Month: August 2022

4 Comments Posted on by Reji Koduvath Canada

Ever Been Penniless?

Have you ever been in a situation when you were penniless? Without a dime in your pocket! Without a credit card with you!

If it was not for those humans who understood your situation and helped you, you will never understand the value of a good neighbour. Such ordinary citizens make you feel that the world is worth living.  You too must have faced similar situations. You too must have turned into a good Samaritan.

About a decade ago, Mississauga Transit, Toronto Transit and all other city transits in Canada accepted cash.  The passenger had to put the correct change for the ticket value into the fare box placed adjacent to the driver.  Today, they do not accept cash.   They work on Presto Card.

After the cash was deposited, the driver issued a Transfer Ticket in case the passenger had to undertake further bus journey.  The Transfer Ticket was valid for two hours from the time of issue. Nowadays, the Presto Card keeps track of all transfers.

On that afternoon, I had an appointment with our family physician and our son Nikhil had to be at the city’s swimming pool where he worked as a lifeguard, to attend a reorientation training. I asked Nikhil to drop me off at the physician’s office and take the car and drive to the swimming pool.  I was to ride the transit bus for my return trip.

As I stepped into the bus and searched for my wallet, I realised that I had left it at home. There I was – standing penniless and embarrassed.  The driver, a young lady, smiled at me. She must have realised my dilemma. Is it that she had come across similar situations earlier?

I apologetically said “Sorry! I do not have my wallet on me.”

“Not a problem. Come in,” she said with a smiling face and handed me the Transfer Ticket.

“Thank you. I can walk home from the stop where you will drop me,” I thanked her.

Recently while driving to work to audit one of the pharmacies of our company, I drove into the drive-through outlet of Tim Hortons and ordered my favourite Medium Coffee Double-Double.

Tim Hortons Inc., commonly referred to by Canadians as Tim’s or Timmies, is a Canadian multinational fast food restaurant chain. They serve coffee, doughnuts, and other fast-food items. In 1964, Tim Horton, a National Hockey League Legend, opened his first store in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Today, it is Canada’s largest quick-service restaurant chain, with over 5000 restaurants in 15 countries.

Double Double, a Canadian classic coffee brewed at all Tim Hortons restaurants is coffee with two shots of cream and two shots of sugar. It gives the right creaminess and sweetness to the coffee and is the most common coffee ordered at the Tim Hortons. The two magic words ‘Double-Double,’ from being a vernacular expression is now part of a bonafide vocabulary in the Canadian Oxford dictionary.

After placing my order for coffee at the ordering station, I pulled up to pick-up window.  That was when I relised that I neither had my wallet nor there was a penny in any of the car’s cervices. I was literally Penniless.

I sheepishly said to the girl at the window, “Sorry!  I neither have my wallet nor a penny on me.”

She smiled at me and said “That’s OK.  You can have your coffee.”

“I cannot take it as I have no money to pay.  You can give it to the next customer,” I said.

“Our company’s motto is ‘Always Fresh. Always Tim Hortons.’  If you do not pick it up, we got to drain it out,” she said.

I picked up the coffee and drove ahead.

Two weeks later, I pulled into the parking lot of the same restaurant and walked in and ordered my coffee.  “Two weeks ago, I did not pay for my coffee.  I want to pay for it now,” I said.

“We cannot accept it now as our accounts are closed everyday.  If you insist, you can donate the money for the Tim Hortons Camp Day,” the girl at the counter said.

Since 1974, Tim Hortons have worked with more than 300,000 young people, using camp experiences to develop social and emotional skills and learning and innovation skills. These camps aim to equip the youth with the skills and opportunities needed to thrive, pursue their education, find meaningful jobs, enrich their communities, and lead fulfilling lives.  Tims Camps programmes run year-round in the community, at school and at seven camps across North America.

I thanked the girl at the counter and Tim Hortons in my mind as I placed a $2 coin in the Camp Day donation box.

