Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman

WING COMMANDER ABHINANDAN VARTHAMAN




My Lost & Found Nephew....The sighting of the Swathi nakshatra

On 21st June 1983, in Bangalore, after a tiring day of selling vacuum cleaners door to door, I reached St. John’s Hospital just in time to hear the deafening cry of a new born baby. My nephew, Abhinandan, was announcing his arrival. I immediately placed a trunk call to my mom to tell her she is now a grandmother, and should now turn all her attention to her grandson. And relieve her son !


I wasn't exactly a doting uncle, doing all those mushy things of buying candy, toys, hugging, kissing...all that. I was busy with my own life trying to sell vacuum cleaners for a living. I used to stay with my bro in law, Air Marshall S.Varthaman ( retd), of course a Wingco then, when he was posted in Bangalore. That was the only time I got to spend with my young nephew. We used to take his lovely labrador, Reuben, for long walks around the LIC colony park in Thippasandra. It was during those walks I got some insights of my little nephew’s ‘ bad attitude ‘. He would never let me have the last word on anything, whether it was about his favourite bike or the aircraft he thought was the best. He seemed to be knowing everything. And that gave me a bad attitude too… towards over smart 14 year olds who read a lot, know a lot and make their uncles look and feel stupid.


“ Brown and furry

Carterpillar in a hurry,

Take your walk

To the shady leaf, or stalk,

Or what not,

Which may be the chosen spot,

No toad spy you,

Hovering bird of prey pass by you;

Spin and die, to live again a butterfly “

-Christina Rosssetti


And then we grew apart. He was getting shunted from place to place as part of a serving Air Force officer's family, and it wasn't until he joined the services after his NDA, did I meet him again.

This time I saw a young flying officer, who loved doing three things. 1. Flying his MiG 21s 2. Talking about it and 3. Repeating 1 & 2.

I must mention two instances here that made me suddenly take notice of my new avatar young nephew. One was, when he asked for my new Chevrolet Aveo car for a drive and I was hesitant. He looked at me with an amusing smile and said " the air force trusts me with a 600 crores aircraft, but you can't trust me with a 6 lacs car ! " . And I quipped back " there is no traffic in the skies ", to which he replied " Mama, all the more reason you should give me the car. With absolutely no traffic , I could be flying irresponsibly. But the fact that I am still alive is the answer to that question ! ".

The other instance was when I was getting into my car to leave for office, he roared by in a monstrous looking brand new Triumph bike. I asked him how much he paid for it, and he replied coolly " as much the engine deserved ". He said he was leaving that evening to Mumbai from Chennai. I panicked and shouted " No way!! I am going to inform your mom & dad", to which he said they already know, and drove off ! The next day he called to ask me whether I have reached my office because….. he said he has just reached Mumbai ! At that moment I realized my nephew, with that manicured lawn haircut, was gone, and in his place was a cool, defiant and daring young man with a wit as fast the MiGs he flies!


Then I saw him again exactly four times after that, once at his sister Aditi's wedding, a year later at my wife's funeral, and then again at his own wedding. And, finally, much later in Chennai, I saw some noticeable changes. There was no longer that loud " Hello, old man " or that " Oyi, Ashok mama " or that big back slapping fauji display of emotion anywhere to be seen. In place was a very serious Air Force Officer, very busy flying his Sukhois and MIGs and busy bonding with his young son, Tavish. And then, just this last month I spoke to him when he was in Chennai and he invited me over to Srinagar for a holiday, tempting me with a 6 deg Srinagar weather from the sweat pouring 32 deg heat of Chennai. I gleefully accepted and promised to plan it asap. But then everything changed for him, for us, and the rest of the country on 14th February 2019… after Pulwama,.


The sounding of the Panchjanya


Forty two of our Indian braves were killed in a suicide terror attack in Kashmir, and all hell broke loose with this yet another mindless massacre organized from across the border. The nation was enraged and went into a revenge mode, baying for the blood of the enemy. They looked up to the government to react forcefully and immediately. And luckily for the nation, it was a Prime Minister who responded to the now famous name of Narendra Damodardas Modi, running the country. A man who by now, has become a super star in world politics . And in his indomitable style Modi responded to Pakistan saying " You have made a very big mistake, and you will have to pay a very big price for it " . This was as dramatic as Rajinikanth’s lines in his movies, only that Rajinikanth was celluloid stuff, and Modi was for real ! And Modi kept his word. He sounded the Panchjanya, and all the Maharathis got ready... for the Balakot strike.


“ Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible ” -Francis of Assisi


The time was 9.54 am, 26th February 2019. Northern Air command detected ten F16s had taken off from 3 Airbases in Pakistan. They came in 3 groups and merged in attack formation near POK.

India scrambled 2 MiG-21 Bisons and 4 Sukhoi MKi’s to intercept the 10 Pak F16s.

In one of the MiG-21 Bison was Wingco Abhinandan.

One Pak F16 had penetrated well inside Indian territory possibly to destroy an oil storage dump at an army brigade HQ.

Wg. Cdr. Abhinandan, in his Mig-21 Bison, engaged the F16 in a dog fight. Due to the relentless firing, the F16 fled the scene to escape the pursuing Mig 21 Bison.

Abhinandan chased the F16, and while chasing, he engaged the F16 in a lock-in position for his onboard R-73 air to air missile to be deployed. He could have well returned back rather than chase the F16 into enemy territory, and no one would have blamed him for it, but that’s not our Abhinandan, the national hero he was destined to be.. He decided to chase him right into enemy territory and shoot him down. He hit the F16 eventually and downed him.

