A whirlwind tour to AF Station Kanpur where MiG-21s were stored

It was a whirlwind tour to AF Station Kanpur where MiG-21 aircrafts used to be stored and, coming back to Kanpur was a sort of homecoming for me – I had worked here for two years.
The reason for my coming was because the Commanding Officer was facing difficulties. He had approached Air Headquarters in New Delhi and, from there, a phone call had come to our General Manger. He was a Punjabi and a bit overweight – but, still, he managed to climb the steep flight of stairs to the upper floor office in the hangar to meet my Boss.
My boss was the Wing Commander who wore a wig. He had just reached his office when the General Manager walked in. He told my boss to send someone immediately to Kanpur because a high-level Air Force delegation was supposed to come down to Nashik and the problems of MiG-21 storage aircraft in Kanpur would be in their agenda for discussion.
The General Manager wanted his rep to be in Kanpur before the team landed up in Nashik and my boss decided that the rep would be yours truly.

This was the first time that I had to move out on short notice. I managed to wrangle a reservation in the Punjab Mail through a travel agent. I was supposed to be in Kanpur for three days and, on arriving at Kanpur I booked a return journey ticket in First Class. I was No 1 in the Waiting List. Then I took a cycle rickshaw and went to the Air Force Mess.
It was a much changed Kanpur – I had left it in 1966 and had returned to it after 20-years. Obviously many of the landmarks of Chakeri and Lal Bungalow were missing.
In between my interactions with the Commanding Officer of the storage depot, I managed to contact a couple of my old friends and met them to revive a few memories.
When I came to the railway station for my journey back to Nashik, I was in for a surprise – my Wait List number was still No 1!! Therefore, I had to plead with the TTE to allow me to remain in the First Class compartment. I assured him that I would sit on my suitcase in a corner of the corridor and would not be a hindrance to other passengers.
He had pity on me and agreed. When I landed back in Nashik, I was suffering from loss of voice. The words were just not forming. I had an infection in my throat. Therefore, after reaching home I had to run to the hospital and the duty doctor prescribed a course of SP or Strepto-Penicillin. (to be continued ..)


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