The day - 26th Jan 1998
The Venue- Rashtrapathi Bhavan- New Delhi
"On this day of year 1998, late Major Uttaya of the Mechanised Infantry recieved the Ashok Chakra, from the President of India K. R. Narayanan, for gallantry beyond the call of duty towards his country, regiment and people. "
His wife Mrs Usha Uttaya accepted the award. The Major was 34 when he died. Officials stories say that he died in an ambush on the North West border of India.
After the ceremony, Usha returned back to Bangalore, and took up a job as a teacher. The army had looked after her. She had got money, and plot of land in Bangalore. She needed to make sure that she kept herself busy.
Three months later she recieved a letter, with many stamps on it. It was a letter written in Hindi, by one of his colleagues, who refused to give his name, but he recounted the account of the death of Major Uttaya.
Major Uttaya had joined the National Defence Academy and had shown both leadership skills and a very matured understanding of the human behaviour. He was being watched, by the seniors and when he graduated from the IMA, was recruited into the Special Task Force, working with the Central Bureau of Investigation. He was to slowly infiltrate a group of soldiers who were working as spies for the enemy. It took him 7 years, to peice together the whole puzzle.
There were four of them, Subedar Major Yashpal Yadav, Subedar Major Vikas Chavan, Lance Nayak Atul Bhist and Lance Nayak Arun Bhasin. There was one thing in common, all were poor, so easy to recruit, and had large families to support. All they needed to do was give the enemy strategic intelligence information in return for hard cash. This had been going on for many years, and after some major losses to the Indian side, the army top bosses felt the need to get to the bottom of this. Major Uttaya was recruited for this purpose, found them, and then slowly started getting dossiers on them ready. Unfortunately for him the enemy intelligence found out about him, and tipped off the four men.
They pretended to be chasing the enemy at an imaginary incursion near the border, and he went along, they went deep into the forest and there at night they shot him, unfortunately for all four, Major Uttaya was wearing a bullet proof vest, so the first burst of machine gun did not kill him, but when he realised he was going to die, he picked up his gun and shot Yadav and Chavan in the head, on seeing his comerades dying Bhist got so incensed he emptied the entire machine gun's bullets on Major Uttaya, shooting first his legs, and then his right arm. Major Uttaya took his pistol and shot Bhist through his neck, killing him slowly, choking to death. Bhasin had frozen, turned his gun on Uttaya, he let out two bursts from his machine gun, killing Major Uttaya on the spot, but not before the Major had shot him on his knees, and his jaw. Bhasin was found four hours later, by the rest of the battalion, bleeding. He was in coma for about 3 months. He left the army and went back to his village in Gurdaspur. He still lives there with his wife and six kids.
The question Usha keeps asking herself , was this letter written by Lance Nayak Arun Bhasin? She would never know.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Brothers in arms
They say that Coorg men are the best looking in the country. Muthanna was certainly one handsome man. He was tall, athletically built, had strong features, green eyes with thick lashes and a big head of hair. He also knew he was good looking, which made him quite unbearable, coupled with the fact that he was very wealthy. Being the younger of two sons, with a huge coffee estate, a very eligible commodity in the community.
When Gayatri got engaged to him, she was over the moon, his engagement gift to her was a car, and as he told her that was the begining of many more nice things to come. Gayatri was a pretty girl, who had entered Miss India and placed as a runner up in 1996, got engaged two months after the contest. She was hot property and her family wasted no time, when she got her proposal from Muthanna, to get her engaged. She went back to Bangalore, to get her trousseau ready.
Everything was going smoothly till one morning her Uncle came to the house one morning in a state of agitation, sat her down and broke the bad news to her. Muthanna was in prison, imprisoned for the murder of his elder brother. She was forced to break off her engagement.
The papers were full of the story the next day.
Muthanna got up in the morning, and his elder brother Cariappa, asked him to come into the estate with him, they drove into the vast estates in their jeep, got out and went about doing some mundane job. On finishing this, they broke for lunch, and they came back to the house, there over lunch they started discussing the money that they had recieved on the sale of the coffee. Cariappa wanted to expand the property and have some money put back into the estate, Muthanna wanted to buy some property in Bangalore for his new bride. They argued, each getting more and more angry. Finally Muthanna in a fit of rage, went into his mothers bedroom, took down the double barrel gun and shot the brother. Cariappa died on the spot. The mother screamed and his sister in law went running to the phone to call the police. Muthanna shot the phone, and then threatened his mother and sister in law that if they went to the cops, he would kill the grandson. The two women kept quiet. A farm hand went running to the neighbouring estate, and narrated the whole story, who in turn called the cops.
Inspector Siddanna, was corrupt to the core. On arriving alone on the scene of the crime, he confronted Muthanna, who promptly offered him money to be silent. The inspector accepted Rs 5 lakh and the case was closed as an accident, where the brother was cleaning the gun and it went off.