I substantiated my belief that these ordinary citizens make the world worth living.

On returning home, I activated Google Pay on my cellphone.

2 Comments Posted on by Reji Koduvath Indian Army

Disc Identity – The Disc That Defines a Soldier: Identity, Memory, and Sacrifice

A Discovery After Thirty-Eight Years

On August 13, 2022, the mortal remains of Lance Naik Chandra Shekhar of the 19 Kumaon Regiment were found in an old bunker on the Siachen Glacier. He had died in May 1984 – thirty-eight years earlier.

Chandra Shekhar was part of a team tasked with capturing Point 5965, one of the earliest actions under Operation Meghdoot, India’s mission to occupy the Siachen Glacier. The team halted for the night and was caught in a devastating avalanche. Eighteen soldiers, led by Second Lieutenant P.S. Pundir, perished. Chandra Shekhar’s body was discovered at an elevation of over 16,000 feet, identified only by a small metal disc bearing his army number.

That disc proved its purpose. It provided a name to skeletal remains that otherwise would have remained anonymous forever.

The Twin Purpose of the Identity Disc

Identity discs are worn by soldiers worldwide. They bear the soldier’s personal number, name, regiment, religion, and blood group. They serve two essential purposes: they provide recorded evidence of a soldier’s death in action, and they enable the eventual recognition of a body when recovery is delayed.

When mass casualties occur over a short duration, identity discs become indispensable for keeping accurate records of the fallen.

On a philosophical level, the disc reminds every soldier that martyrdom may be just around the corner. On a practical level, it has a very specific, life-saving function.

To the uninitiated, this may sound eerie. But to a soldier, the disc hanging close to the chest is not morbid – it is reassuring. It reminds him who he is. It gives him the confidence that if he makes the ultimate sacrifice, he will not be forgotten.

In the United States, some spouses of soldiers deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq wore their partner’s identity discs as a symbol of true love and unwavering commitment.

The Mystery of Wearing the Discs

In the Indian Army, identity discs are worn during operations and training exercises. The set consists of two discs: an oval disc with holes punched at either end, and a round disc with a single hole.

For reasons no one could explain, our soldiers wore the oval disc on their left wrist and the round disc around their neck. When asked why, they said it was to ensure that one disc would remain with the body even if the hand sheared off. The logic did not appeal to me – surely we were not fighting battles with swords where hands would be severed. Yet I could find no official instructions on the proper way to wear them.

I had no difficulty wearing the round disc around my neck, but the oval disc on my wrist was a constant worry. I lost it during most training exercises and had to get a new one made each time. Something was clearly amiss.

The Armourer’s Art

When we joined the Regiment, the Armourer had a punching set for stamping blank identity discs with each soldier’s particulars. Later, soldiers began getting them engraved by the unit contractor – the same engraving tool used for steel vessels.

The Mystery Solved

In 1988, I was preparing for a promotion examination. Military Administration was one of the subjects, and the disposal of mortal remains of soldiers killed in action was a recurring question.

I approached Major VN Singh, our Battery Commander, a veteran of the 1971 Indo-Pak War. He was renowned for his meticulous administrative knowledge, having served as an administration and logistics staff officer in an infantry brigade.

He clarified the mystery.

The oval disc is threaded with a 24-inch cord and worn around the neck. The round disc is attached to the bottom hole of the oval disc using a six-inch cord.

In the event of death in war, the round disc is removed immediately for identification. The oval disc remains with the body, ensuring identification whenever the body is eventually recovered. The round disc, along with the soldier’s personal belongings, is dispatched to the Depot Regiment of the Regimental Centre. The oval disc is removed only at the time of cremation, burial, or dispatch of the body to the soldier’s home – and is then kept for official records.

British Origins

The Indian Army’s identity discs trace their origin to the British Army. The first British identity disc was introduced in 1907 – a single disc worn around the neck under clothing. The single disc created post-mortem problems: when it was removed for administrative purposes, the body was left without any identification.

