Fauji stories, of all hues
Ashok Ahlawat is a loquacious ex-NDA veteran of self-confessedly middling military achievement, who deliberately, if not brazenly, flaunts his knowledge of classics in English literature, starting with Latin quotes and moving on to poet laureates, etc. Early on, he explains...
The Crossover Girl & Other Stories. By Ashok Ahlawat. The Browser. Pages 164. ~395
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Book Title: The Crossover Girl & other Stories | Black Horse Down and Other Stories
Author: Ashok Ahlawat
Ashok Ahlawat is a loquacious ex-NDA veteran of self-confessedly middling military achievement, who deliberately, if not brazenly, flaunts his knowledge of classics in English literature, starting with Latin quotes and moving on to poet laureates, etc.
Early on, he explains the context: his fauji dad was a literary bug and then there is the well-established Haryanvi ability to laugh at themselves. Surely, a Jat from the “notorious” Gocchi in Rohtak has the freedom and licence to do all this! Ashok exceeds all expectations, and more, in ‘The Crossover Girl and Other Stories’ and ‘Black Horse Down and Other Stories’.
The two books are replete with his quirky, sometimes quixotic and even vacuous, humour, even if there are delightful shades of genteel humour, which come as a welcome oasis in Ashok’s unabashed male world.
“The military veteran who writes” does not quite turn out to be the oxymoron it is generally assumed to be, or so one realises while ploughing through 55 stories in these anthologies.
Some are original, some borrowed with attribution, and sometimes without. Some are completely over the top, some fraternising, and impossible so, as these are set in Kashmir... Some are loaded with bravery and military skill — rewarded and unrewarded; some sarcastic, deprecating and cynical; some dismissive; some are poignant, thought-provoking and kind, and some are delightful spoofs.
He thus evokes in his readers a pastiche of feelings: shock, angst, sheer careerism, despair, counterbalanced by undying love for country, mission, honour, duty, sacrifice and pride.
There are a few salutes too — to teaching and commanding, and a rare salute to Generalship. This gets levelled out by tales of senior officers’ rotten conduct, which invite both disbelief and repugnance. Readers must judge for themselves where Baron Munchausen’s tall tales, including in a military setting involving our LoC adversary, end and begin. Occasional stories bring in disbelieving tales of fraternising and military establishments with their eyes shut on both sides.
The setting of the tales is diverse. The NDA is a favourite, so is the Cavalry, the Sappers, the Gunners… Though mainly honourable, some references aren’t complementary. But, were they avoidable? Readers will judge for themselves.
There is a reference to an Army commander, a hero in Ashok’s estimate, an officer earlier highlighted in social media for physical prowess. He writes of how the officer goes around declaring he is undergoing a heart attack, but no one listens, including cardiac specialists. And when they do, the attack is confirmed. One wonders if cardiac caregivers would accept this sorry attempt at assuming macho status even in distress.
Such tilting at windmills is balanced by stunning tales of bravery and amazing skills focused on tank and Infantry combat at Chhamb, with barely concealed names of the complex arabesque of bravery when we lost Chhamb to Pakistan. The tales indicate a myriad of emotions whose net gains and losses define bravery, guts, gunnery skill, awards, also their absence because all of them “retreated”…
Bravado is afoot in Burma by a Jat. Hony Capt Umrao Singh was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery against the Japanese in World War-II. Ashok becomes a Gunner Captain to tell his tale, changing his identity like a chameleon again, and yet again. In the books, Ashok treats women variously. He displays economy of praise for officer wives. Women in general are, however, seen with awe, admired for couture, beauty and appeal. His handling of widows, mothers and daughters is where he is on a song.
Readers stand informed of the highs and lows, and the spoofs and pirouettes of these books.
— The writer is based in Mohali
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