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Dear Members of the Corps of Signals fratenity,
With grief we are posting details of our colleagues who leave for their heavenly abode. We request members to forward their "shradhanjali". Kindly share with us the photographs, fond memories and association.
We await tributes from associates/ course mates for publication.
Blog Team

RMS Tributes
  • Amar Jawan: Roll of Honour of the Indian Armed Forces
  • The Kargil Memorial

    • Monday, March 2, 2009

    Col Girish N Purandare

    For once God has got it wrong. If there was a gift of god to the Armed Forces, Girish was one of them. A tall, heavily built officer with an infectious sense of humour, Col GN Purandhare will be missed by all who knew him.
    He actually looked like a huge warm grizzly and once when my wife told him that he said - " Come, i will give you a bear hug!!".
    When he was a major he would pick up the phone and say "Maj GN Purandhare" and immediately the the voice on the other end would become highly respectful thinking it was a Maj Gen at the other end!! This was Girish's stock joke.
    We were regular squash players at MCTE. But Girish's problem was that he could never get up early for a morning game. He would often jibe me saying - "Even doodh wallahs don't get up that early".
    We studied together for three months for the staff course entrance examination in Sep 1994. He was intelligent and had this uncanny knack of predicting what type of questions would come in the exam. One night before the Tac B exam he said - "Mac, just write it down in your diary. Tomorrow's appreciation is going to be on establishing a road block". I disagreed and and said - "No way, it's going to be on Cordon and Search". Girish was right. He made it to wellington and I having flunked my Tac B went to IAT Girinagar for the TSOC.
    I last spoke to him when he was at Dimapur about six months back. So cheerful was he that one never imagined his days were numbered.
    He met Radhika during the degree course at CME - she was doing her engineering at Pune. An ideal match, that resulted in wedlock. I do not know Anandi and Rishikesh too well but i'm sure they will do him proud.
    For Radhika, no amount of words will suffice. But we know her to be a brave person and would like to reassure her that she can fall back on us without hesitation any time.
    Finally one of Girish's wishes in life was to beat me in squash at least once. Sorry mate, that will have to wait. I wonder if they have squash courts in heaven.
    Bye Girish. We will miss you. I suppose God has better things in mind for you.

    Col R Mahesh (Retd)
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