Hits and Misses

That when I was in Class 6 in our village ESLC School in Kerala, I got the first prize in Long Jump which I executed in my new white full pants, was a hit.

That I was known as “High Jumper Rajendran” in the High School in Madras, from Class 8 onwards, was a hit.

That in one Malayalam test in Class 8, I was given the maximum marks for a question on reference to context in poetry and when my class mates questioned the teacher complaining that I wrote only four lines whereas they wrote a whole para, and when he said that in those four lines I had written much more than what they wrote, though baffled me, was a hit. From then on that I was first or second in every class both in Malayalam and English was also a hit. The teacher had pulled the trigger!

That I represented my School in Swimming as a sub-junior was a hit.

That I represented my College in Basketball (from which I walked away after two years for reasons not relevant here), Volleyball, Football and Athletics apart from captaining the Table Tennis Team, was surely a hit. But that we never won any intercollegiate matches of repute was a big miss.

That I was one of the smartest (allow me) NCC Cadets in College and many students wanted to be in my Company to do parades under my command, was a hit. But that for all practical considerations, I was a bad student was an unsavoury miss.

That I was the first to get a job among my friends after our BSc, having been selected for the Army, was most certainly a big hit. That my grandfather upon seeing my scrawny body, somewhat lost respect for the Army by doubting their physical standards was a miss!

That I was posted to Assam (Shillong exactly), a place I used to covet as a small boy, was a hit. The year was 1969 before you fix me for a “state”ly error.

That on the very first day of reporting to my first Unit with a single pip on my shoulder the OC asked me to give a talk to the jawans at dinner time in their ‘langar’ about discipline and to “make it in Hindi”, which I nonchalantly did, must have been a terrible miss. But since none of the jawans laughed, I am tempted to consider it a hit!

That in that Unit as a Lt and a Capt my volunteering for Commando and PT Courses and also to Para, was rejected outright on the plea that I had no business to do such tough courses of physicality, was to me, a miss or three misses to be exact.

That my earnest, pitiable pleadings to send me with some Unit to Bangladesh during the ’71 war fell on deaf ears (never mind their reasoning) was a big, big miss.

That in the Shillong Club I beat the then reigning champion who used to fly down from Calcutta every year to play in the Table Tennis tournament was a hit. But then that Reena Barua, a very desirable and popular girl, came running to me with a beaming smile, her arms outstretched to hug me as I won the last point but stopped just short, was a sorrowful miss. HHHHHeaven knows why she stopped before the sweet act. That miss still hurts. Sigh! And what a Miss she was!

That in Rajouri, as a Capt, I came third in High Jump in the entire Division was a minor (being only 3^rd and not 1^st ) hit but that after two months of rigorous athletic practice , I was dropped on the last day from the Div Contingent to take part in Command Athletics was a miss.

That during the first phase of the Degree Engineering Course at College of Military Engineering at Pune, a Football Blue to be awarded to me could not fructify, since by the award ceremony date, I had to leave Pune and report to Military College of Engineering at Secunderabad for the second phase of the course was indeed a great miss. But Swapan Bhadra (Sword of Honour, both in NDA and IMA) running around our corridors asking “is Rajendran playing today?” was a huge hit worth a chuckle to me.

That in Secunderabad though I had twisted my knee in Football but still had a chance to take part in the National Regatta after just one more race, which went for a toss as I was forced to play an internal Cricket match in between in which, sure enough, my knee twisted again was a sore miss!

That our (Sridharan, who rose to be a Lt Gen no less, and I) final Project was in the run for the Medal for the Best Project as it performed to a ‘T’, but missed out to friends, Bala and DP, was a miss, though none too disheartening. But that our Project was considered (as we came to know later) for patenting as it had commercial value then (but did not happen) was a hit.

That in this Degree Course since I had a finger in many pies I was in the run for the Best All-Round Officer Trophy and was made to practice receiving it from the Governor, Mrs Sharda Mukherjee during the convocation among a couple of other contenders seemed a smashing but an unlikely hit. And sure enough it turned out to be a bad miss on the actual convocation day.

That in Ranchi, as a Capt, when the Brig Commander, during the debriefing after an Exercise said he had never got EME support as he got with me as the EME Rep, was a hit.

That, as a Maj in Ranchi, I represented Eastern Command in Cricket in the Services tournament was a mild hit.

That I did not work hard enough for an Alpha grading for the Advanced Electronic Course for which I went from Ranchi, since the CO tried to put a carrot in front of me by declaring in the Officers Mess, “Rajendran, you get an Alpha and I will see that you go abroad”, was surely a miss. But that is how I was. Don't entice me. A stupid miss, you might say.

Now the monotony of the narration needs to be broken. For after missing Alpha, I was in Jaipur on a criteria appointment as a Maj. Doing well on any criteria appointment is crucial as further promotions and career hinge on it.

That on my criteria (that’s how we refer to such postings) I had two (two mind it, not just one) Courts of Enquiry ordered against me one after the other, was too huge a miss to all connoisseurs. Even to me. I was severely reprimanded for both, serially. I kissed any further promotion and even my reputation good bye. The grand old miss which I am so used to! But when the Promotion Board results came, I was approved to be a Lt Col! Now that, one had to term as an incredible hit!

That with the approval of the rank after the reprimands and stuff, I reach Sri Lanka to find the specialist Troposcatter communication equipment (costing a crore per terminal then and we had a few) I was supposed to maintain, failing critically, I was staring down the barrel of a never before miss. I had not even started wearing the new rank, awaiting the due date! But then I dug in, what the hell, never minding with Generals from HQ calling me at any old time of day or night. Can’t blame them, it was Operations you see, irrespective of what the politicians term it. Two weeks it took to get the communication links up and then they stayed up like never before, all over Sri Lanka. That turned out to be undeniable hit.

Operations over, we disengaged with the enemy (?!) and I disembarked from the last ship at Madras. At the reception for us, a General remarked in general in the air. “He deserves an award”. It sounded like a hit but since nothing was heard of it since, turned out to be a bitter miss.

That back in Jaipur, I managed to get a test jig made which ensured that the lakhs we paid to BEL (the manufacturers of the equipment) to repair the equipment, beyond our capability came to naught was a hit. But that none seemed to have noticed it was a silly miss.

Soon after when both the EME and Signals Generals came together (note it, together. It never happens) to visit me and after my mandatory presentation to them, the Signals General asked me. “How are you able to do it when others are not?”. “I break rules, Sir”, I told him and explained what I meant when asked for an explanation. He smiled - in appreciation, I hoped. A risky hit! 

That on their return, a recommendation for a VSM (Vishist Seva Medal) was floated upwards for me seemed as a hit but that nothing came of it is a miss, certainly. Must have got lost in the Troposphere!

That I got another promotion to Col was a meek hit. Rather consolatory. The days of the meek inheriting the earth seemed to have long gone by!

I blame Reena Barua for all my serious misses. Sigh. Almost there but not quite!

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