This first appeared on LinkedIn.
Let me first set the scene: 0600h IST. A long stretch of running track bounded by both sides with very large military bungalows and institutions. Birds just waking up. Early-risers hustling and bustling about. Lights in the houses and military messes slowly coming on as street lights slowly go off. Parrots squawking. The road being swept by a row of uniformed sweepers who remove Frangipani and Bougainvillea flowers, Tamarind and Jamun fruits, and other flora from the middle of the road to the sides. Street dogs stretching. Some sleeping with an eye open and an ear cocked. Far away, church bells tolling six times in a deep and resonant chime. The world waking up. Peacocks in two minds as to whether they should bother at all.
Now, the players: Various bodies of troops jogging to warm up for their PT, serving officers and their significant others out on an early-morning walk to grab some together time before the day breaks, Sahayaks taking ‘Brigadier sahib ke kutte‘ for a walk, bachha log on cycles rushing to tennis, and retired, variously moustachioed faujis with swagger sticks taking their morning constitutional, some walking briskly, some running & panting, some casually strolling along. There’s very little talking, and much silence and mutual head nodding & terse smiling as people who know or think they know each other pass on their way up or down the track.
A little backstory: Basically, the chess teacher has said that Kym needs to stop looking for the perfect move and take risks without fear of losing, because her by-the-book game will end up fulfilling that very same fear. That she should take charge, mix things up, and take bold initiative to throw off the opponent once in a while without getting paralysed by constant analysis and trying to be highly technical in problem-solving. Apparently, she is afraid of failing her father (the teacher’s words) and I should tell her it’s OK to do so. So, Baba bear must now teach her about the rules she could follow to break some rules on the board. Say no more. Cometh the hour. Cometh the man. Or bear. Or something like that.
So, finally, enter: Baba and baby bear jogging towards the track discussing some important matters.
Baby: “So, this is what I learnt: Firstly, audacity, audacity, and….something…”
Baba: “Toujours de l’audace. Audacity, audacity, and always audacity.”
Baby: “Yes. Always audacity. Secondly, try to guess what the enemy thinks is your next move, and then surprise him. Be unpred…what was the word, Baba?”
Baba: “Unpredictable. Meaning, no one should be able to guess every time how and what you are going to do. Go on.”
Baby: “I should surprise the enemy by doing something he does not expect me to do.”
Baba: “And then use the resulting confusion to encircle the centre and go for the kill.”
Baby: “Yes, Baba.”
Baba: “What else did you learn?”
Baby: “Flanks are your friends. Protect your flanks. Attack the enemy’s.”
Baba: “Yes, use both flanks to reach the centre from behind. Like the scissors you use to cut craft paper. This is called a Pincer movement. What is it called?”
Baby: “Pincer.”
Baba: “Yes, you can even let the enemy think they are controlling the centre. Pretend like defending, but attack. Pretend like attacking, but defend. What is that called?”
Baby: “Decep…something?”
Baba: “Deception. That is right. You have to bluff. Meaning, you have to pretend to do something so convincingly that the enemy thinks you are going to do it. And then, suddenly change your mind.”
Baby: “Like that ‘paanch point kaa daanv‘ that Geeta’s Baba teaches her?”
Baba: “Exactly. Dikhaana kuchh hai, lagaanaa kuch hai. OK, what’s the last one?”
Baby: “Forget the battles. Focus on the war.”
Baba: “That is right. Killing this piece or that is not the point of the game. Check-mating the King is. Never forget that. Got it?”
Baby: “Yes, Baba.”
Baba: “Great, here we are at the start of the track. We’ll have one repeat and then I’ll start the clock, OK?”
Baby: “OK, Baba.”
Baba: “Go!”
Baby (loudly, startling most folks within hearing distance): “One: Always audacity. Two: Be unpredictable. Surprise the enemy. Three: Flanks are your friends. Four: Deception. Five: Forget the battles. Focus on the war.”
Baba: “Bravo! OK, now, one, two, three, run!”
Bystander 1 and Bystander 2 (both retired faujis, for sure) to Baba: “You know, Sir, girls are going to be admitted to the NDA now. But don’t you think this is a little too early for military strategy?”
Baba: “Huh? Oh!”
Prologue: Maybe I should back off a bit, eh? I may not exactly be the ‘cometh the hour, cometh the man’ man when it comes to keeping things loose. Perhaps, Mamma bear needs to come to the rescue here. What say?
