Band of brothers: Not just soldiering, finding brothers in War Games

By Colonel Sombit Ghosh, PRO Defence, Directorate of Public Relations, MoD

Time 4 O’clock. Dawn is yet to break. 

Sepoy Rajesh Kumar rises from his bed rubbing his eyes. As he takes in his surroundings, he finds Private Sanjeeva Ratnayake also rising from his bed that is placed opposite his. 

“AyuBhuvan!” Both smile and greet each other in Sinhalese, which means – “May God Bless you with a long life”. 

Sepoy Rajesh Kumar and Private Sanjeeva Ratnayake are soldiers from the Indian Army and Sri Lankan Army, respectively, who have been, along with their compatriots sharing a barrack for past 10 days. The two soldiers are part of the Indian Army and the Sri Lankan Army contingents that have been training together as part of the Exercise Mitra Shakti-VI at Diyatalawa Military station, a picturesque valley in the Badulla district located in the central highlands of Sri Lanka.

Shaking off the last vestiges of sleep with a steaming cup of Ceylon Tea, the two along with their other comrades, get done with their morning ablutions before running down the slope to the open ground for PT. PT or Physical Training is the first and the most important part of a soldier’s routine that kick-starts his day, preparing his mind and body to face the myriad challenges that accost him throughout his military career.

Time: 6 O’ Clock 

The officers join up with the men, take report and march off the PT. The following one hour is filled with sweat, grime and adrenaline-pumping activity. The joint companies of the two nations run up and down the undulating countryside, engage in push-ups, take turns at carrying each other on their shoulders in a fireman’s lift.

 “You feel heavier today,” Private Sanjeeva Ratnayake grunts as he runs up a slope carrying his buddy – the Indian soldier in a fireman’s lift. Sepoy Rajesh perched on the Sri Lankan soldier’s shoulder winks and quips, “It’s the delicious food that you have been feeding me all these days.” Both let out a grunted laugh. 

The PT curriculum also has the Indian soldiers teaching the age-old practice of Yoga to their Sri Lankan counterparts while they learn acrobatics and martial arts techniques from them.

PT is followed by a quick shower, dressing up in combat fatigues and an elaborate Sri Lankan breakfast that has exotic dishes – Pittu, String Hoppers (Idiyappam), Kiri Bath, Vegetables cooked in coconut milk gravy, Katta Sambol, Seeni Sambol, Coconut Sambol and Spicy Tuna fish curry to name a few. A military man has varied taste buds, and it appears that Sepoy Rajesh Kumar has developed a liking for Sri Lankan food, given the way he relishes the dishes.

Time: 8:30AM

We are at the firing range, which can easily pass off as a picnic spot given the lovely tall pine trees lining the range (the pines here are taller than any I have seen in India). The weather alternates between cloudy and sunny. However, the beauty of the location is not to be mistaken, for there is the serious business of soldiering that takes place here.

As everyone, including the two contingents, and the senior officers of the Sri Lankan Army watch intently, an Indian commando, wearing camouflaged paint on his face and merging easily with the surroundings, stealthily crawls upon an unsuspecting terrorist sentry, grabs him in one swift move and plunges a commando dagger deep into his throat. 

The imagery is graphic but shouldn’t fetch a reason to get perturbed! There is no blood, no actual killing. It is just a demonstration of a ‘Raid on a terrorist Camp’ being showcased by the Indian soldiers for their Sri Lankan counterparts. Later, both the contingents practice these drills together. 

The Sri Lankans demonstrate a classic ‘Fire and Movement’ manoeuvre, which they have honed during actual operations during their ‘Humanitarian operations’ against the LTTE. For those who are unfamiliar with this term, ‘Fire and Movement’ is a military field manoeuvre that has, alternately, one party firing at the enemy, while the other moves in swiftly to close in with the enemy.

The following days see intense sessions of weapon training with both contingents familiarising with each other’s weapons. On such days, the air is heavy with the smell of gunpowder as the ricocheting reports of the incessant gunfire reverberate through the valley.

It is not just training activities that form the part of the two-week curriculum. The Indian soldiers are getting an invaluable exposure into the rich Sri Lankan culture and traditions. Traditional dance recitals are showcased as part of cultural and musical evenings that enthrall the Indians. The hosts organised an enchanting tour of Kandy, a large city in central Sri Lanka, which has ‘Sri Dalada Maligama’, or the temple of the holy tooth relic (housing the relic of the tooth of Lord Buddha) and Pidurutalagala, the tallest mountain in Sri Lanka.

Sepoy Rajesh Kumar and Private Sanjeeva Ratnayake unwind, sharing jokes and other tidbits during lunch breaks and after training hours. Over the course of almost two weeks Rajesh speaking in his broken Sinhalese and Sanjeeva Ratnayake over his broken Hindi, manage to understand each other seemingly well. The two soldiers in-spite of hailing from two different cultural backgrounds, toiling in training, develop an uncommon bonhomie and camaraderie.

(Exercise Mitra Shakti is conducted annually as a part of military diplomacy and interaction between armies of India & Sri Lanka. The joint exercise for the year 2018-2019 was conducted from March 26 to April 26 at Sri Lanka. The aim of the exercise is to build and promote close relations between armies of both countries and to enhance ability of the joint exercise commander to take military contingents of both nations under command. The exercise provides an ideal platform for both contingents to share their operational experience and expertise while also being instrumental in broadening the interoperability and cooperation between the armies of India and Sri Lanka.)