DRUMS OF DESTINY

DRUMS OF DESTINY 

((ontinued from my last blog 'Thunder at Night')

“ Saab..saab..,!” The voice was soft but insistent, rapidly pulling me back to reality from my dreamland! Cozy under my blanket, still groggy from sleep, I forcefully woke myself up “Come in”, I called out. Gently lifting the flaps of the tent, sepoy Birju entered the tent and Carefully lowered two steaming hot cups of tea on the improvised bed side table and greeted us with his usual salutation “Jai Hind”!

“Jai Hind, Birju. Kya time hua?” (What time is it?). Birju replied that it was 6 AM and Lt Solanki, my friend in the next tent was already up and putting on his shoes for his morning run. I decided that it was too cold for a run in the woods and watched Birjoo take out my shoes & belt for the usual morning cleaning up routine.

As we sat up in our cots sipping hot tea, myself and my tent mate Bhargava were talking about the last fortnight spent in this new location. It was already the beginning of December and the weather was turning very cold. The hospital was getting busier every day with casualties from the front being received in ambulances regularly. There were all types of injuries caused by bullets, sharpnel from grenades, shell blast injuries etc. But the worst of all were the mine blast injuries of the feet caused by the infantry soldiers stepping on a mine hidden in the ground. Dozens of young soldiers were being brought in with their feet blown away and it was sad to see them cry in anguish at their being maimed for life!
More and more army doctors were joining our hospital and the evenings in the mess were abuzz with the latest news from the battle front and the hushed whispers of an all out attack to come soon. I had received a letter from my home and was glad to know that my parents were in good health, accepting the fact that their son is now somewhere on the battlefront. I wished we had a telephone so that I could speak to them regularly. But the only telephone lines in the hosp area were the crude field telephones for official purpose & no chance of contacting civil exchanges. 

The casualties were evacuated from the front by ambulances or by specially modified trucks fitted with stretchers to our location and we had advance intimation regarding them. The patients came pouring in everyday around evening hours after an exhausting road journey with injuries dressed in bandages by the battalion doctors who started saline drip when necessary. The doctors in the Emergency Room were on 24 hrs shift duty to receive cases and tackle urgent cases. We (the other doctors not on duty) also rushed in whenever alerted by the casualty reception area about any sudden surge in casualties. It was always an unbelievable scene at the emergency ward during mass casualties, straight out of any western war movies we had seen, (with soldiers in uniform covered in bandages walking with assistance or carried on stretchers) come and collapse on the hospital cots too tired to answer even the basic information required to be recorded. There was no panic or rush, nor anyone cried out in pain! Most of them were not aware of the date or day and had no idea where they were admitted or being taken to. Majority of the soldiers had legs caked in mud due to walking for days through water or paddy fields and not having a bath since days! The admitting MOs had to work rapidly, noting injuries and sorting them out based on their seriousness.The surgeons of our hospital were very busy operating on all the injuries they got from the front and even we interns were permitted to assist them in suturing and dressing the wounds.

The makeshift muddy path  from the mess area to the hospital area was being made into a proper track with trenches being dug on both sides (for protection during shelling or air raids). Looking at the muddy trenches with fallen leaves and dirt, we were joking that it was better to face the bombs from the sky then to fall into these trenches. Little did we know that very soon we would be jumping into these trenches at the first sign of an approaching aircraft unmindful of the dirt or the mud. 

We had got used to the night sounds of distant artillery shelling and the low-flying aircraft overhead every day. We were also getting used to the frequent small earthquakes that were shaking our cots as we lay in our tents.

Though a lot of surgery was being done at our hospital and a number of casualties were expected to increase  in the future, we had no female nurses to take care of the wounded and it was the soldier turned male nurses (Nursing assistants) who were always working in the wards. So it was a surprise when Lieutenant Bhargav burst into our tent one day with breaking news that female nurses from the military nursing service were now being posted to field areas for the first time and he himself had seen the list of a few names being transferred here from military Hospital in Gauhati. We were all interested at this development and felt it would be a welcome change in this male dominated world of hospital full of patients/ operation theatres. Even the atmosphere in the makeshift officers mess was getting monotonous every day with battle related topics taking centre stage. We young officers were never a part of these discussions since we were brand-new and anyway it was the army’s custom that junior officers were only to be seen and not heard. Hence we felt it would be nice to have  some more young people especially someone who can engage in conversation about music, films and small talk about the world outside. We were eagerly waiting for the arrival of the female nurses to the hospital as we were sure it would add some colour to our drab lives in this secluded location out of touch with civilised life! As the expected date of joining of the nurses approached, the excitement among the young bachelors was getting higher everyday! Lt Solanki produced a list of the names of lady nursing officers arriving in our mess and names like ‘Asha, Manju, Deepa’ were soon making rounds among the excited interns starved of social life.

