Patriotism & Pilgrimage

In 2016, I visited Israel as part of an Indian Red Cross Society Team. The national pride of Israeli citizens highly impressed me. Many good practices of the Israeli citizens were very prominently noticeable. For them, the nation always came first. Their national spirit was perceptible in every event. The liaison officer deputed to us was member of Israel’s National Association in the International Movement of the Red Cross and Red Crescent under the Magen David Adom, Law 1950.

One incident narrated by the liaison officer in Tel Aviv left an indelible mark on my mind. It was an excellent example of the Israeli citizen’s high devotion to duty and country. The liaison officer said he was the first responder for emergencies in his area. On one occasion, he was driving his wife and children to attend the marriage ceremony of a close relative when he got a red alert call to attend to an emergency. He immediately pulled to the side of the road, switched off the engine, handed over the car key to his wife, left his wife and children and moved off to attend to the emergency. This incident reconfirmed my idea that it was the ‘devotion to duty’ driven patriotism of the Israelis which is keeping them safe, amidst the grave violent animosity from the Islamic States surrounding them. I wish safety and well-being in the region to all and for all time to come.

On Foot to Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash

The chance for the visit to Lake Mansarovar and Mount Kailash also came my way through coincidence. In April 1994, on my usual morning walk, I happened to befriend an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer in charge of the China desk in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). On my request, he deputed me as liaison officer to lead a batch of around thirty pilgrims to Lake Mansarovar and Mount Kailash in June 1994. However, for some uncanny reason, the home ministry under which I was serving did not give clearance for my deputation. I applied again the next year. This time too, the desk noting on the file was negative. To my good luck, the private secretary to the top officer who was to decide the matter informed me of the likely rejection of my request minutes before the file was placed in the ‘in-tray’ of the officer. I took a chance to meet him. He was a magnanimous officer and had a very good opinion about my performance and thus my deputation for going to Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash was approved.

In those days, the trek for Lake Mansarovar and Mount Kailash used to start from Dharchula, the road-head then in Kumaon hills. Our group of pilgrims from Delhi reached Dharchula in a hired bus after a road journey of two days. Before embarking on our foot trek to Lake Mansarovar and Mount Kailash, everyone