ABOUT ME

I was born in India into a family that has served in the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. And, before India's Independence in 1947, they served in the British Indian Army, the Royal Indian Air Force and the Royal Indian Naval Volunteer Reserve. Growing up I never really noticed the depth, strength and lineage of the Indian military. I took it all for granted. The years went by and life took me to Singapore. Then one day I visited the Kranji War Cemetery. My eyes welled up, and my heart overflowed. For on the walls were inscribed the names of thousands of Indians. Soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilians who had fought and died far from home. Their regiments' names, from every corner of India, stirred something in me:

Rajput, Mahratta, Jat, Bengal, Sikh, Madras, Gurkha, Garhwal, Dogra, Hyderabad,

Scinde, Pathan, Punjab and Baloch. I decided that I must tell the story of their fighting heritage.

Through words, and through objects that I have collected, and that now surround me in my study like old comrades who have always been a part of my life, without me even knowing.