Reminiscences of a Gunner

REMINISCENCES OF A GUNNER

By Brigadier Sudhir Arora (Retd.)

© Sainik Samachar - Vol.52, No.15, 01-15 August 2005

I was commissioned in 1957 in a mountain artillery regiment in Rajouri in Jammu & Kashmir. Life was very tough, roads were very bad, mostly gravel. There was a brigade exercise being conducted by Brigadier Jagjit Singh Aurora (later Lieutenant General). He wanted senior officers of my regiment to attend but I was sent as a sacrificial goat to report for the exercise. I climbed up with operators to 8000 feet and met the Brigade Major.

Here another surprise awaited. The Brigade Major was from the Army Supply Corps (ASC). Major Kanetkar (later Lieutenant General Kanetkar) was the first in the ASC in the history of Indian Army to become a Brigade Major of an Infantry Brigade. He asked me my name and I stuttered, "Second Lieutenant Arora Sir!" Major Kanetkar said, "I can not introduce you as Arora to Brigadier Aurora." Then, he asked for my first name. Just right at that moment, Brigadier Aurora walked in. He was a stern looking, physically fit and a handsome man.

A portrait shot of the late Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora

He enquired about the artillery support for the exercise. Major Kanetkar introduced me by my first name. Brigadier Aurora asked for the surname. "Arora, Sir!" I promptly replied. Senior Aurora frowned and said, "Well young pup, where is your commanding Officer and Battery Commander and why is it that only you were sent for this exercise?" I kept quiet, for I could not disclose that quite a few officers tried to evade his exercises and training. He asked, "Can you make a fire plan of an artillery brigade to support the attack?" I replied, "So far I can just deploy my four mountain guns, but I will try my best."

The exercise was very tough. We marched the whole night and, at midnight, it started raining, followed by a snowfall. Shivering, we reached the assembly area for the attack. I put my fire plan in action to support the attack. Later I thanked my stars that it was only a dummy one. The attack was successful and next day, after the debriefing, Brigadier Aurora asked me to explain the fire plan. He exploded with anger and said, "Thank God, there was no live firing! Otherwise you would have killed us all with the enemy laughing!" Then, Brigadier Aurora taught me the nuances of fire planning which should be done in the mountainous regions. At the end of it he winked and said, "Don’t worry! I goofed up more when I was at your age in 1939, during the Second World War." His words left me in reverence of his humaneness which is little known to others. That's what made him popular not only during his time but at all times.