White bobbed hair, a strong voice, firm gait, confident strides, fearless eyes - anybody who sees Durga Bai, will not believe that she is 72 years old. She is the first Tamil lady Brigadier, to work courageously, in the Indian Army.
She joined the Indian army fifty years back - i.e., in 1953 and rose to the level of Brigadier within a short span. She worked in the medical camps that echoed with incessant bombings and in blood strewn war fields. She was India's nightingale....
She begins to reminisce..... ''My native place is Thindivanam but i was born in Kolar gold field. We returned to Thindivanam to look after the family property as my uncle was arrested during the 1942 August revolution. I was twelve years old then. There was a sudden spurt of cholera in Thindivanam and I was also severely affected. I was hospitalised for 5 days. Dr. Violet Joseph nursed me with special care and saved my life. This experience opened my eyes and I realised the intensity and magnitude of a disease, sufferings of a patient and the responsibility of a doctor. I wanted to become a doctor, but due to financial constraints I had to shelve my dream. I underwent four years of general nursing training. My mother encouraged me most and goaded me to be independent.
After finishing my training, I started working in the Government Maternity Hospital, Egmore. During that time I saw an advertisement for recruitment of nurses in the army. I applied and was selected in the process. I was asked to report at Bangalore and
in spite of adverse comments from my relatives I joined the army in the year 1953. I feel proud to say that in my 35 years of army life I had continued to be a pure vegetarian.
In the initial stages, it was difficult to follow the strict rules of the army. But gradually I learnt to adhere to the rules without any problem. My first posting was at Kargi near Pune. A rule, that those women working here should not marry and if they desired to do so should resign their jobs, prevailed in the army. I was interested only in doing medical service, but we women protested against the rule and made it more lenient.
In 1962, we were a part of the U.N. Peace Force that visited Congo in Africa. Most of the people there were affected with sexually transmitted diseases as infidelity was very common in those areas. One factor that was repulsive, was the putrid smell of their sweat. So we walked around with
air-fresheners in our hands. The most unforgettable experience was in 1965 when we had to work in the war field, all 24 hours. Wounded soldiers were brought in hundreds and thousands for medical treatment. It was such a gruesome sight that made us choke, but we had to repress our feelings and work to save their lives.
Once a soldier with blood pouring out of his wounds was brought to us. When I was treating him he suddenly asked for rasam
which I prepared immediately and gave it to him. This is an incident which gave me sleepless nights for months on end. The army had captured an informer - a Pakistani barber on whose information we went to a particular place. After digging we found nearly 60 decayed bodies with hands tied behind their backs and there was an obnoxious smell pervading around us, which nearly made me faint. This smell seemed to follow me everywhere for the next few months and I found it difficult to come out of this gruesome incident.
I worked very hard day and night to rise to the level of Brigadier. I would advice women to be fearless, self-confident and financially independent. They should try to break the shackles of society, come out of the humdrum of daily life, and should make efforts to achieve something big or small in their lives.
Her experiences are lessons to women who want to make a mark in their lives, in spite of adversities.
White bobbed hair, a strong voice, firm gait, confident strides, fearless eyes - anybody who sees Durga Bai, will not believe that she is 72 years old. She is the first Tamil lady Brigadier, to work courageously, in the Indian Army.
In the initial stages, it was difficult to follow the strict rules of the army. But gradually I learnt to adhere to the rules without any problem. My first posting was at Kargi near Pune. A rule, that those women working here should not marry and if they desired to do so should resign their jobs, prevailed in the army. I was interested only in doing medical service, but we women protested against the rule and made it more lenient.
Once a soldier with blood pouring out of his wounds was brought to us. When I was treating him he suddenly asked for rasam
which I prepared immediately and gave it to him. This is an incident which gave me sleepless nights for months on end. The army had captured an informer - a Pakistani barber on whose information we went to a particular place. After digging we found nearly 60 decayed bodies with hands tied behind their backs and there was an obnoxious smell pervading around us, which nearly made me faint. This smell seemed to follow me everywhere for the next few months and I found it difficult to come out of this gruesome incident.
