IDHAR UDHAR KI BAAT 99 - (FOOLISHNESS & FLOODS) Brig PS Gothra (Retd)

“Papa, I’ve made a house!” I shouted once, standing proud on a beach in my childhood. I had just piled up wet sand over my foot, carefully lifted it out, and left behind a hollow that looked like a dome. Papa smiled. But I never quite figured out — was he smiling at my creativity… or the stupidity. Because he could foresee the next wave come and swallow my sandy castle. Fast forward to 2005. I wasn’t a child on a beach anymore — I was a Commanding Officer with a mission, ambition, and… well, a performance review due. I couldn’t kill a terrorist, so I thought, “Let me kill it with Sadbhavna.” A friend had just impressed his boss by installing a micro-hydel power plant. “Good job,” his General had said. Inspired, I decided to do the Copy-paste. I decided on two of these plants. Sole consideration was inauguration before my annual appraisal. I informed the boss about my plan. He was happy at the idea but he wanted it to be done a month in advance so that the input could add ...