The Vegetable Vendor Narrinder Gahlaut, I owe this one to you for remembering me. JJ in Narrinders anecdote, joked that the Divisional Vegetable shop made losses. Hence, GOC desired to boycot the haat and patronise the Divisional vegetable shop. In my case, I as a Captain made my CO compensate the losses in my vegetable shop enterprise. Narrinder, can I continue? I and Narrinder are from the same NDA 48 course, he from the Keep India Clean and I from the garbage bagger Kilo squadron. He studied where Naseeruddin Shah and Lieut General Zaheeruddin Shah studied - Saint Joseph Nainital. I studied in Sainik School Bijapur. Bijapur, where Chatrapati Shivajis father worked under king Adilshah II. I last met Narrinder Gahlaut at Command Hospital Kolkata where both were admitted in Jan 2005. I was making my case strong for my premature retirement both on professional and partly feigned medical grounds. I emerged from the hospital, strong and smiling with a complimentary handbag, a CD on HIV and AIDS for having been educated on the subject by the Red Ribbon society of Kolkata. My CO volunteered for me to attend the workshop on AIDS at Comd Hosp. The Eastern Command allotted a vacancy for the Corps which was passed on to our battalion. My CO at Charduar near Tezpur who was tight for officers asked me if I could please him by attending the AIDS workshop. I could have refused him as my current OC as a patient was Commandant EC Hospital. I saved the Government some extra expenditure for move of an officer from Tezpur to Kolkata and educated myself in the bargain and also cried in empathy with some live speeches by AIDS patients and activists, narrating their story. The AIDS victims, repeatedly said that they didnt want pity from the society but empathy would be great. Narrinder, bye for now and let me move to Kashmir and continue with my vegetables. I was a captain in the ASC (MT) battalion at Tattoo Ground, Srinagar in 1986. Ours was a mechanical transport battalion with Shaktiman trucks. Our trucks did convoy duty from Pathankot to Leh during summer and till Srinagar only in winter when the Drass and Kargil road was closed due to snow. During winter, Srinagar is bereft of vegetables in the market and are very costly. Turnips (kadam and kadam saag) and Nadroo (lotus stem) are the main vegetables that Kashmiris eat in winter. No wonder, as a diet, Kashmiri pandits eat meat and their Shiv Ratri prayers are incomplete without making Lord Shiva a non-vegetarian. Meat is a compulsory Naivedya or offering to Lord Shiva that night. As a family welfare measure, our CO, Lt Col IC Rattan had started a part-time vegetable shop. It would be replenished with vegetables when our convoy officer returned from Pathankot. Within three hours of vegetables arrival, the shop would be depleted. Col Rattan had kept a small margin of 5% profit for the shop sales. Very wise of him as we shall later learn. The NCO who was three hours in charge of the sales would carry the left overs and partly perished vegetables as his sales commission. Ladies were very happy with getting Pathankot fresh vegetables at a ridiculous low price, thanks to Col Rattan.......Thanks till my turn came as a vegetable whole sale vegetable supplier to the shop. I went down to Patankot via Udhampur in October. I was given the cash for my purchase. I was happy having not delegated the vegetable purchase to a NCO and followed a Do-It-Yourself. I was proud of having deprived the NCO of his kickbacks and getting a best buy, real value for money purchase, from the sabji mandi at Pathankot. Since it was wholesale purchase of minimum 5 Kgs vegetables, I had varieties of vegetables with bundles of free coriander leaves. I also purchased the special requirements of officers ladies who had specially indented and this didnt attract Col Rattans 5% levy. This underhand deal was known to Col Rattan but he had decided to turn a blind eye as his wife was also a beneficiary of the 5% waiver. After purchasing the vegetables at Pathankot, I reached Udhapur with my convoy of 50 trucks carrying coke, steam coal, dry ration items to Supply Depot Srinagar and clothing and equipment to Ordinance Depot Srinagar. I saw a film at the Army cinema hall near the transit camp Udhampaur. I am still fond of films. I shall see Capt America -Winter soldier in 3D, tomorrow at the cinema hall here at Ibadan. It is strongly recommended by my daughter who stays in Cleveland and portions of the film is shot there in Cleveland. Tragedy struck the next morning. I briefed my convoy and was ready to move from Udhampur to Srinagar, when a Despatch Rider came to me on his Bullet and told me Captain Saab wait for further orders from HQ Northern Command. There has been snow fall at Patnitop and in the valley. I waited in the convoy ground with my fresh vegetables till about 11 oclock and I was told to stand down as the snowfall continued in the upper reaches of Himalayas and dangerous for the convoy to get stuck. The snow fall was premature and I was stuck in summer clothing and with vegetables which were not getting any fresher. After two days, I was a worried man. The third day at Udhampur, I was extremely worried with the non-performing assets becoming a total liability. I went to the local vegetable mandi at Udhampur to become a trader. I offered my vegetables at cost price. They laughed at me and looked at me as if I am a huge idiot. They told me that vegetable price at Pathankot also had fallen due to the road block to Srinagar. They educated me on the supply-demand theory. Luckily, I had taken a local ASC boy with me to negotiate my dumping of vegetables at Udhampur market. I had learnt in military history that Chinese negotiated from a position of strength in drawing the 38 parallel divider in Korea. I negotiated but with very less power and time was my greatest enemy. More the delay, more loss of the perishables. The sale proceeds was nothing to write home about and especially to Col Rattan. Some money recovery is better than no recovery. It set back Col Rattan and he decided to up the profit levy to 20% on subsequent vegetable sales. Was Col Rattan annoyed with me. Never? He was happy with my decision of vegetable dumping as I got held up at Udhapur for 8 days and rotten vegetables dont do anybody any good. Epilogue: This convoy of mine is one of its type and makes for 2-3 episodes at least. Imagine me being demoted to a Convoy second-in-command, convoy swelling from 50 to 350 vehicles, me warming my feet over a candle in the freezing cold in a 1 Ton at night at Qazigund, the cold, wielding a stick at civilian drivers, the freezing cold and snow, burrrrrrrrrr......
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 23:14:31 +0000
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