It turned out to be a Sunday with a difference in Madras Regimental Centre, Wellington, the Indian Army’s prime camp atop Nilgiris, in the Western Ghats. Officers and men paid rich tributes to the memory of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, the  legendary commander of the Indian Army who was also the country’s first Field Marshal.

Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Maekshaw, Sam Manekshaw to friends and colleague, breathed his last on this day in 2008 at Nilgiris and he was cremated with full military honours in the Parsee Cemetery near the military establishment.

Sam Manekshaw had chosen Nilgiri as his native town to spend his post-retirement life. He had built a castle (Stavka) with his own planning and design atop the Blue Mountain overlooking the hillock and valleys. The Sunbeam Rapier car lies in the porch of Stavka, expecting its master to take it out anytime forma drive. The Field Marshal driving around the Sunbeam Rapier was one of the regular sites in Wellington even in early 2000.

Amidst the sounding of bugles, wreaths were laid at the tomb on behalf of the Chief of Defence Staff, the three Service Chiefs, the Station Commander and the Commandant of the elite Defence Services Staff College, where  the Field Marshal was the commandant for many years. The entire establishement had been decorated with the military colours which were of special liking to  Sam Manekshaw.

The year 2021 turned out to be the Golden Jubilee year of India’s victory over Pakistan of the 1971 war that led to the formation of Bangladesh. Filed Marshal Manekshaw was India’s chief of army staff who planned and executed the offense and defence strategies of the country against Pakistan, who had unleashed series of attacks against India.