warvet

  QUEST FOR DISTINCTION By Col Vikas Thakur The white little hatchback caught my eye. It was an inconspicuous mid segment Indian car parked amongst a number of similar vehicles. However, what set it apart were its white frilled window curtains, tied in the middle giving them a spindly shape and meant   to shield the passenger from glare.   I noticed ‘GOVT OF INDIA’ etched in red on top of the license plate. As expected now, I found the seats covered with inevitable white towels giving it the final aura of an official conveyance fit for a government servant. More than any real convenience for the passenger, such unique knickknacks continue to lend an aura of entitlement in an era bereft of the once ubiquitous ‘red beacon’. In 2007, I was a part of Indian Battalion deployed for peace keeping in Indian sector of UN Mission in South Sudan. It amused me no end when Patrick, a British Army peacekeeper had expressed his dream to travel just once in the curtained SUV of the India...