Humor in Uniform
CONSOLATION
An
Apocryphal Story
By
VIKRAM KARVE
(This
happened many years ago, in the 1980’s, much before the 2006 AVS Cadre Review
Bonanza, when there was a selection board for promotion from Lieutenant
Commander to Commander rank after around 15-16 years of service – now things
are cool and every officer automatically becomes a Commander in 13 years)
Lieutenant
Commander “X” was passed over for promotion to the rank of Commander.
“X” was
devastated.
“X” was
a service minded ex Sainik
School
And
since he had joined the Navy after NDA, the Navy was the “be-all and end-all”
of his life.
For
“X”, getting superseded for promotion was the end of the world.
It was extremely
cruel for a devoted service minded officer like “X” to be told at the age of 35
that it was the end of the road as far as his naval career was concerned.
Observing
how badly supersession had affected “X”, the Captain called all officers to the
wardroom, and in our presence, the Captain gave “X” a pep talk.
“Come
on, cheer up. What is there in a promotion? The navy is not everything. There
are so many other aspects to life. Your career is just one small part of your
life. And just because you are superseded does not mean you are not a good
officer. There are just not enough vacancies. You must take it in your stride
in the right spirit and keep working with full josh. Even as a superseded officer you can contribute…blah blah
blah…and you can take up a second innings in the civvy street too – so many ex-navy officers have succeeded in their civilian careers…you must
put the past behind you and move on…blah blah blah…” the Captain went on and on.
“X”
wanted to put up a representation against his supersession, but the Captain
said to him: “There is no point fighting the system. You must accept your
destiny with grace…blah blah blah…”
And
then the Captain continued to pontificate the usual platitudes of consolation
and rhetoric of motivation.
But “X”
was so heartbroken that he was not convinced by the Captain’s comforting words.
“X”
wanted to quit the navy there and then, for he did not want to suffer the
ignominy of serving under his juniors.
However,
his friends and wife convinced him to hang on for at least 5 years more till he
completed the minimum 20 years required for getting a pension.
“X”
stuck on for 5 more years in the navy, serving in insignificant appointments
meant for those officers who had fallen by the wayside.
The
moment he completed 20 years of service, he quit the navy.
Meanwhile,
the Captain did well in service, and in due course he was promoted to Flag Rank.
It was
strange and ironic that hardly any officer from his ship had been promoted, even
his Heads of Department, the XO, EO and LO had missed their promotions, but the
Captain had become a Rear Admiral.
After a
few years passed, one morning, I suddenly met “X” in the INCS Canteen.
I took
him over to the mess, and we sat down for a glass of beer and talked of old
times.
He told
me that he had got a good job and was doing well in civilian life.
“Our
Captain was right,” he said, “promotion is not everything. There are so many
aspects to life. I was unnecessarily so upset that I did not get promoted.”
Suddenly
a shipmate from the same ship came into the bar, and the moment he saw us, he
joined us.
He had
come on Ty Duty from Delhi
Our
ex-Captain had been posted to Delhi
“He is
bad shape,” the officer said.
“He is
in bad shape? What happened to him?”
“Don’t
you know? He missed his promotion to Vice Admiral and the shock of being passed
over has driven him crazy – he put up reps, statutory complaints, court cases, he is
still fighting the system – his supersession has affected him so badly that
he’s had a heart attack too…”
MORAL OF
THE STORY
It is
easy to console others, but it is difficult to console yourself.
VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
Disclaimer:
All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the stories are a figment of my imagination.The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Copyright Notice:
No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.
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