A large area behind our living quarters was soon cleared of shrubs and a large basha with bamboo fencing was ready for the expected nurses contingent from Gauhati. One day, when we returned to our tent after work, we were alarmed that the cots in our tent were missing. Sepoy Birjoo, (our sahayak) explained that all the metal cots of junior officers were ordered to be withdrawn by the Commandant for arranging accommodation for nurses mess being set up. He assured us that soon we would be sleeping on bamboo beds being made locally! This left us fuming & frustrated as we were the ones who were looking forward to the young girls’ arrival with great anticipation but we were made to part with our metal cots! Anyway, we were taught never to question the judgement of superiors in the army, but more disappointments were to follow!

The battalion of nurses (a dozen of them) landed in our hospital on one fine day and were quickly whisked away to their brand new living area securely fenced, guarded by armed sentries. They were dining in (our) officers’s mess for lunch & dinner. In the hospital, they were our subordinates in the wards/ theatres but in the mess, they got priority as ladies (as per army tradition). All our plans of social interaction with the female gender were reduced to dust as the senior officers in the mess were always in the way. My friend Bhargava was very upset “Why can’t these old folks talk to each other about whatever they want and leave the girls to us. After all we are also human and dying to impress them!” he fumed! But sadly our plans to talk about films or participating in some organised indoor games never materialized and we resigned to stick to each other for company!

Though most of the senior officers were kind to their juniors, teaching them new skills at the hospital, there was an invisible barrier when we sat down together in the mess and we juniors preferred to have our own group.

Major Bhaduri, our radiologist was a rare exception who used to come and spend some time with our group in the evenings smiling at our stories & jokes. He always had an evening drink in his hand and was respected by others because he brought his transistor radio to the mess where everyone listened to the 9PM AIR English new bulletin from Delhi as well as the 10 PM Hindi news bulletin from BBC.

One evening as I was flipping through the pages of an old film magazine (Filmfare was the only magazine available those days), Maj Bhaduri sat next to me and wanted to look at the picture of an actress on the cover. I handed the magazine to him and was amused at his interest in filmy matters as he searched for the cover story about a new heroine & her debut film with the odd title ‘Guddi’! “Sir, are you also interested in Hindi films?” asked Lt Rao. “Oh, not much as you boys, but just wanted to read review of the cover girl this month, Joya!” in his typical Bengali style of pronounciation. “Oh you mean the Guddy girl? Sir, do you know that Lt Ram is totally head over heels over the cute heroine Jaya Bhaduri!” Bhargava poked me in the ribs.As everyone erupted in laughter, I poked him right back for putting me in a bit of embarassment. Yes, she was a superb actress and looked so innocent in the film. Maj Bhaduri leaned towards me and asked “Is it true Ram, what your friends are saying?” I didn’t know what to say and looked away trying to look casual. But Maj Bhaduri insisted “No Ram, I am serious! Would you like to meet her in person?” I was puzzled at this sudden query from an unexpected quarter and looked at him blankly, searching for humor or sarcasm in his tone! “Well Ram, I'll tell you something. Joya Bhaduri is my niece, my brother’s daughter” he continued “She has graduated from Pune institute of Acting with honors and is keen for a career in films. She is very fond of me and she will be happy to meet you when you visit Pune if you tell her that you were with me during the war!”

Oh my God, how did I miss the connection? ‘Major Bhaduri’ reading a magazine article about ‘Jaya Bhaduri’! That night as I tried to sleep, my fertile imagination was busy at work, as I wondered at what dress I should wear and what I should say to her in Pune, as I hand over a letter from her Fauji uncle! The possibilities were endless and I slept fitfully that night!

Next morning when I was at work writing case sheets in the ward, I received summons from the commandant, that I should come & see him urgently. I put on my cap and rushed to see him, wondering if I had committed any blunder recently. I stood in his office and found him cordial and kind as he enquired about my work and things I was learning. Then looking straight at me he gave me the news 1)Indian Army was doing well in the war and enemy is on the run.

2)A major push is expected to happen in the next 48 hrs and the hospital was on alert to get mass casualties continuously.

3) A large Military Cantonment of the enemy is likely to be captured in our sector. The captured territory will include a large medical complex (combined military hospital) where ultimately our hospital will be established in enemy land.

4) An advance party with 100 beds & equipment will be kept ready to move across the border at a short notice led by a junior army doctor capable of handling all types of emergencies.

Lastly..

5) You, Lt Ram, have been selected to lead the advance party and you should be ready to move at short notice. Utmost secrecy will be maintained during the entire operation.

After a few perfunctory questions, I saluted and marched out of the room. It took me some time to understand the importance of the orders I was given! I was selected to lead the van guard of our hospital and hold fort at the new place in captured territory till the rest of the hospital closes itself and comes up to join me. I had to pinch myself to see that this was all real and not a dream. I wondered what my people back home would have said if I told them I was heading into enemy land all by myself!!

(To be continued. Watch this space!)