Delhi, Agra and the Wellington Cat Nappers!

After what seemed like a lifetime, even though it was only 3 ½ weeks, Ex KURUKSHETRA finally came to an end.  Neil enjoyed certain parts of the exercise, but felt that it was a 2 weeks exercise crammed into the 3 ½ weeks allocated!  As with all the other exercises at DSSC, no side really won the wargame, but valuable lessons were learned.  The main lesson Neil took away from the exercise was how to look busy when the Directing Staff were around. 



With the end of the exercise, the main assessment phase of the course is now complete.  Neil presented his Dissertation thesis, along with 17 other officers in his syndicate, and so the course is really on the wind down toward completion.  There are still a few minor assessment exercises remaining, but in comparison to the rest of the, course they pose no hardship. 

As we write this blog, we still have no idea where we are heading back to in the UK, but are hopeful of hearing something within the next 14 days!!  It is making things a little difficult to plan things domestically, such as housing in the UK, removals from India, removals from our UK storage, nurseries for the girls and the setting up of childcare.  Added to this, Louise only has 7 weeks after her return to get ready to deploy to the UAE.  So hopefully we’ll get a posting soon.

Since we lost Wellington the Cat and Hannah the dog, to poison, at Christmas, we have taken on 2 new cats, Lilly and Billy, to keep the rats away. We also have a dog called Bobbie, it was Bob but we recently found out that he was a she, so Bob became Bobbie!  Bobbie keeps the monkeys out of the back garden; that’s the primates not the cool sixties rock band. 

Bobbie the Dog

Anyway, recently, Billy went missing, which is quite unlike him.  We thought he may have wandered off for the day, but after he didn’t return for his evening feed and favorite place to sleep we grew concerned that something had happened to him.  Having watched many films and TV shows about how to deal with kidnappings, Neil put the word out ‘on the street’ through Anandh that anyone providing information that would lead to the safe return of Billy would be heftily rewarded….well 1000 Rupees at least.  Within 2 hours of the word getting out there, one of the contract builders came and spoke to Anandh to let him know that the day before he had seen one of the soldiers on Gorkha Hill take a white cat, matching Billy’s description, and place him in a box and take him off the hill.  Luckily, Neil knew one of the Officers from the Regiment of the soldier and went and asked for his help.  He was told not to worry and a call was placed to ‘…return the cat within 1 hour’.  And within an hour Billy was returned to us!!  The contractor was duly rewarded, and we now keep a much closer watch on all the animals.  Neil was particularly pleased, as he feels his ‘street knowledge’ has paid dividends; Louise wasn’t as impressed as she felt that paying money potentially alerts future cat-nappers that we’re a soft touch financially!!

Billy the Cat back safe and sound!

Our final End-of-Tutorial break saw us head up to Delhi, so we could see the sights of the old town, as well as head out to Agra to visit one of the Seven Wonders of the World; the Taj Mahal.  As soon as lectures had finished on the Thursday, we raced to Coimbatore and caught a flight to Delhi, landing at 2230 hrs.  Louise had planned a whistle-stop itinerary, with Neil and the girls hardly given a minutes rest.  An early start on the Friday morning saw us head out on a Rickshaw Tour of Old Delhi.  Where we were taken through winding streets, amazing spice markets, dodged hectic traffic and saw masses of people out on the streets. 

Out on the Rickshaw Tour of Old Delhi

The site of the first Indian Flag to be raised after Independence

In fact, if you pictured a vision of India, Old Delhi would be the scenery that would pop into the minds of many!  Some of the streets we were taken down were so small you wouldn’t have ventured into them on a normal bicycle, let alone a rickshaw. Thankfully the riders were well trained and highly skilled and we safely navigated all the small streets and hectic junctions.  Louise and Neil wore radio headsets that allowed them to listen to the commentary from the tour guide, whist Daisy and Ava enjoyed the sights and sounds.  We all enjoyed it and we saw a lot of the Old city.  Daisy and Ava had a great time and still found time to have a little snooze as we were cycled around. 

Sacks of chilis in the Old Delhi Spice Market

Ava and Neil on their Rickshaw

Ava takes it all in!

