Subaltern Stories: Chopper Ride with a General

It was in Samba and a few days after the 1971 War that I got a chance to have a chopper ride, my first and that too with  a general who rose to become the Chief of Army Staff. Major Madan, GSO2 Ops (Air), HQ 1 Corps was a good friend due to two reasons; he was the brother-in law of my course-mate, Rakesh Sachdeva and as the OC Exchange I helped him in speaking to his home at Pune regularly. One day I told major Madan that I would like to fly in a chopper and he agreed to arrange. In those days helicopters were not so common and I felt excited.  Within two days I got a call from him asking me to go to the helipad immediately, a chopper was waiting for me. It was in the afternoon and I rushed to the helipad in my uniform. I saw the chopper but there was no familiar face around. So I walked up to the pilot, introduced myself and explained my purpose. He said he had no idea about my going with him, it was a VIP flight about to take off in 5 minutes with Lt Gen Raina and the destination was Jammu. But he added, if the General desired so, he would gladly accommodate me. I had no means of reaching Major Madan and there was little time before takeoff. As a matter of fact, I could see the General alighting from his car. I took a quick decision, walked up to the General, gave him a smart salute and asked, " Sir, may I have your permission to take a lift with you to Jammu?" He looked at me and winced but I could see the expression changing into a faint smile. "Ask the pilot and if he is willing to take you, do come along", replied the General. I went  back to the pilot and conveyed the General's approval. The pilot asked me to hop in and fasten the seat belt. It was a very short journey that took about 25 minutes, an exciting experience for me. As we landed at Jammu I could see the red carpet welcome laid out in honor of the General. There were many senior officers present to receive the General. Some of them shook hands with me as well. That's when the General turned to me, shook my hands and asked where I wanted to go. I thanked him and said I would go to the city and see a movie. A brigadier turned to me and offered his car. I accepted the offer gladly and went to the market in his staff car. On my way to the movie theatre I called up the Adjutant and informed about my chopper ride with the General to Jammu and requested to be picked up. The Adjutant sent me a jeep for my return to the unit after the movie. I later on learned that Lt Gen Raina was GOC, 2 Corps and he was on a visit to Jammu immediately after the successful culmination of the War in the Eastern Theatre that resulted in the liberation of East Pakistan!