From Hindon, the venue shifted to Chandigarh

After completing a study of the aircraft held at the base at Hindon, it was decided that we shift our area of operation to Air Force Station Chandigarh where some more aircraft were available. Accordingly, I decided to travel by bus from New Delhi to Chandigarh while my Russian specialist chose to fly down with his friend from HAL Koraput.
I still had one set of change of clothes and, I knew that I would have to manage with those in Chandigarh because I would have to put up in the Air Force mess where I would not have the luxury of a room boy to keep my clothes cleaned and ironed very day.

The journey was a pleasant one because the bus was air-conditioned and it halted at a wonderful eating joint where the food was delicious. There was a small body of water in the garden and it added to the atmosphere.
From the Chandigarh bus stand I took a cycle rickshaw to go to the Air Force station and on the way I passed the ITBP (Indo Tibetan Border Police) headquarters – it was scorching hot and there was a guard standing at attention just below the national flag. He stood like a statue with nit a muscle twitching on his face in spite of the heat all around him.
Anyway, I arrived at the mess, and next morning met the officers, explained the purpose of my visit and started the work. They had already got necessary briefing from Air Head Quarters and as the day progressed we were joined by our Russian experts.
The number of aircraft here was less and, hence, we were able to complete the assessment within a couple of days. And, then, it was back to Delhi, debriefing and flying back to Mumbai. Since there was no connecting flight to Nashik I hired a prepaid cab from Mumbai airport and landed up at Nashik. (to be continued …)

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