The cycle tour came to an end with a light lunch of Indian delicacies, but there was no time for us to hang around as we headed off to the Delhi Main Railway Station to catch a train up to Agra.  They say that if you want to see life in India, then spend an hour on the platform of the Delhi railway station.  Unfortunately, due to a late train we got to spend 2 ½ hours waiting on the platform.  There was no information available, but thankfully the girls kept themselves amused, with Daisy teaching an imaginary class in school and Ava munching her way through 2 packets of crisps.  Daisy than started singing a song that Louise and Neil hadn’t heard before.  We soon realised that the she was singing in Hindi, and a few of the local people around us started to take notice and were smiling.  As the song finished, Daisy raised her left arm and shouted ‘Jai Hind’ 3 times; we then realised that she had been singing the Indian National Anthem that she had learned in school.  Everyone around us was very impressed and Louise and Neil were very proud.  She just needs to learn the English and Welsh National Anthems now.  Neil did start to teach her the Welsh National Anthem on the train, but as he’s not too sure of the words himself, she soon lost interest; Bampa Jones will have to rectify that when we return home.

Daisy - Cheeky Grin!

Louise in Delhi

We finally got on the train and settled into a comfortable sleeper cabin that would allow the girls to stretch out and relax.  In the cabin were 2 Indian gentleman; one turned out to be the 1-star Commandant of the Indian Border Security Force Academy and the other the 2-star Head of India’s Railway Security.  It therefore meant that our cabin had an Armed Guard for the whole journey and when we stopped at various stations along the way, the security forces would come on board and serve us all tea and biscuits!! 

On board our train to Agra

Any hope of the girls sleeping soon evaporated as they enjoyed the train journey and the attention of our cabin guests.  After 3 hours on board we bade our farewells and arrived at Agra Main Station where we were taken to our hotel, met by our guide for the next day and headed off for an early night, as Louise had us booked for an early start again, so we could see the Taj Mahal at sunrise!

Early the next morning we were queuing to enter the Taj Mahal by 7am to see the sun rise.  We had our own individual guide to take us around the site and he gave us all the advice we needed as we queued along with around 300 other western tourists.  As we entered the grounds of the Taj, the sun was starting to rise and as we set our eyes upon the iconic building, the sun was shining wonderfully to light up the Rajistan marble. 

The Taj Mahal

Family Jones at the Taj Mahal

Despite the crowds, we managed to get some good views and some great photos with Louise, Neil and Daisy even getting quite athletic to get a good shot.  Our guide did his best to recount the history and Neil and Louise did manage to listen to some of it whilst keeping an eye on a wondering Daisy and Ava.  The Taj was impressive, if a little tourist-ridden, but we both enjoyed our visit and headed back to the hotel for a hearty breakfast.

Neil feeling athletic!

Beautiful white against blue

The entrance to the Taj Mahal

Louise in perfect symmetry

After a swim for Daisy, we headed to Agra Fort, one of the finest Mughal forts in India.  The massive red sandstone construction was built in 1565 and was later turned into a palace.  Daisy slept for the whole tour, allowing Neil and Louise to listen to the guide in more detail.  They heard all about the Mughals, Emperor Akbar and his grandson, Shah Jahan, who was the richest man in the world at that time.  We saw the whole fort and were impressed by the harem – the Emperor had over 8,000 concubines for his pleasure, although in the most intimate of moments, they were all drugged with opium to reduce the risk of an assassination attempt. 

Ava and Daisy at the Agra Fort

With the tour of the Fort complete, we were driven back to Delhi after some lunch, on the new Delhi-Agra Highway, an impressive 6-lane highway that had hardly any other cars on it.  This was, without doubt, the best road we’d been on during our time in India!  A quiet meal in the hotel allowed Neil to settle down and enjoy the texts from home as his parents kept sending him regular updates on the Wales vs England rugby match; as you can imagine, he was very happy with the result!  So a hectic 3 ½ days allowed us to see more of Delhi than an initial visit last May, as well as finally get to see the Taj Mahal.

