152. Moment of pride-- when my squadron received medals of honor

 

Avinash Godbole and a picture of his earned medals. The two star-shaped medals on the left are the Samar Seva Star -1965 war medal and Poorvi Star - 1971 war medal respectively. 

Thousand full Moon: Shri. Avinash Godbole (81+)

Contributed by Rohini Abhyankar.

I am posting on this blog after a long time…

Accompanied by my husband, I visited Shri. Avinash Godbole, the octogenarian, on a relaxed, crisp afternoon. The goal was to peek into his life journey and urge him to share some of his treasured memories with us. We received a warm welcome from Suhasini, his wife, and settled down for a long chat while enjoying some hot ginger tea and delicious snacks. I have known Avinash Godbole for many years but never really had an opportunity to talk to him at leisure about his lived experiences. Today, I share with you some excerpts from our delightful conversation.

Avinash Godbole was born in the town of Ghatanji near Nagpur, Maharashtra. He was the 4th sibling among five brothers; the youngest brother was born 14 years after Avinash’s birth giving Avinash the luxury status of being the youngest child for a long time.

Avinash is a proud Nagpurian. He did his schooling and college in Nagpur. Avinash’s childhood and early youth were enriched by his close contact with Marathi literary stalwarts. Poet Anil’s son was Avinash’s good friend, Shanta bai Shelke, a renowned Marathi poet who was a visiting lecturer of Marathi literature at Avinash’s college and playwright Purushottam Darvhekar was his father’s close friend. Avinash recounts acting and prompting for a couple of plays that were written and directed by members of the Nagpur Natya Mandal.

Remembering his childhood days, Avinash said,

I had a “middle-class upbringing; my father was in the Railways, and because of this, our whole family traveled from Kanyakumari to Kashmir on our annual trips. My father had a lot of interest in writing small Shrutikas (skits) for AIR etc.  He was a member of Nagpur Natya Mandal and Sahakar Sanstha. Purushottam Darvhekar was one of my father’s friends. While doing [my] M.Sc. at Science College Nagpur, Prof. Shanta Shelke taught us Marathi for one year. Kavi ‘Anil’s’ son Ulhas was my friend since our school and college days. I used to visit Kavi ‘Anil’ -and his wife Kusumavati bai Deshpande in their Dhantoli home often”.

After earning a master’s degree in Physics (electronics), Avinash started his career as a physics lecturer. However, he was not entirely content with the lecturer position, so he applied to Indian Air Force upon a friend’s urging. He had to go through a grueling interview process for over four days and was accepted into Air Force’s 62 weeks intensive training program despite his application being a bit late.

Recollecting his first posting and the early Air force days, Avinash said,

“In June of 1961 [I] joined the IAF as Pilot officer after initial training at AFTC Jalahalli, Bangalore. In late 1962 [I was] posted to Pune and from there to Palam, Delhi”.

Soon after he joined the Air Force, India was attacked by China. As Avinash witnessed the war, he recollects thinking that at the time, Indian forces were not prepared to face an attack of the magnitude launched by China with its disciplined, massive army. China, it seemed to him, was also well-equipped to fight wars in the cold Himalayan regions. After the China war, India changed its policy and strengthened its armed forces. With help and cooperation from Russia, Russian Sam-2 missiles were purchased by the government of India. Subsequently, a training center was set up in Baroda in Gaikwad’s Makkarpura palace, which the government of India had purchased. Avinash was sent there for training, conducted mainly by Russian trainers, who helped Avinash learn the Russian language.

Avinash narrated one of his cherished memories from the 1965 India-Pakistan war--

“I am proud to say the only SAM-2 missiles successfully fired was from my squadron during the 1965 war with Pakistan. The missile was fired at midnight, and the next morning at 7 am, the late PM Lal Bahadur Shastri and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Arjun Singh, visited our squadron. He [Shastriji] went [a]round the complex and addressed the staff and congratulated each and every one. It was a pleasure to meet him. I will always cherish memories of his visit”!

He went on further to narrate another memory,

“In November 1965, while the war was just over, I got a few days of vacation to get married in Nagpur. Our marriage took place at the Ahilya Devi Mandir in Dhantoli, Nagpur. Guruji Golwalkar attended our wedding. Also, Dr. Khankhojey.  Suhasini and I returned to our unit at Dadri, Ghaziabad, where we lived in tents for six months till our permanent quarters were built”.

Avinash seemed amused when he remembered the nine-day long journey in May of 1975, which he and his family had to take from Delhi to Bangalore as they accompanied an entire missile squadron being moved from one base to another.

Avinash’s Air Force career took him to many destinations, from Pune to Coimbatore to Calcutta, to Bangalore, to Kurseong, Delhi and Bikaner, with each city delivering a basket full of cherished memories. He remembers being in Bikaner, where peacocks roamed freely, and remembers a huge officers’ mess shared by the Army and Air Force. He recollects being the only officer and a guard on duty in the stately dining hall with only a couple of chefs and servers for the company. He remembers the nights when he could see the distant light of the collector’s house. He also remembers how cheap the land was back then. The government of India had acquired a chunk of land and carved out an area to build an airport, and the rest was being given away at three Paise per square yard-- a jaw-dropping low number. Someone suggested that Avinash buy land worth Rs. 500, which had the potential to turn him into a rich man in a few years. Reminiscing on the good old days, Avinash said he did not take the suggestion seriously as he was unsure of the ethicality of the matter and also because he did not have that much money to spare at the time.

Another fun memory he shared was when the famous movie star Raj Kapoor descended upon the base in Lohgaon, Pune with his entourage, to shoot the now well-known Hindi movie Sangam. Avinash mentioned those fifteen magical days where Raj Kapoor’s crew would serve meals to all the officers in the Air Force Mess. Avinash remembered the handsome, well-mannered Raj Kapoor to be extremely courteous to all the Air Force personnel.

The saga of fascinating Air Force memories continued. Our snack plates and teacups were getting replenished, and Avinash continued his narration about how he and his wife met the then Prime Minister Shrimati Indira Gandhi in Calcutta. At yet another time, how a Station Commander flying from Calcutta, diverted his Bangalore-bound aircraft to drop Avinash off at Nagpur to visit his family. Narrating yet another warm memory, Avinash said,

“After the war in December 1971, when we were returning to our units by train to Bangalore, every railway station gave a grand welcome to the returning troops. It was an unforgettable experience. People thronged the station and garlanded the war heroes and distributed sweets. Will always cherish these memories!”.

As the government of India was strengthening its armed forces, Avinash remembered new airplanes being purchased, airplanes like the Mirage and MIG-21. However, they needed a state-of-the-art communication network in order to be more effective. So, a team of twenty-five chosen individuals was dispatched to Florida to be trained by the American Air Force. Avinash’s family joined him in Florida during the training. The training also allowed Avinash and his family to explore new horizons in the West which subsequently proved to be a game changer. In due course of time, Avinash, declined a promotion to the post of Group Captain and decided to retire from the Air Force and migrated to the United States.

The afternoon descended into evening, and we had to bring our engaging conversation to an end. As a concluding comment, to summarize his long and accomplished career in the Air Force and his subsequent migration to the U.S., Avinash said,

“I am grateful to the IAF for the rigorous training I received throughout my Air-Force life. Military Life was exciting, and my family and I enjoyed every bit of it despite the many hardships, postings, and moving with bag and baggage every two years. By the same token, life in the US has been exciting too”!

We at Thousand Full Moons thank Avinash for sharing his story with us and wish him a continued happy, healthy, fun-filled journey ahead!