The neighbour who had called the police had also informed the local Member of the Legislative council, a Coorg lady by the name of Gangu Muthappa. She knew who Muthanna was, and did not like him. The next day she took out a protest march to the police station, called all the press and the case was reopened. Inspector Siddanna was courtmartialled , and the investigation is still pending. On the witness stand the mother broke down, and confessed all, including the threat to her grandson. Muthanna was given a life term, non bailable. He tried to appeal, every lawyer he tried to hire, was boycotted in Coorg. The state hired him a lawyer, a bumbling idiot, and his fate was sealed.
It has been 10 years since this incident, Muthanna is still in prison. The estate is being run by his nephew. Gayatri, is married to another Coorg and has two sons. The community women banded together with the mother and grandmother and they look after each other. It is also said that Coorg women are very strong.
When Gayatri got engaged to him, she was over the moon, his engagement gift to her was a car, and as he told her that was the begining of many more nice things to come. Gayatri was a pretty girl, who had entered Miss India and placed as a runner up in 1996, got engaged two months after the contest. She was hot property and her family wasted no time, when she got her proposal from Muthanna, to get her engaged. She went back to Bangalore, to get her trousseau ready.
Everything was going smoothly till one morning her Uncle came to the house one morning in a state of agitation, sat her down and broke the bad news to her. Muthanna was in prison, imprisoned for the murder of his elder brother. She was forced to break off her engagement.
The papers were full of the story the next day.
Muthanna got up in the morning, and his elder brother Cariappa, asked him to come into the estate with him, they drove into the vast estates in their jeep, got out and went about doing some mundane job. On finishing this, they broke for lunch, and they came back to the house, there over lunch they started discussing the money that they had recieved on the sale of the coffee. Cariappa wanted to expand the property and have some money put back into the estate, Muthanna wanted to buy some property in Bangalore for his new bride. They argued, each getting more and more angry. Finally Muthanna in a fit of rage, went into his mothers bedroom, took down the double barrel gun and shot the brother. Cariappa died on the spot. The mother screamed and his sister in law went running to the phone to call the police. Muthanna shot the phone, and then threatened his mother and sister in law that if they went to the cops, he would kill the grandson. The two women kept quiet. A farm hand went running to the neighbouring estate, and narrated the whole story, who in turn called the cops.
Inspector Siddanna, was corrupt to the core. On arriving alone on the scene of the crime, he confronted Muthanna, who promptly offered him money to be silent. The inspector accepted Rs 5 lakh and the case was closed as an accident, where the brother was cleaning the gun and it went off.
The neighbour who had called the police had also informed the local Member of the Legislative council, a Coorg lady by the name of Gangu Muthappa. She knew who Muthanna was, and did not like him. The next day she took out a protest march to the police station, called all the press and the case was reopened. Inspector Siddanna was courtmartialled , and the investigation is still pending. On the witness stand the mother broke down, and confessed all, including the threat to her grandson. Muthanna was given a life term, non bailable. He tried to appeal, every lawyer he tried to hire, was boycotted in Coorg. The state hired him a lawyer, a bumbling idiot, and his fate was sealed.
It has been 10 years since this incident, Muthanna is still in prison. The estate is being run by his nephew. Gayatri, is married to another Coorg and has two sons. The community women banded together with the mother and grandmother and they look after each other. It is also said that Coorg women are very strong.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
The dutiful wife...
The year was 1942, Kamava was only 40 when she became a widow. The whole community felt relief and sadness for her. Relief because her husband had been bed ridden with a stroke for 16 years, and sadness because her life was full of tragic circumstances. She had three children, her eldest son Cariappa was 21 and already had taken over running the coffee estate. Her second child, her daughter Gangu was married about 7 months before and her youngest son was in school.
After the 11 day ceremony for mourning was finished, the family started the process of clearing out his room. They gave away all his clothes , and the sons with the household help, went through the entire room and either gave away or burned some of his belongings. While they were removing the four poster bed's mattress from the room, they came across a whole bunch of copper wires in knots and spirals with little bags tied together with herbs etc under the bed. On asking the mother, she said it was for their father, and to throw it away into the Kaveri river. Nothing more was said about it.
Many years later when she died, at the age of 72, she left a letter for her three children. This is what it said:
"Dear Children
This letter is to tell of the terrible truth that has been burdening my soul for the last 50 years. When I married your father, on the wedding night he told me that he had a mistress and I would have to live with the fact that he did not believe in being faithful. For the next few years, all I did was pray, and went to every temple, holy man that I could to help me get my husband back. One day, a lady in the village, told me about a tantric, a man who practised the dark arts, who was in another village and how he could help me. I decided to go to him, and he listened to me and gave me some copper wires, and some small bags and told me to place these under the mattress directly under where your father slept. He said that within the month your father would be mine and mine alone. I did, and that month your father had a stroke and was bedridden for the rest of his life. He could not do anything, and was totally dependent on me. In one way I got my wish. I died with this horrible truth burdening my soul. Please forgive me.