In May 1916, a second disc was introduced. It was octagonal, known as Disc Identity, No.1, Green. The original disc became Disc Identity, No.2, Red. The No.1 disc was attached to the long cord around the neck, and the No.2 disc was threaded on a six-inch cord from the No.1. The No.1 disc remained on the body; the No.2 disc was removed for administration.

The American Experience

US Army identity discs also consist of two discs: one on a 24-inch chain and the other attached by a four-inch chain.

During World War II, the discs were rectangular with rounded ends and a notch at one end. A rumour circulated that the notch was designed to be placed in a dead soldier’s mouth to hold it open, allowing gases to escape and preventing the body from bloating. In reality, the stamping machine simply required the notch to hold the blank disc in place while it was stamped.

During the Vietnam War, new stamping machines eliminated the notch. Soldiers also discovered that the clinking of metal discs gave away their positions – so rubber covers were introduced to keep them silent.

Some American soldiers tied one disc to their bootlaces, believing it would facilitate identification if their body was dismembered.

The Canadian Practice

Canadian identity discs are scored with a horizontal groove so that the lower portion can be detached. If the wearer becomes a fatal casualty, the lower portion is detached and returned to Headquarters with the soldier’s personal documents. The chain and upper section remain with the body.

A Modern Reflection

In the case of Lance Naik Chandra Shekhar, the identity disc proved its enduring value. It identified skeletal remains nearly four decades after death.

As technology advances, DNA sampling may one day replace metal discs for identifying fallen soldiers. Yet the symbolic value of the identity disc will likely endure. In Canada and the United States, military spouses and fiancés wear their partner’s discs as symbols of love and commitment. Some veterans continue to wear their discs long after retirement.

A Question Worth Asking

Having examined the identity discs worn by soldiers across the world, one question lingers: Isn’t it time the Indian Army designed a meaningful identity disc – one worthy of being worn with pride by its soldiers, and perhaps even by their spouses?

The disc is more than metal. It is memory. It is identity. It is the last promise a nation makes to those who give everything: that they will not be forgotten.

2 Comments Posted on by Reji Koduvath Indian Army

Jerrycans

An object that fascinated me while in military service was the Jerrycan.  This 20 Litre can was used for storage of fuel and lubricants and at times for water.  As a young officer in 1984, it was the time of Operation Meghdoot when India gained dominance in Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest battlefield. In the glacier, kerosene is the lifeline and was delivered in jerrycans by helicopters to various posts. The cost of each jerrycan with its precious contents can well be calculated with each helicopter sortie ferrying about 10 jerrycans. It must be the costliest fuel in the world!!

Jerrycans get their name from the Germans who invented them. The original steel fuel cans (Wehrmacht-Einheitskanister, in German for Armed Forces Unit Canister) were a huge improvement over the square cans used by Allied Forces.  These jerrycans were easier to carry, easier to pour and more durable.

The term ‘Jerry,’ is a slang term for Germans used by Allied forces. In preparation for the war, the Germans had thousands of jerrycans in stock and they effectively used them during the war. In 1942 the British Army in North Africa captured some of these cans from the Germans. These cans were sent to England, where they were soon reverse-engineered and put into production. 

In preparation for the war, Hitler came up with a novel idea of holding a design competition for the slickest can for carriage of fuel and water.  Hitler realised the need to keep his men and machines effectively lubricated and hydrated.  He also knew how critical a smoother, more efficient way to move fuel and water would be to win the war.

Vinzenz Grünvogel, chief engineer with the firm Müller of Schwelm, is credited with devising the winning can.  This simple looking can has more to the design than meets the eye.  Developed under the utmost secrecy, the jerrycan featured flat sides that were rectangular in shape and was made in two halves that were welded together like an automobile fuel tank.

