ABOUT ME

I am Indian; born into a family whose members have served in the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force. And, before India's Independence in 1947, they served in the British Indian Army, the Royal Indian Navy and the Royal Indian Air Force. Growing up I had no idea of the depth, strength and lineage of the Indian military. It was never taught in our history classes – 0r maybe I just wasn't paying attention! The years went by and life took me to Singapore. And there 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.