So where was I? Aah yes, the Special Army Train had just arrived at our station at 12 noon. Check the to get yourself up to speed pun not intended. The special Army train pulled up at the platform at the opposite end of the station — a platform which was not in use for other passenger or long-distance trains. Hashtag Husband Wale Jhooth! Our entire Unit was moving from a field location to a semi-metro peace location, remember? Unit property and men were being transported via a special green-coloured Army train, with the officers, their families and Jawans being the only ones aboard. It had a special train number and is managed by the railways only for the purpose of moving Armymen and Fauji property around the country — no, it does not show up on IRCTC website. Planning is very important in fauj. Not just in war, but in loading a train as well. I came back to the guest room. As per my calculations, taking into account time taken for loading, lunchtime and tea time, we should be good to go by 1800 hours! It seemed more like 1,800 hours before we managed to leave the station at around midnight. It is, afterall, a sarkari matter. We lost a couple of hours to that. It was dinner time by then, so why miss a chance of a readymade meal in the transit camp mess? And once the beer bottles were opened, it became obvious to me and CO Memsahib we were the only two ladies left now that the officers will delay our departure further by an hour. Hashtag Madira Sevan Train Schedule Ke Liye Haanikarak Hai! After dinner we went to the station, but were asked to wait for sometime at the platform. It was a small small station, only local trains stopped here. So, you can imagine the kind of infrastructure they would have in place — which was nil. There was no electricity, so CO Memsahib and I sat in dark, covered in three layers of Odomos cream to protect ourselves from mosquitoes. It drizzled for 3-4 minutes, but we had honestly run out of fucks to give. Once inside the train, we were thrilled to find that an entire coach had been alotted to officers and families. It was May and the AC was a welcome blast. I was however, not so thrilled to know that the jawans were housed in sleeper compartments, with no AC. They will survive the heat as long as they got a place and time to sleep, he said. Hashtag Ab Kya Hua? So where was the hold-up now? We asked a young officer and turned out the delay was because of something I would have never imagined! Oh the whims some faujis have! Hashtag Fauji Choooos We hooted and clapped and congratulated each other the moment the train started. We chatted for sometime and decided to catch some sleep. I had other things to worry about — high on that list being my leave which would end in two days. I had taken almost a week off from work, but we had wasted 5 days waiting for the train to arrive at our departure point. Because: Source: So, I had made up my mind to get off at the next city which had an airport, and catch a flight back to our destination — so that I do not overshoot my leave. Lady luck was on my side this time, since the next such stop would be New Delhi. And tried to make sense of this world. We all tried to find things to keep us occupied. The young officers were ecstatic on being in full mobile network and internet connectivity. Remember they were posted at a remote border location where one bar of mobile network called for celebrations. We sat for sometime on the open coach and saw fields and rivers pass by. This is what makes this train extra special. In typical fauji fashion, at around 11, some snacks were served with chai. My eyes popped out when I saw the elaborate set-up for lunch. On one of the side berths, a camo print cover was laid out. And then there were the bowls and platters with the Unit crest, filled with food. It was the exact same setting. It was all new to me… you see, I was expecting packed lunch boxes, like they serve in Duranto Express. Lunch laid out in the Special Army Train You can take a fauji out of the fauji area, but you cannot take the faujiness out of him! Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. We passed a station named Phillaur. Phillaur station The usual snack breaks were followed on the train as welll, like evening tea, soup, pakodas, etc. Dinner was an equally elaborate affair. The train had to stop at a small village station in the evening, probably waiting for some other important train to pass and clear the tracks for us. The officers ordered the men to get down and run the entire length of the platform twice. They are used to physical activity everyday. Train pe toh baksh do unko. In addition to men stretching their limbs, there were three dogs on board who had to be taken out on small walks. These three well-trained German Shephards were part of the unit property, and were faithful companions who had stayed with the men at the field location. So we had men, women, children, pigeons see Part 1 and now dogs on this Special Army Train! Had the train been as per schedule, we would have reached his village in the evening of Day 1. They had arranged for Chai, Samosa and Mithai for everyone at the station — yes, for everyone single