It had three handles, which allowed it to be easily passed from one man to another.  The handles were designed in a way of enabling four empty cans to be carried by one person using the outside handles, or two full cans using the middle handle.

An air chamber at the top ensured buoyancy and a short spout which was secured by a snap cover and could be popped open for pouring, eliminating the need for a funnel. A gasket made the mouth leak-proof.  An air-breathing tube from the spout to the air space facilitated easy and smooth pouring.

The design ensured that it was easy to make, easy to handle, easy to stack, easy to transport, durable, and efficient. 20 liters capacity made it easy to calculate bulk amounts.

The two flat sides of the can were stamped with a large X shape, providing better strength and ability to weather changing temperatures, along with the gas volume fluctuations that came with them.  It facilitated up to five jerrycans to be stacked in a row.

The Allied forces used containers nicknamed flimsies. It was made of light-gauge sheet metal pieces poorly welded together. They were a hassle to carry and ruptured quite easily.  The flimsies required a wrench to open, a spout to pour and a funnel to receive the liquid.

There is an Indian connection to the jerrycans landing in Washington. Paul Pleiss, an American engineer who worked in Berlin, persuaded his German colleague to join him on a vacation trip overland to India by car. As they prepared to leave on their journey, they realised that they had no provision for emergency water. The German engineer took three jerrycans stored at Tempelhof Airport and mounted them on the underside of the car.

When the two were halfway across to India, Field Marshal Goering sent a plane to take the German engineer back home. Before departing, the engineer gave Pleiss complete specifications for the jerrycan’s manufacture. Pleiss continued alone to Calcutta where he put the car in storage and returned to Philadelphia.

Back in the US, Pleiss told military officials about the container, but without a sample can, he could stir no interest.  The risk involved in having the cans removed from the car and shipped from Calcutta seemed too great, so he eventually had the complete vehicle shipped.  It arrived in New York in the summer of 1940 with the three jerrycans intact. Pleiss immediately sent one of the cans to Washington. The War Department looked at it but unwisely decided that an updated version of their container would be good enough.

As the Americans did not listen to Pleiss, the British showed keen interest as they were scavenging all the jerrycans they could.  Pleiss got the second of his three jerrycans flown to London. The British immediately reverse engineered the jerrycan and commenced production on a war footing.

Meanwhile, the US was using flimsies with slight modifications to the previous versions, but they still leaked and exploded and required a wrench to open and a funnel to pour.

It was reported that 40 percent of fuel was lost in transport because of the cans. It raised an alarm and the flimsies were scrapped as the US conceded production to Britain, which by 1944 had set up many factories manufacturing jerrycans out in the tens of millions.

In 1944, President Roosevelt stated that “without these cans it would have been impossible for our armies to cut their way across France at a lightning pace, which exceeded the German Blitz of 1940.”

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe, the horse was lost.
For want of a horse, the rider was lost.
For want of a rider, the battle was lost.
For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
Benjamin Franklin included a version of this proverb, preceded by the words, A little neglect may breed great mischief, in Poor Richard’s Almanack in 1758.

During World War II, this verse was framed and hung on the wall of the Anglo-American Supply Headquarters in London to remind everyone the importance of seemingly trivial repair
parts and inventory replenishment.

10 Comments Posted on by Reji Koduvath Canada, Indian Army, Sainik School

Reasonable Reasons

We attended the Junior Command Course at Mhow, India in 1993 and after the course went to our home at Kottayam, Kerala for a month’s vacation. In those days, we travelled on vacation by train and the journey took over 48 hours and two train changes at the most awkward hours of night.  You can imagine my plight with Marina and our two-year daughter Nidhi in tow, with paraphernalia of assorted baggage – in all sizes and shapes.

We reached home and my next ordeal was to get a return reservation from Kottayam to Delhi and onward to Jammu.  During summers, the seats in the trains from Kerala to anywhere in the country were lapped up the moment the reservation counters opened on the exact 60th day before the date of journey.  The only option for me was to contact our Member of Parliament, Mr Suresh Kurup, who always obliged with his emergency quota.  Mr. Kurup is well known for his soft corner and respect for all soldiers.

