New Delhi. It was a very special occasion for me when I met my dream warriors, literally Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines I used to hear and read about from my teen days in the 1960s. The brave combat jet pilots who contributed to India’s victory in the 1965 and 1971 Wars and others who dared to Touch The Sky With Glory for the Indian Air Force.
It was on this occasion, on May 11, that the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, ceremonially released our Coffee Table Book 100 Iconic Air Warriors written by Air Marshal Bharat Kumar. The moment was special for me as from my childhood days I wanted to be a combat pilot but was cut down by an eye problem leading to glasses. My dream hasn’t faded but the closest I have come to fulfilling it is to write about the IAF and our Defence and Security affairs.
The Book release ceremony was inspiring as 40 to 45 of the Top Guns also shared the joy of being together, many with their lady wives. In some cases, where those brave elders have flown away to the heavens, their lady wives graced the occasion. A rather rare, and very inspiring occasion!
Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa, in a very happy mood, paid rich tributes to the IAF stalwarts and veterans, saying all personnel have contributed to the growing strength of IAF. He appreciated Air Marshal Bharat Kumar in recording and chronicling the feats of legendary air warriors. He described the Book as “a history of victories, of sacrifices, and of compassion.”
He said IAF is always training to defend the country, be it the pilots, the engineers, the air traffic controllers and others, pointing out that IAF has always been there to defend the country.
On a lighter note, Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa said that this was for the first time perhaps that everyone present in the hall would have been senior to him in the Air Force.
He presented the Book to some of those present.
The idea for the book came to us after a friend in Dubai, passionate cricketer and leading businessman Shyam Bhatia, published a Coffee Table Book on 100 cricketers. I showed it to my friend and colleague Air Marshal Jimmy Bhatia, and he brought onboard Air Marshal Bharat Kumar.
At 80, Air Marshal Bharat Kumar is still passionate about IAF, and to his credit, he hosted the wonderful party for about 100 persons for the Book release ceremony.
The Making of this CTB, 100 Iconic Air Warriors, wasn’t easy, the problem being in poor quality, black and white, faded and small size pictures that were used for record in the yesteryears. We flirted with the idea of paintings but finally had them restored, enhanced and colorized on special computers. It took us a year to do that.
Among those present on the occasion were Air Marshal Denzil Keelor, who had shot down a Pakistani Saber jet with his much smaller Gnat aircraft, and Air Vice Marshal BK Bishnoi, who had fired a rocket straight into the dome of the Government House in Dacca in the 1971 War, contributing to the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani officers and men to the Indian Army.
Notably, the Keelor duo, Denzil and Wg Cdr Trevor Keelor, had each scored kills on PAF Saber jets in 1965, and both of them flew the Indianmade Gnats. I remember their feats as described so clearly on All India Radio by Melville de Mellow and Devki Nandan Pande, the two exceptionally talented radio newscasters those days.
In the case of Air Vice Marshal Bishnoi, India gained the advantage of the moment as his rocket directly hit the conference table of East Pakistan’s Governor General just before he was to hold a meeting there
