release, not because of the Geneva Conventions, but because

         (i) Putin and Netanyahu dialed in.
        (ii) US, UAE, Saudi Arabia pressurised Pakistan
       (iii) China distanced itself.

     Yes, it's because of Modi's much hated foreign trips that the pilot is back. And if 'Modi doesn't
     tweet' or 'Modi travels too much' is all you have in the name of complaints against the man whose
     guts you hate, we say, he is doing a pretty good job.

     PS.
     I know you'll ask, so let me answer beforehand. Kulbhushan Jadhav is framed as a spy. A spy
     and a PoW are not the same. The case is with the ICJ.

 3. And in a lighter vein.

     Fighting a fourth generation aircraft with a second generation aircraft and downing it......
     landing in Pak.....
     Having tea with them and coming back in tailored suit open collar.....

     Such things can only be made a reality by a person from the land of RAJNIKANT.

     Yennada....Raskala mind it!


Tailpiece.

Got up on the dot at 6, or should I say that I was awake just a few minutes before the alarm went off. We went about our chores and I was a trifle late in getting ready. After breakfast, Lekha had gone across to the supermarkets to buy grocery and vegetables.

Thankamani gave us the slip and did not fetch up as promised. Did she find the work a bit too much for her? 

Muthachhan's 110th birthday.

Today's the 110th birth anniversary of PN Panicker. Remembered Muthachhan and his love towards me which continued till his last day. He always used to tell me that he liked me because I stuck to my principles. I loved to stay with him and Ammachi during my holidays from school and even after my school days. Those halcyon days can never be forgotten and I shall carry the memories to my very end.

The programme to commemorate his birthday was held at the business hall of Hotel Chaithram in Thiruvananthapuram in which Perumbadavam Sreedharan was the chief guest. The Jan Shikshan Sansthan, Kollam had organised a programme at Kollam and my director had sent me the photos through What'sApp.

     *                     *                     *

What's wrong with the media and many of us who behave as though whatever bumf the Pakistani media is giving us is the absolute truth? Don't we have a sense of patriotism? If you hate Modi, hate him but stand united and support him in this goddamn crisis! The political opposition seems to be in a disarray and unsure about what it should do.

      *                     *                     *

The return of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman must have given anxious moments to all Indians as the minutes crawled to hours and night set in at Wagah from the scheduled sunset time that he was supposed to be set free by his captors. Meanwhile, somewhere in Handwara, Kashmir four security personnel along with a civilian, had passed into the mist of time on a skirmish with the terrorists.



Tailpiece.


Got up on the dot at 6, along with the alarm. Went about our chores and we were ready well in time. It was machinex with the bed linen in the washing machine. Preetha, our maid, had come at her usual time but was very, very weak. She has Hepatitis C and needs to be careful.

I could feel the wave of nausea and the feeling of extreme weakness at this stage and her Bilirubin count is hovering around 5. She was given an injection yesterday, perhaps, to energise the body. Intake of any type of food would be the last thing in her mind! She was given her pay and sent home without much wait. She'd caught an auto rickshaw on our instructions!

An eventful Thursday.

There were quite a few things happening today and one, literally, had to pause for breath to take in the inputs! Let's go through those happenings:-

 (a) The Kerala Government's Reaction over Adani Take Over.

       The Chief Minister has written to the Prime Minister that there would be no state support if
       the Adani group takes over the running of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.
       Instead, he has recommended its handing over to the company floated by the Kerala State
       Industrial Corporation.

       The repercussions would be worth watching. Wonder how the objection has cropped up when
       the state government supports the Adani Group's development of the Vizhinjam Seaport?

 (b) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman Set to Return Tomorrow.

       Imran Khan, the Pakistani Prime Minister, today announced in his combined Assembly that
       Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman will be sent back to India tomorrow as a peace
       gesture.

       What I'm amazed is the way most sections of our media have been whipping up a war hysteria.
       Wonder whether they are aware of the ramifications of such an action and the setback a war
       would bring about to the tremendous growth that the country has achieved thus far?

 (c) The US-North Korea Summit Collapses.

       Negotiations collapsed between the US president and the North Korean leader collapsed because
       the latter insisted that the US lift all sanctions in exchange for just the dismantling of the
       Uranium enrichment site of Yongbyon. US, on the other hand, wants full denuclearisation prior
       to the removal of the sanctions.


     
Tailpiece.

Had got up in the wee hours of the morning to ease myself and consequently, got up half an hour late. Went about our chores and were still on time. No maid today too, and the lady who'd promised to substitute didn't fetch up!

Our maid, Preetha, is down with Hepatitis C and it's gonna be a long haul insofar as her recovery is concerned. She has to take rest for at least a month to get back to normal!

Well done Abhinandan!

Well done Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman for your courage and the composed, stoic manner in which you had answered the questions, put across by your captors.

A version of what had happened prior to this.

The Pakistan Air Force F-16s came with an intent of targeting Brigade Headquarters in Naushera. IAF radars picked up these aircraft and scrambled the MiG-21 Bison.

The F-16s dropped their loads in a hurry, all off target and turned back. The MiG-21 chased them, targeted one F-16 twin seater and shot him down. (Two parachutes were sighted by the ground personnel). In the bargain he crossed the LoC and during turn back was hit by heavy artillery firing from the Pakistani ground forces.

Unfortunately, he landed across the LoC. The Northern Light Infantry men and civilians thrashed him and broke his nose. Instead of medical treatment after ejection they made him stand and questioned him. But Abhinandan is bull headed and strong. He took it well.

* The bottom line is that a MiG-21 has shot down an F-16.

         *                       *                         *

From me.

Let's all say a prayer, each day, for Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman till he comes back to us unscathed. As per the Geneva convention, a defence personnel is to be returned within 7 days of captivity failing which it would be considered as a declaration of war by the erring country.


          *                       *                        *

Message from the father of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

Thank you my friends for your concern and wishes. I thank God for his blessings, Abhi is alive, not injured, sound in mind; just look at the way he talked so bravely.....a true soldier.....we are so proud of him. I am sure all your hands and blessings are on his head, prayers for his safe return, I pray that he does not get tortured and comes home safe and sound in body and mind. Thank you all for being with us in this hour of need. We draw our strengths from your support and energy - Air Marshal Simhakutty Varthaman(Retd).

          *                        *                        *

Those who celebrate war will not participate in the war, those who participate in the war will never celebrate war.

Bitter but true......

  
Tailpiece.

Had got up with the alarm, gone through our chores but the Rajah medical team came in earlier by their standards at about 10' to 7 and the nurses - there were three of them - had to wait a trifle at our door and I'd tendered my apology. Preetha, the maid, was too sick and she said that she wasn't in a position to come by.

Lekha had gone to the Mammiyoor Siva kshethram and returned an hour later.

The test results came in a trifle later and things have really improved.