Armed with the allotment of Emergency Quota and my Warrant (Military form authorising travel by Indian Railways,) I reached Kottayam railway station.  At the reservation counter the booking clerk refused to book the seats – Why?  Our Regimental clerk had committed a grave sin!! He spelt KoTTayam with one T.

I contacted the Station Master and the Reservation Supervisor.  All expressed both sympathy and empathy a soldier deserved, but the cardinal sin of spelling KoTTayam with only one T, they could not condone.

While at Sainik School Amaravathinagar, Thamizh Nadu, our nearest railway station (NRS) was Udumalaipettai – with one P and two Ts. In Thamizh and Hindi, it has two Ps, but in English only one – Any reasonable reasons?

 The town was known amongst the locals as (உடுமலை) Udumalai and all the bus boards read so.  The British called it Udumalpet and that too caught on, but no one ever used Udumalipettai, other than the Indian Railways and some Military clerk sitting in the remote border, preparing a warrant for a soldier from Udumalpet – counting the Ps and Ts.

When we filled our application for the National Defence Academy (NDA,) our teachers insisted that we spelt Udumalaipettai with the correct number of Ps and Ts as the Indian Railways insisted.

To return to the Regiment on time, the only option to me was to buy two tickets and claim the cost later from the Comptroller Defence Accounts (CDA.) I requested the Reservation Supervisor to block the seats until I either got a fresh warrant or bought the tickets by paying cash. He agreed saying that he got to finalise the reservation chart two days before the date of journey.  

I shot off a letter to our Adjutant, narrating my agony.  Major Ranjan Deb (now a Veteran Colonel,) an Aviator with an uncanny sense of humour was in chair and he despatched a soldier to Kottayam with a fresh warrant with two Ts for KoTTayam. Unfortunately, the soldier could reach Kottayam a day prior to my journey and by that time, I had to buy the tickets by paying cash.

On reaching the Regiment stationed in Jammu & Kashmir, I sent the forms for claiming the cost of the tickets to CDA, explaining the reasons as to why I had to buy the railway tickets by paying cash.  The reasons I stated appeared beyond reasonable doubt to the powers at the CDA, but how can they allow such a claim without raising any objection?  It will go against the ethos of the Accounts Department anywhere in India. 

My claim was approved in principle, but the CDA raised a query “How did the Officer and his wife make the onward journey from Jammu Tawi to Kottayam?”

Beyond reasonable doubt, Major Ranjan Deb promptly replied “By walking.”  In a week’s time my bank account was credited with full reimbursement for the cost of tickets.

Now let us fast forward to 2016.  Our family is in Canada – Marina, Nidhi, Nikhil and myself – all Canadian citizens. 

Nikhil decided to travel to Kolkata to serve in Mother Teresa’s Ashram for a month.  I said to him “If you find time, visit Veteran Colonel Ranjan Deb, our Regimental Officer who lives in Barrackpore.”  I had narrated many incidents about Colonel Deb, especially when he was our Battery Commander with 75 Medium Regiment (Basantar River.) 

On a Wednesday, when Nikhil had a day off from Mother Theresa’s Ashram, he took a cab to Barrackpore.  Colonel Deb and Nikhil spend a day together and at the end of it Colonel Deb remarked “Reji, I spent a few hours with Nikhil. I was amazed at his all-round development at his age. No Indian student will be able to match up with Nikhil’s thought process. His education in Canada stands out distinctly. I am 63 and he is 19 years of age. I did not get bored for even a second of the six hrs we were together. Healthy engrossing discussion.

This is what is called Regimental spirit.  A kid, not born – why – not even planned while we served together, comes all the way from Canada to meet us – a Veteran Colonel and his wife.  What else can we ask for in life?  What other recognition do we need? He made our day!!”