aditya kumar's weblog

As I stepped out of office for having my breakfast, albeit a late one, the sky was filled with a roar which had an immediate deafening effect. I understood the fighters were flying low. To my pleasant surprise, an airforce aircraft passed by my eyes at a speed which makes these machines usually difficult to spot when they fly at a higher altitude. The sound had already given me a high but this was a rare visual treat. One glance and I recognised the bird: the Jaguar.

I have always recognised a Jag because of it’s rectangular tubed vents that lend the air to it’s powerful Rolls Royce engines. The one which dares to go low, the Jaguar has the capability to be maneuvered to unimaginable limits in order to prove its taste for offensiveness. These are not the shields that protect our skies- these are the fists that overturn foes, these are the machines that have one weapon which is unmatched in combat. This superiority is called “Surprise”. This fleet is not called the “Deep penetration attack” for nothing. And often, to the dismay of the enemy, they show their outrage in style.

But the treat was not to stop there. One by one, three more Jags went over my head and later the four of them in a formation. There was nothing else that could be heard, these big birds were making their presence felt and how. As I witnessed the airborne spectacle and cherished the treat I was offered, they went by, their seemingly thick grey-metallic skin shining under the cool, breezy downtown-Bangalore morning sky’s July Sun. My heart skipped a beat, probably more and I was overwhelmed first by the sheer sound of these machines and then by imagination. I stood there, forgetting just about everything else in the world while these birds of prey went by their business and leaving behind a trail of burnt fuel that reminded me of unrealized dreams.

Below: The 4 Jaguars I have mentioned about- this was published today in Deccan Herald.