Exhibition commemorates centenary year of late Lt. Gen Adi Sethna

And smile, smile, smile

You’ve got a lucifer to airy your fag

Smile, boys, that’s the style!”

Much similar the song, Sethna’s beingness was a singular tapestry woven with the threads of history, culture, and service, upheld with heroic optimism. Born successful 1924 into a Parsi household successful Bulsar, his travel was shaped by transformative experiences and defining moments of the 20th century. At the exhibition, the country is lined with respective life-size panels that person pictures from Sethna’s beingness and descriptions of that clip which are informed by his diary entries.

Shernaz Cama, Sethna’s girl and 1 of the organisers of the exhibition, said, “The 100 years of dad’s beingness seemed to beryllium successful galore ways a pathway to the 100 years of modern India. His communicative is not simply that of an idiosyncratic but a reflector reflecting the tumultuous and triumphant improvement of a federation successful the 20th century. ”

From the experimental corridors of Doon School successful 1935, to learning English nether the literate elephantine Harivansh Rai Bachchan astatine Allahabad University (1941-1943), Sethna’s aboriginal years were steeped successful an acquisition that prepared him for the extraordinary. His courageousness and resilience were tested during World War II, erstwhile helium served successful Java, witnessing the melodramatic autumn of Surabaya successful October 1945.

Sethna’s Parsi upbringing instilled successful him a heavy consciousness of work and action, reflected successful his diary entries from Doon School. On January 1, 1940, arsenic a senior, helium began chronicling his thoughts successful Scratches of My Pen. The pages uncover a young antheral of intellect and curiosity—debating ideas with methodical pros and cons, skipping a swimming contention to pursuit earthy mangoes and lychees, and owning up to mischief earlier his housemaster, Jack Gibson.

“His diaries are highly elaborate from his clip successful Doon School. He was 1 of the archetypal batches of Doon School. Doon School did alteration my father’s beingness a batch due to the fact that it taught him independence, upland climbing and galore different things. But astir importantly, it taught him the worth of India. Jana Gana Mana was a schoolhouse anthem overmuch earlier it became the Indian National Anthem. (Rabindranath) Tagore was discussed successful large detail. It was Shantiniketan without the trappings of Shantiniketan. And the conception of moving with your hands was thing which each these Englishmen inculcated successful the Indian students. So it became a builder of modern India successful miniature, “ said Cama.

His aboriginal diaries seizure profound moments of India’s history, from witnessing the horrors of Partition extracurricular the Muir Hostel successful Allahabad to analyzing the Attlee-Truman Notes connected Kashmir with the crisp oculus of a aboriginal strategist. These reflections overgarment a vivid representation of an India undergoing seismic alteration and a young antheral poised to navigate it with clarity and determination.

A caller section began successful 1949 erstwhile Sethna became ADC to Governor-General C. Rajagopalachari and later, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, India’s archetypal President. This relation offered him a front-row spot to India’s aboriginal post-independence history. As 1 of the uncommon Commonwealth officers selected for some the Army Staff College successful Camberley, UK, and the Royal College of Defence Studies, London, Sethna epitomized the qualities of an serviceman and a gentleman.

Sethna was not conscionable a witnesser but an progressive subordinate successful pivotal events of modern India. He stood contiguous arsenic Dr B.R. Ambedkar signed the Constitution astatine what is present Rashtrapati Bhavan. As Commanding Officer of the 5th Battalion, Rajputana Rifles, helium bore witnesser to the turbulence of the 1962 Sino-Indian War. In 1971, during the Bangladesh Liberation War, helium flew alongside General Jagjit Singh Arora successful a chopper that came nether force fire.

A glimpse from the gathering

“Dad started penning his memoirs, but helium lone lived agelong capable to constitute the archetypal chapter, which is besides incomplete. So, 1 ever felt a large lacuna due to the fact that helium lived a precise absorbing life.

We ever wished we had made a movie similar the 1 astir Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw… This was ever playing astatine the backmost of my mind. Dad passed distant 20 years ago. But for his centenary, we decided that helium inactive had radical similar Dr Karan Singh astir who knew him. Of course, we had his diaries. We wanted to enactment unneurotic the precise absorbing beingness helium had led. Secondly, the 100 years of Dad’s beingness seemed to beryllium successful galore ways a pathway to the 100 years of modern India,” said Cama.

His beingness was besides a testament to India’s taste renaissance. In a tiny country astatine the Ashoka Hotel, helium observed Pt. Ravi Shankar constitute Swagatam, the iconic opus of the 1982 Asian Games—a infinitesimal that symbolized the merging of contented with modernity.

Sethna’s enactment extended beyond subject service. As Chairman of the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), helium spearheaded innovative initiatives, introducing escapade tourism with the Himalayan Rally (1980-1990) and Himachal heliskiing successful 1987. His co-founding of Kaleidolndia, a movie accumulation institution dedicated to showcasing the sacrifices of the equipped forces, ensured the federation ne'er forgot the contributions of its defenders.

From Poonch to Wellington, Ahmedabad to Tawang, Adi Meherji Sethna embodied the essence of an Indian unafraid to clasp the best, portion striving to amended the rest. Whether it was his strategic insights during captious junctures oregon his taste contributions that celebrated the psyche of India, Sethna’s beingness was a span betwixt contented and modernity, betwixt work and creativity.

“Dad’s beingness is the beingness of small-town India. Through acquisition being capable to scope the skies. If 1 household tin bash this, immoderate household tin bash this. So, I deliberation that is inspiring. He did person a large zest for life. While helium was successful infirmary (Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi), successful 2003, helium said goodbye to america due to the fact that the doc said it won’t beryllium long. The adjacent morning, I was coming successful and I met the doctor. He smiled and helium said that helium had ne'er seen a antheral similar this. He opened his eyes and saw the doc and said, ‘Oh, I americium inactive here. I americium gladsome to beryllium alive.’ How tin a antheral facing decease speech successful specified a sense? A consciousness of humour is simply a precise important happening and self-deprecating humour is important which each of america request to learn,” said Cama.