person on that train. Since we were woefully behind schedule, we could not reach his village on Day 1. He was a little upset, since some food had gone stale because of the heat. Day 2 At around 1 am that night, the train pulled up at snails pace at the Tughlakabad Railway Station, where I had to bid the special Army train a hasty goodbye. I was leaving the journey midway since all my leaves were wasted in just waiting for it. My plan was to catch a flight from New Delhi, and resume work the next day. On my way to the airport, I checked all popular travel websites for fares of early morning flights. Baap re… I realised what a bomb I would have to spend, but eventually remembered that being a family member of a fauji, I can get some cheeky discount from. At that time, the team did not have a 24×7 customer care service, so I panicked a little. I had to book that same ticket again, but thankfully the next day I got a mail from the folks at that my erroneously deducted money will be refunded. Hashtag Mera Piya Ghar Aya! I reached my destination safe and sound, and three days — YES THREE DAYS — later, on Akshaya Tritiya, the special Army train arrived at our new peace station. Hopefully, when the Unit moves to their next location, I would be able to enjoy the full journey, in full fauji tashan! Tab tak ke liye, namashkaar! Lt Swati Mahadik left and Lt Nidhi Dubey after being commissioned into the Indian Army at OTA Chennai on September 9, 2017. Pic: Via Twitter When she learned that war widows can also join the army, she started preparing for the entrance and was given ample support by the Mahar Regimental Centre in Sagar. Today, she is Lt Nidhi Dubey! She has a young daughter and son, who were put in boarding school so that Swati could prepare for the entrance. Lt Swati Mahadik with her son and daughter at the PoP in OTA Chennai. Pic: Via Twitter Today, she is Lt Swati Mahadik. The two women walked through the gates of Officers Training Academy in Chennai in September 2016. Every year, there is only one vacancy for a war widow in OTA. This time, the Army made an exception and allowed both the ladies to undergo training. They are not alone — their name will be added to the small yet growing list of war widows opting to join the Army after rigorous training. At the Passing Out Parade at OTA Chennai. Pic: Via Twitter If the entire process of getting over grief of loss of a loved one, and then pulling themselves up again to prepare for the future, that too in the Army, is something that will send shivers down the spine of even the strong-hearted! A Curious Army Wife salutes them all! It will take roughly 4-5 hours for us to load it. Once that is done, we will leave by April 18 night, or maximum by 19th afternoon. Normal train takes 2 days in reaching our destination, we will take not more than 4 days. When the time came for the Unit to leave that location and move to a big city, the CO decided to take these birds along! I have never heard of people moving with lock stock barrel and pigeons! The best part — I am so so proud of my man. The feeling cannot be described in words. I have seen him change from a careless and immature schoolboy into a soldier, who now shares the responsibility of protecting billions of countrymen. I can just not respect him enough, I could not be more proud of him. The bad thing is I got demoted to the second position in the list of his loved ones. His love for his job tops his list now. He has pampered me a lot all these years and I have been literally in seventh heaven all the time, so for me it was like being thrown back to the earth. I know how much he loves me, how much he wants to be with me and still he has to be in some godforsaken place for his duty — it makes me love him more and be more strong. At times, we may have 10 mins to talk and we will end up wasting 15 mins in just trying to connect the phone. So yeah, there is always a desire, a longing to be able to spend some time with each other, to not say anything, to escape from everything, just to be there with him. This has made us appreciate each and every moment we spend together. We long to be with each other be it even for a moment and are always ready to scale any heights, fly any distance just to be together. With time, I also became an excellent actor. I have to be his strength. I am the one who has to take care of him. Always make him feel loved so that the rays of happiness shine on him. At times, I would feel extremely jealous and frustrated of not knowing about his whereabouts. With time, I have lost track of his likes and dislikes. But I know the most important thing, he madly loves me and so do I! The joy of getting a letter after days of wait is just not comparable to getting an online message. We can read and re-read these letters years after years. The fragrance of our love will always be there in those letters. I could not have imagined living, with him not being by my side for a day and here I am writing all this. And the best perk is I get aviator glasses, Air Force t-shirts and souvenirs from all over the country as gifts! The girl who wrote this wonderful piece did not want to disclose her identity.
