Musing on Dad's Raksha Medal from 1965 that my son found in an old shelf
The other day while cleaning an old shelf, my son came across a medallion and he asked me about it. “Oh, it’s your grandpa’s Raksha Medal from 1965,” I said. “Did Krishnamoorthy thata actually fight the Chinese in that war?” He asked. “Was he issued a gun when he was in the Air Force?” he continued excitedly recalling scenes from the Bollywood movies. Yes and no, I hummed and hawed. I tried explaining that my dad was indeed posted at an Air Base that provided Air support to our troops facing the enemy. And for this service, he and other servicemen were awarded the Raksha Medal. And then I went on to reflect on the real reason he was my hero and role model. Born in Batalagundu, a small town in South India that might just have been the inspiration for RK Narayan’s Malgudi, he grew up in a rather large brahmin agrarian family. When he did exceptionally well at school, he was offered a scholarship to study at a college in a nearby district and a ticket out of the small town. While study