As we’d seen on the railway platform in Delhi, Daisy had been learning a number of Hindi songs for school Annual Day.  The Coonoor Club was decorated for the event and each class made their way onto the stage to sing and dance their way through the songs they had spent weeks learning and practicing. 

The Coomoor Club all decorated for Daisy's School Day

Singing the Indian National Song

Daisy’s turn came and she made her way onto stage; she appeared a little nervous until she caught sight of her Mummy and Daddy, after which she looked very confident.  She danced well to a rendition of “If You’re Happy and You Know It”, although she did get close to spinning off the stage at one point!  She also sang one the Indian national songs; a video of her fantastic performance is attached below, we hope you enjoy it.

Daisy's Annual Day Performance

Our final entry of this blog chapter was our attendance at the Purple Day Ball.  The Army Symphony Band performed a number of songs and musical numbers, before we headed to the bar for drinking, eating and dancing. 

Heading off to the Purple Day Ball

The Army Symphony Band in full swing

The Mess Decorations for the Purple Day

Neil also got to play his DSSC student film version of Gangnam Style, with the video going down a storm.  We wanted to put it on the blog, but security restrictions in India prevent us from doing so; we’ll just have to wait till we get home!

So, only one more blog entry to go as we have only 4 ½ weeks left in India now.  We’ll hopefully have a posting and a house soon, and will get to see you all soon too.  The number of invites we’re now getting to parties is around 4 or 5 a week, so our social life is off the scale!  We’ll let you know how all our socialising is going next time…




Daisy does a 'Rolf Harris'

The Taj Mahal

Daisy and Louise jumping for joy!

Louise and her girls taking a rest in Old Delhi

Daisy

Parents and Parades; the countdown to the end of the course begins!

After the hectic week Louise and the girls had with JP and Doris we didn’t have to wait too long before our next visitors when Neil’s Mum and Dad came to visit for 2 weeks.  Daisy and Ava were very excited to see their Nana and Bampa and had made a ‘Countdown Wallchart’ to count off the days till our visitors arrived.  Daisy enjoyed crossing of the days with ‘sticky stars’, just like counting down the days with an advent calendar but without the chocolate; much to Daisy’s disappointment. 

Nana and bampa with Daisy and Ava

Out and about at Lambs Rock

Carole and Len arrived on Sunday 04th Feb, and Neil and Anandh headed down the hill at 5am to meet them as they landed at 0730 in the morning.  Despite the long journey they were both full of beans and Neil and his Mum and dad talked all the way up the mountain, making the 2 ½ hour journey fly by.  During their visit Louise and the girls kept them both entertained, as Neil’s time off was quite limited due to a busy exercise period on the course.  All the local sights of the area were covered, Upper Coonoor, Lower Coonoor, Ooty, Dolphins Nose, the ‘Toy Train’ from Wellington, Tea Plantations, Lambs Rock, local parks and a wide variety of playgrounds; much to the enjoyment of Daisy and Ava. 

Family photo at Lambs Rock

Tea tasting at Tranqilitea!

Just missing a cow on the toy train to Ooty!!

We also had a busy social time in the evening, with us heading out for various meals and parties with Indian officers on the course.  Mum and Dad’s visit was non-stop and they certainly enjoyed themselves and had a hectic if relaxing time during their 2 weeks in Wellington.  They were made to feel very welcome wherever they went, and were treated wonderfully by all our friends.  They also took full advantage of the great clothes shopping in Coonoor, with Dad buying 3 pairs of trousers and 4 shirts; more than he would normally buy for himself in a year.  One pair of trousers and all the shirts were hand-made-to-measure and he was very happy with the end result.  Mum also caught the Indian shopping bug, and went home with a beautifully woven, lace pattern Indian top. 

Nana in her new Indian outfit

Bamapa and Ava

Nana, Daisy and Louise

All aboard the Toy Train

Nana reading stories at bedtime

All-in-all, a very fruitful trip on the shopping front.  The time that Mum and Dad spent here flew by and just after they’d arrived, or so it seemed, it was time for them to head back.  Thankfully there were no tearful goodbyes as it’ll only be 2 months before we are heading down the hill to Coimbatore to travel back home. 

