Listen to the podcast here: www.niticentral.com/2014/07/14/nitin-gokhale-on-how-armed-forces-can-be-re-inspired-233275.html
And read about the book project here:
The Fauji Way: Military tales from the cantonments
The Indian armed forces, among the top three militaries in the world, are a unique entity.
Forged in the crucible of the two great wars in the 20th century, nurtured by traditions that some time date back 200 years and sustained by a support system that is a combination of regimental loyalty,… personal bonding and sheer survival instinct of the fauji fraternity, the Indian military has a lifestyle of its own.
For outsiders, military life in India’s sprawling cantonments looks like a perpetual celebration. But only those who have lived in the closed community of the fauj know it is anything but glamorous.
The wives (more commonly called the Spouse) go through constant shifting of house every two years, the children learn to change schools frequently and make new friends each time the father gets posted to a distant location.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the money was never enough; but the perks of ‘Bharat Darshan’ on the house more than made up for the shoe string household budget.
Over the years since Independence, much like the Indian society, the fauji life has undergone much change in the past six decades. And yet fundamentally, many things remain constant.
This book will chronicle the wonderful, varied, exasperating triumphs and tragedies of fauji families. Their struggle, their achievements and more importantly the unique life that makes the military stand out in the mosaic that is India.
The book will not be possible without contribution from all the faujis and their spouses; the parents and the children who grow up to be as resilient as anyone possibly can.
So here’s calling every fellow fauji brat, fauji spouse and fauji mothers and last but not the least, the fauji father to get in touch with me with your stories, anecdotes, unforgettable experiences–the works.
Please email your stories/contacts/suggestions to thefaujiway@gmail.com and I will take as many on board as possible.
Let’s show the world what we are made up of!