Your loving Mother."
All the three kids sat down and wept. They wept for their mother, they wept for their father and they wept at the total loss of all happiness and helplessness.
After the 11 day ceremony for mourning was finished, the family started the process of clearing out his room. They gave away all his clothes , and the sons with the household help, went through the entire room and either gave away or burned some of his belongings. While they were removing the four poster bed's mattress from the room, they came across a whole bunch of copper wires in knots and spirals with little bags tied together with herbs etc under the bed. On asking the mother, she said it was for their father, and to throw it away into the Kaveri river. Nothing more was said about it.
Many years later when she died, at the age of 72, she left a letter for her three children. This is what it said:
"Dear Children
This letter is to tell of the terrible truth that has been burdening my soul for the last 50 years. When I married your father, on the wedding night he told me that he had a mistress and I would have to live with the fact that he did not believe in being faithful. For the next few years, all I did was pray, and went to every temple, holy man that I could to help me get my husband back. One day, a lady in the village, told me about a tantric, a man who practised the dark arts, who was in another village and how he could help me. I decided to go to him, and he listened to me and gave me some copper wires, and some small bags and told me to place these under the mattress directly under where your father slept. He said that within the month your father would be mine and mine alone. I did, and that month your father had a stroke and was bedridden for the rest of his life. He could not do anything, and was totally dependent on me. In one way I got my wish. I died with this horrible truth burdening my soul. Please forgive me.
Your loving Mother."
All the three kids sat down and wept. They wept for their mother, they wept for their father and they wept at the total loss of all happiness and helplessness.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
The Bee story
The first time I met Kaveri, I was struck by how young she was and that she was wearing a widow's colours. White, sombre and dignified. She was only 24, when her husband died. After just 3 years of marriage, leaving her with a one year baby boy. This story is not about her, but the strange way her husband died.
Pooviah, married Kaveri when he was 27, he was 6 years older than her. He came from a wealthy family, only son with two sisters. When he saw Kaveri at his cousin's wedding, he asked his parents that he wanted to marry her and 7 months later he did.
He was not an unkind husband, but every day after looking after the coffee estate he liked to drink. Drinking late into the night with either his friends at home or at the North Coorg club. On the weekends he drank earlier, at around 12.00 in the afternoon. This was the only issue they ever fought about.
On that particular day, he and Kaveri had a fight and he had been drinking. He took out the Double Barrel gun hanging on the wall of his dining room, grabbed a bottle of rum, got into his jeep and drove away into the coffee estate. He was last seen alive then. They heard a couple of gun shots and then deafening silence.
When they discovered his body the next day, it was unrecognisable. It took the forensic's and police a couple of days to put it to together.
Pooviah, drove into the middle of the estate, got out of his jeep, and sat on the bonnet with his bottle of rum, taking swigs of the drink directly from the bottle. He then started taking pot shots at a wild bee hive up in the teak trees. The first shot got the bees agitated. The second shot got the entire hive buzzing all over, and then they formed a huge big ball of fury and turned on him. They attacked him from all quarters. When they found him, he had died of asphyxiation, with his tongue swelling up due to the allergy caused by the bee stings. His face was blue in colour from the multiple stings. Every exposed part of his body was covered in bee stings.
Pooviah, married Kaveri when he was 27, he was 6 years older than her. He came from a wealthy family, only son with two sisters. When he saw Kaveri at his cousin's wedding, he asked his parents that he wanted to marry her and 7 months later he did.
He was not an unkind husband, but every day after looking after the coffee estate he liked to drink. Drinking late into the night with either his friends at home or at the North Coorg club. On the weekends he drank earlier, at around 12.00 in the afternoon. This was the only issue they ever fought about.
On that particular day, he and Kaveri had a fight and he had been drinking. He took out the Double Barrel gun hanging on the wall of his dining room, grabbed a bottle of rum, got into his jeep and drove away into the coffee estate. He was last seen alive then. They heard a couple of gun shots and then deafening silence.
When they discovered his body the next day, it was unrecognisable. It took the forensic's and police a couple of days to put it to together.
Pooviah, drove into the middle of the estate, got out of his jeep, and sat on the bonnet with his bottle of rum, taking swigs of the drink directly from the bottle. He then started taking pot shots at a wild bee hive up in the teak trees. The first shot got the bees agitated. The second shot got the entire hive buzzing all over, and then they formed a huge big ball of fury and turned on him. They attacked him from all quarters. When they found him, he had died of asphyxiation, with his tongue swelling up due to the allergy caused by the bee stings. His face was blue in colour from the multiple stings. Every exposed part of his body was covered in bee stings.
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