ROLLING STONES

Disclaimer: This blog is in no way about the Band Rolling Stones, though our generation has enjoyed their music.  

“Rolling Stones gather no moss”, so goes the age old adage, but we the modern day nomads or gypsies (banjaras), gather plenty of stuff over the years. Having travelled the world, we take pride in our collection of knick knacks  from all over and proudly display  these quite prominently in our living rooms. As if these were not enough, we earn scores of mementos as trophies for our service in the units and formation Headquarters in the long span of over three decades. So there are Naga Javelins, Kashmiri samovar, Kathiawadi Ghatti furniture, Puppets from Rajasthan, Paintings from Mhow  carpets from Dhulabari near Darjeeling, African masks and  miniature Eiffel  Tower or Statue of Liberty in almost all the households. Then there are Daggers, miniature Tanks, Owls, Leaping Tigers, Majestic Black Elephants, Ladakhi Monastery Mane, Soaring Eagles and many more such memorabilia on display making the place a museum of sorts. The connoisseur, naturally a man in the Olive Greens can immediately discern the seniority and the length of service of the officer concerned by merely taking a glance at the decor in the house.

Having collected all these and being sentimentally attached to each one of them, as a story is associated with each such acquisition and what is life if not for this bagful of memories. In our case, boxes full of memories as we carry our belongings in trunks, akin to the gypsies who also carry all their belongings with them. If you have observed these gypsies, they have their livestock, dogs also moving with them, we too have our canine friends accompanying us. For anybody who is not from the uniformed fraternity, a move is their worst nightmare come true, on the contrary, we eagerly await these frequent moves, life does get monotonous after a while, as we settle down to a routine. A new place, new assignment, new friends, colleagues and all the exotic places that we get to visit in the vicinity is something which is more than welcome.  

But all this must wait till the whole household stuff is packed neatly in these black trunks some wooden, some steel and a couple of cartons and gunny bags ready to be shipped onto the next destination. These black boxes are in a way akin to the aircraft black boxes as they also contain all the mysteries and stories of the happenings in the Fauji households. The lady of the house is the chef de mission and the officer gracefully settles down in the backroom providing the material  and moral support. She painstakingly prepares inventories and then goes on to pack all items of crockery and breakables  with utmost care, the woollens are dry-cleaned and then in the company of naphthalene balls are tucked inside with lots of love and care into steel trunks. The officer then makes an appearance only when his scores of shoes, ties, uniforms, Hats/ caps, Golf sets, Tennis, Squash rackets have to be packed.

He is again in the forefront when the negotiations with the transporters are being concluded, which are invariably conducted  with caution and being diehard optimist, he is hoping against hopes that this time around the transporter would stay true to his word about the type, date and time of vehicle. The bigger the name the less reliable they are. These days we have started to rely on packers and movers who are essentially just brokers who outsource the packing, loading and transport to different agencies and charge us a whopping sum in the bargain. Invariably apart from the packer’s men, the family members and the buddy are fully involved and have to participate in the exercise. 

Then after loading the stuff lock stock and barrel in the truck we heave a sigh of relief as though the luggage has already reached and been unloaded safely. Guess what the lifetime earnings loaded and despite the uncertainties the couple sits down totally relaxed and chilled out. Until the next move, so much so that I am actually dreading my retirement as we will get stuck to one abode, the two year itch will propel us to move somewhere, but this time it will be out of choice and will probably involve many many hops hopefully. Rolling Stones indeed, no encumbrances whatsoever, free birds!!