The Air Force Association (AFA) held its 41st annual day far away from its Ballygunge Circular Road office — in New Town. Tagore Hall of Jal Vayu Towers, the residential complex, was where the ceremony was held as a joyous reunion of veterans of the force as well as in sombre remembrance of lives lost, not just on the battlefield but also in the complex earlier in the year.
“The office is on the premises of the Air Force’s Ballygunge camp which is governed by the Advanced Headquarter of the Eastern Command. According to Covid protocol, no programme can be held there now. So we decided to hold it here in our residential complex, said Syed Humayun Siraj, state AFA joint secretary and treasurer, JVT New Town Apartment Owners Association.
After the opening song, Aye mere watan ke logon by Gopa Sovakar, floral wreathes were laid in memory of all martyrs by the senior-most among the guests, including Group Captain S. Thokchom, station commander of the Advanced Headquarter, Eastern Command, who represented the serving officers. Their office may be closed because of the pandemic but we are always available for our veterans for any assistance, he told The Telegraph Salt Lake.
Group Captain (retd) K.K. Kundu, the president of AFA’s state chapter, spoke of a commemorative volume being brought out by the association on the Bangladesh war. We soldiers do not know when we become part of history while serving the nation. The Bangladesh war was one such instance. We have identified 24 war heroes, some of whom are present here. Many of them are unsung, he said.
Special mention was made of the late Wing Commander T.B. Choudhury, whose air sorties helped draw the line of actual control after the first Indo-Pak skirmish in Kashmir. “Our family is serving the air force for three generations. After my husband and my nephew, my grandnephew is now posted in Delhi,” said his wife Sheila.
The state association’s chief patron Air Chief Marshal (retd) Arup Raha, pointed out how the AFA provided an opportunity to relive the camaraderie of service life. He advised the association to spread word about its existence and establish contact with non-member veterans so they become aware of membership benefits. “You should also organise more excursions after Covid. Not meeting people is creating mental stress. It is good that we are having this event,” he said.
Though the attendees were mostly JVT residents, some had come from afar like Kundu himself from Behala and Wing Commander Subir Sen (who happens to be actress Susmita Sen’s father) from the Gol Park area. But none came from further off than Honorary Flight Lieutenant Nilmoni Pandey. The senior citizen from Malda, it was announced, never missed an AFA meet.
Sarita Roy, wife of Air Commodore (retd) Alok Roy, narrated a brief history of the association. “Today, AFA has more than 97,000 members with 20 branches in India and two overseas, in the UK and Australia. The AFA also has more than 5,000 spouses of deceased Air veterans as members,” she mentioned.
Squadron leader (retd) Ashis Dasgupta, all of 79, was applauded for his rendition of O amar desher mati, without accompaniment.
Air Vice Marshall (retd) Shouvik Roy and his wife Kana sang Purano shei diner katha, after sharing their memories of the Bangladesh war. The programme ended with the compere Bimal Konar reciting Kazi Nazrul Islam’s Kandari Hushiyar alongside Kona Sovakar who sang Muktir mandir sopantole.
The day also being Flag Day, the programme raised an amount upwards of Rs 50,000, which the association would plough back for the welfare of the Air Force veterans and their families.
Focus on wedding
Nairit Datta Gupta gifts a photograph to NKDA chairman Debashis Sen at the opening
A photography exhibition, titled Couples and Contemporaries, took place recently over a week at the newly opened Smart Art Gallery. It showcased 20 photographs by BC Block resident Nairit Datta Gupta.
The exhibition captured all stages of a wedding, from betrothal to the wedding day itself but goes beyond in a stark nod to reality. “I called the last section ‘Ever after’ as not all weddings end happily and one can stay happy even by oneself,” said Nairit. The last shot, thus, is of a solo figure.
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