When the CO’s son went missing in Karu

AFTER a ride in a rickety old aircraft, squeezed between crates of bananas and other supplies, I landed in Leh. A drive of another hour through the mountainous roads of Ladakh brought me to my destination, the tiny hamlet of Karu. Situated at 11,500 ft and some 34 km to the southeast of Leh, it was where my father, an Army officer, was posted. It was a field posting and a “non-family” station, but for a few weeks in the summer, families were allowed to visit.

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Karu seemed like a barren landscape with no trees in sight. The sight of picturesque mountains more than made up for what it lacked. It boasted of the world’s highest golf course, but there wasn’t a blade of grass on it! My father was the secretary of the golf club and responsible for its maintenance. What was there to maintain if there wasn’t any grass, l couldn’t fathom. Squally gales were common and weren’t to be taken lightly as they once blew away the roof of the commanding officer’s (CO’s) house!

The CO had two children, Cuckoo and Unni. They often came home to play. Cuckoo was the well-behaved one, while Unni was quite the opposite, possessing an indefatigable energy to make mischief and play pranks.

One afternoon, news trickled in that Unni could not be found. All officers and their wives were being asked if they had seen him. My parents, in turn, asked me. I was clueless but knew that it was just ‘Unni being Unni’ and that he would resurface in no time. However, panic gripped everyone when the afternoon turned into evening and the evening turned into night. All officers and wives decided to join the search party. Officers’ batmen were summoned to join as well. The children were left in my charge. I was just a nine-year-old. What a mature decision by my parents!

When searches didn’t yield any result, the worst-case scenarios were visualised. Could he have drowned in the Indus flowing nearby? Dad went and checked along the mighty river, with no success. Could he have been kidnapped? It was unlikely in Karu; the possibility was ruled out. Could he have climbed one of the hills, got tired and fallen unconscious? All nearby features were probed.

When everyone had run out of ideas, dad went to the CO’s house to have another look. Everyone dissuaded him as the place had been searched several times, but he went anyway. When he decided to check under the beds, lo and behold, he found Unni sleeping under one of them. Apparently, the kid thought it was more fun to take a nap there rather than on the bed!