THE name may have faded out of the memories of most Indians but will remain tattooed in red in the minds of our Bangladeshi neighbours. He was sent out by General Yahya Khan of Pakistan to put down unrest swelling in East Pakistan. He did it in the only way he knew: let loose his predominantly Punjabi Army on hapless Bangladeshis with permission to loot, rape and kill anyone it suspected of being disloyal to Pakistan. His tenure in Dhaka was extensively covered by the world media. He was dubbed the Butcher of Bangladesh. He died in Islamabad a fortnight ago at the age of 86.

After Bangladesh won its Independence, I went to Pakistan on the invitation of its new ruler Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. I was anxious to meet (by then retired) General Tikka Khan to get his side of the story. He turned down my request for an interview. He did not want to see any Indian, least of all a Sikh journalist. I asked my friend Manzur Qadir to plead on my behalf. He assured Tikka Khan that I bore no ill-will towards Pakistan and I would faithfully report what he had to say about his role in the uprising in what was to become Bangladesh.

It turned out to be quite a memorable interview. Tikka Khan received me in his bungalow. I was surprised how unmartial he looked. He looked more like a bank clerk than a soldier. He was short and stocky. Also gruff. With him in the room where we sat was his orderly, a huge Pathan about 6 feet 6 inches tall, but gentle as a lamb. I looked round the room cluttered with family photographs and trophies one sees in homes of senior army officers. On the walls were quotations from the Koran, including one I could recognise prominently displayed on the mantelpiece.

The general was a very angry man. His gussa was directed entirely against Indians, not against Bangladeshis. Words like daghaa (treachery), dhoka (double-dealing), jhoot (lies) flowed like lava out of a volcano. He claimed that the sobriquet Butcher of Bangladesh was entirely coined by the Indian media. "We are God fearing Muslims," he repeated over and over again. "Our soldiers are disciplined and do not indulge in rape and violence against innocent women." I let him have his say and asked him as gently as I could, "Why had the Pakistani army done so poorly against the Indians?’ "Dagha", he repeated. "The Indian Army had infiltrated into East Pakistan long before we were forced to declare war." I pointed out that there had hardly been any pitched battles. Wherever Indians came against resistance, it avoided fighting and let the Mukti Bahini keep the Pakistanis hemmed in their pockets. The General's orderly who had seen the action blurted out: "Awaam hamaaray khilaaf thaa (the people had turned against us)." The General did not like his orderly speaking out of turn and snubbed him. I pressed the point home: "General Sahib, there must have been reason for the common people to turn against you." He parried my suggestion and repeated it was all Indian propaganda. I let him have his say. Before taking leave I pointed out to the quotation from the Koran embellishing his mantelpiece. He read it out boldly in the Arabic "Nasr min Allah, fateh un qareeb (Allah grants victory to the side whose cause is just)."

"General Sahib, Allah granted victory to us Indians."

He felt I had hit him below the belt. "Sardar Sahib, I suspect you knew the quotation from the holy book."

I nodded my head, shook him by the hand and took my leave.

I don't much care about dining in restaurants: the food they dish out is seldom top quality in taste and too expensive. In any event, anything cooked in large quantities can rarely cater to individual tastes. For me it has to be a small party of no more than six to eight guests, the food must be cooked by the host or hostess and not by their khansamas; it should have the right wines to go with it, and above all, served on the dot because gourmet food had to be brought from the cooking utensil to the table exactly when it has the richest aroma and taste. Anything kept hot by spirit lamps burning under large silver-plated containers has little flavour left in it. These conditions are not observed in Delhi's elitist circles. So I rarely, if ever, accept an invitation to dine out. I am a very fussy eater.

There are a few notable exceptions to the general rule of unpunctuality and tasteless food in Delhi homes. One such in Rekha Puri. She is proud of her cooking and her husband knows about wines. They never invite more than eight guests. They remind their guests to be punctual as I would also be invited "and you know what a fusspot he is about time."

I arrived as expected at 8 p.m. Five minutes later another couple arrived. We were served scotch and soda; potato wafers and peanuts on tables beside our chairs. Twenty minutes later came the third couple full of apologies. "Traffic on Delhi's roads at this hour is chaotic," they explained. "We left our home more than half an hour ago. It was bumper-to-bumper all the way." They joined us for drinks and potato chips. It was coming close to nine. Rekha Puri noticed the irritation on my face. "I'll check up and see if they are on their way; otherwise we'll get along with our dinner," she said. She rang up. "Their servants say they left half an hour ago; they should be here any moment. No drinks for them. I'll get the dinner ready."

The dinner took half an hour. Still no sign of the remaining couple. It was now 9.30 p.m. I had had more than my quota of scotch and had filled my belly with potato chips, peanuts and cashew. My appetite for dinner I was looking forward to was gone. Rekha Puri was in a flap: the gourmet dishes she had prepared had to be taken as they are cooked, not allowed to cool and be reheated. The third couple arrived at 10 p.m. beaming with smiles: "Sorry, we are a bit late. We dropped in to see a couple of friends on our way here." I controlled my temper but could not help blurting out: "You kept eight people waiting. I've lost my appetite for dinner."

It was like at a feast following a funeral. All fun of dining together was gone. I gobbled up my food and left as soon as the dessert plates had been removed. I was in no mood to enjoy coffee and cognac in the company of the ill-mannered couple. I made a mental note of their names and swore that I would never go to any party where they were invited. Unfortunately this has become the pattern of social life in Delhi. Unpunctuality is the norm; being on time means you don't matter.