After shooting him down he did the highly dangerous “High-g barrel roll” maneuver, to get out of the way of Pak surface to air artillery by vertically climbing at high speed and reverse the direction towards India. While doing so his old outdated Mig-21 Bison’s engine thrust had a problem and it became almost non-maneuverable for a few secs. And during that time either a SAM or air artillery hit his plane and he had to eject. What happened in the next few days was history in the making.


“ Sorry sir, I am not supposed to tell you this “- Wg. Cdr. Abhinandan


Abhinandan landed in Pakistani territory and got spotted by some Pakistani locals, who went on a merciless beating spree leaving him bleeding with deep cuts and a swollen face, before he was eventually taken away by the Pakistani army. The entire incident was luckily videographed by a Pakistani local and posted for the world to witness. Given the famed Pakistani intelligence, he thought it will make heroes of the Pakistanis thrashing an IAF pilot. But it produced the reverse effect. The entire world watched brave Abhinandan taking all those punches, as if it was just another day in office for him !

In the next few days Abhinandan scripted what would become a case study in prisoner conduct in a situation of enemy capture.

The video showing Wg. Cdr. Abhinandan being beaten up by the locals had by now gone viral and India erupted in anger. They wanted another retaliatory attack on Pakistan and a rescue operation conducted to bring back Abhinandan. And it got worse, when the second video emerged.

The second video showed a bleeding Abhinandan, blindfolded in custody, and being interrogated by the Pakistani army. What the nation saw in the video made him the instant hero and an icon not only to Indians, but also to many combat soldiers around the world. He calmly spoke out the now famous line “ Sorry sir, I am not supposed to tell you this “ when asked information on the Indian strike mission. And this, after being severely beaten, captured and standing in captivity on Pakistani soil. And knowing my nephew, he must have thought to himself“ I know these guys are going to kill me anyway, so why let them have it easy. Let them Google and find out .” This was not the kid building aircrafts with Meccano sets, or the one secretly reading Astreix/Obelix comics in the toilet. This was a brutally trained and equipped Indian soldier, a kind of a mean fighting machine that the Indian Air Force had produced-the face of the new generation Indian Armed Forces.

By now the whole world had got on board. They had seen the video of Wg. Cdr. Abhinandan in captivity and the treatment meted out to him. The pressure was now on the Pakistani President, Imran Khan, to release him unscathed under the Geneva Convention. Which he did. Or rather, was forced to do, reluctantly.


Freedom at Midnight


We boarded an Amritsar bound Delhi Indigo Airlines flight, to be there at the Wagah border when our Abhinandan was to be handed back to the Indian authorities. We could not afford to miss such a historic occasion, not only for us as the family, but also in the nation’s history. Just before the aircraft was about to take off, we received news that he was going to be straightaway brought to Delhi. The Indigo Airlines staff were incredibly swift in helping us deplane when informed we were the family of Wg. Cmdr. Abhinandan. And all this while there were best wishes from the passengers of the aircraft, for the safe return of Abhinandan ! I saw face to face, the true ‘Idea of India’ in action ! My hair was standing on its end. Literally !

We stayed back in Delhi and watched it all on television.

After hours of delay we saw the images of Wg. Cdr. Abhinandan walking towards the famous Wagah gate, flanked by a lady Pakistani official and some others. I also noticed that mischievous chatter going on between Abhi and the Pakistani lady, I saw shades of his illustrious uncle in him !

And then at exactly 9.21 pm, Wg.Cmdr.Abhinandan walked free. The nation exploded.


Where did it all begin ?


I would have written this article for any national hero, because I am fiercely nationalistic, to the extent people call me radicalized . Only that, I am radicalized by everything Indian. Our history, our culture, our languages, our traditions, our brand of religion and spirituality, our secularism. But the need to write now is doubly more, when the hero is from my own family. And also pray tell me, how many opportunities may come in a vaccum cleaner salesman’s life to write a biography? And who will want to read it anyway.? So this was my only chance, and I grabbed it. all thanks to my nephew!


“ We are not the makers of history, we are made by history “- Martin Luther King Jr.


What I think is Abhinandan’s greatest contribution to this country is not just his skill in combat or the resilience he displayed when beaten up by the Pakistani locals or the mental and physical torture he had to go thro’ from his captors, or the absolute fearlessness he displayed while being interrogated.. It is actually the sum total of it all that sent a message not just to the Pakistanis, but to the world at large that India is not just the 4th largest army by numbers, but also by the number of heroes it can produce, when threatened.


Like Prime Minister Narendra Modi said : Abhinandan will no longer mean ‘ Welcome’ in the dictionary, it would henceforth mean ‘ Change ‘.


Lastly, I have to end this with a private message for my ‘ lost & found nephew… Wing Commander Abhinandan…


Dear Abhi,

I was the first person to announce your birth to the world, and I take great pride and honour in knowing that the announcement turned out worthy. And more than worthy, history making !.. You united the heart and spirit of 130 crore Indians and made them once again believe in the indestructable nature of this timeless land called India. Well done Wg.Cmdr. Abhinandan, you made our family proud for generations to come !


PS: I want to leave you with an extract from the Bhagwat Gita which you should carry in your heart through your career and personal life, and you will emerge a true Jina ( conqueror ).


sukhaduḥkhe same kṛtvā lābhālābhau jayājayau।

tato yuddhāya yujyasva naivaṃ pāpamavāpsyasi॥ 2-38


Holding pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat as alike, gird yourself up for the battle.

Thus, you shall not incur any sin.

God bless and Jai Hind !


Ashok Mama--Uncle of Abhinandan
Jayasala 42