During the final few days of Neil’s parents visit the final College level exercise, Ex KURUKSHETRA got underway.  The exercise involved all 3 wings of the college and the entire student body taking up the roles of 2 warring countries, Agar and Multan.  Neil was appointed as the Air Vice Marshal in charge of administration and so was given the rank to wear; something he enjoyed very much, although after 2 ½ into the 3 ½ week exercise the novelty had worn off!  As well as being in charge of all administrative aspects, Neil also took responsibility for all the press reporting for his assigned forces. 

Playing a 2-Star - Neil as an Air Vice Marshal!

His most important role, however, was ordering the Samosas, Jalebi and Chicken patties for the 6 o-clock tea break every evening.  As we write this blog, the exercise has 3 days left to run, and whilst it has been enjoyable and given good learning vale, the whole thing is starting to drag and could have been completed in around 2 weeks.  That said, this is the last major assessed phase of the course with the 6^th Tutorial, which starts in 2 weeks time, consisting of mainly briefings and guest lectures.

During the exercise Neil celebrated his 43^rd Birthday, or 50^th as a number of the Officers on the Air Wing congratulated him on.  Birthday and anniversary celebrations are really big in India, and each Officer took it upon themselves to personally wish Neil ‘Many happy Returns of the Day’.  Some even rang him late into the evening if they’d missed him during the day.  As the working hours of the College are quite long during the exercise, the birthday celebrations were quite low key.  Thankfully, Neil’s AOC let him finish at 6pm, so he and Louise could head out for dinner.  They were joined by Prashant and Aparna, a naval officer and his wife, with whom Louise and Neil have become good friends.  Dinner was nice and relaxed in the Kingscliff restaurant in Ooty.  A few beers, some wine and a well cooked plate of fish and chips allowed us all to celebrate Neil’s happy day and make his first Indian birthday a memorable one.

Earlier in the course Neil had visited the Madras Regimental Centre (MRC), an Infantry Regiments basic training unit for its cadets.  The Regiment has a long and illustrious history both under the British and as part of the Indian Army since Independence. 

At the beginning of March, the International Officers were invited back to the Regimental centre to be guests at the ‘Pass-Out’ parade of some 100 cadets who had been undergoing basic recruit training for the last 6-months.  As ever, the weather was beautiful as we paraded in our No1 uniform, before being ushered into the front row for a great view of the proceedings.  The MRC parade square is an impressive setting with the classrooms, offices and accommodation blocks of the Regiment framing the parade round and really adding a wonderful resonance to the words of command as they are barked out and the slamming of boots into the concrete as each drill movement was executed immaculately on the words of command. 

The eldest cadets were only 18, with most of them being 17 to 17 ½.  Their drill was outstanding with the discipline, uniformity and precision extremely impressive.  The parade was reviewed by a 3-Star General who had travelled up form Chennai; a particularly impressive man who wanted to meet all the international students and was very engaging with us all.  

We were very hosted by the Madras Regiment after the parade, and as all the cadets headed off to their various units to commence their trade training, we were treated to samosas, cake chai and coffee.  The whole event had only lasted a couple of hours, but it was a real experience to attend.  Louise had also been invited and we both thought it was a really fantastic occasion; Neil also enjoyed the 3 hours off from Ex KURUKSHETRA. 

As the exercise continues, so does the course.  In fact things are really happening at a pace now.  There are only 8 weeks of the course left.  We still don’t know where we will be living when we get back to the UK, as Neil is awaiting the results of an In-Command Board which is due to sit sometime late March.  That said, we have provisionally booked our removals and the British High Commission have booked our return flights to the UK; so we arrive back at London Heathrow on 29 April 2013.  That said, 8 weeks is still a long time and we still have a lot to do.  In the next 10 days we are travelling to Delhi and Agra to visit the sights of the capital and, of course, the Taj Mahal; we’ll tell  you all about it in the next blog!

Daisy looking thoughtful

Ava keeps an eye out!

Louise and Ava enjoy the sunshine