As the clock ticked away...

Friday ,the 29th of july , we landed at IGI airport from Jammu. Time 4 PM. Since we had about 3 and a half hours in hand before our onward journey to Chennai , my son & my colleague wanted to make a quick dash to Sarojini market. So left to myself checked in & then my feet started moving towards the Cookie shop .Sometimes the Sweet tooth takes over the motor control of the brain ,I guess. Selecting a piece with a very high calorie content I settled in one of the chairs in the remote corner.

Suddenly all hell broke loose.

A Bomb disposal squad bus halted outside & Through the gate next to me, Jawans trooped in by dozens .About 10 jawans quickly cordoned off the Check in counters .Another group of jawans with Two trained dogs took position ,very close to me.I froze & my already opened mouth could not take the bite off the cookie though it was tantalisingly close .

One jawan was the focus of the other jawans & I realised that he was going to defuse the bomb. Out at a distance near the checkin counter ,I could see a Trolley & on it a Blue suitcase . So that must be the culprit ,the Sherlock Homes in me thought .

GhanShyam ( GS )was his name & he looked around with all calmness. How could he. He was going near the most dangerous thing & that nature of his, simply was amazing, keeping his cool.In no time his four colleagues put on his special suit & finally a white cloth on his head before putting on the helmet & the Visor.With Small steps he was walking towards the box with all sort of Gadgets in his hand. He was scanning the suitcase with a handheld device & at the Same time from the cables which were running from his suit another team was connecting it to monitors & watching it intently. Some communication between them & Ghanshyam slowly started walking back & as soon he came close they removed his helmet & the white cloth was so wet with his sweat, they had to change it.

Next the the two trained dogs were taken to sniff the suitcase & for some reason they went close but sort of refused to sniff . It was strange I thought. Maybe out of disappointment ,the Jawans again wanted Ghanshyam to go to the suitcase ,with a some sort of xray machine . Maybe they suspected something which the dogs could not sniff. Again GS walked towards the suitcase & positioned the machine. He had to do that several times till the Jawan monitoring the Laptop could be happy with the images obtained. A senior jawan was monitoring the time &; he was looking a little tense . Perhaps he knew time was running out. I looked at my watch & it said 10 mts to Six. Would these guys normally program it to go off at fixed time like 6 or would they time it random.Again ,me the Sherlock was at work .

Anyhow ,now it looked like the diagnosis was complete & they were moving big steel boxes close to the suitcase ,slightly away from our sight. Suddenly I saw two senior officers rushing in & the jawans came to attention. From my NCC experience I knew one was a captain ,tall ,agile & every bit of his body telling that he was a highly trained Commando , stern but with a smile in his eyes. Avinash was his name.

He quickly went thru the diagnosis on the laptop & after quick exchanges with the Jawans ,looked at GS & gave him the thumbs up signal.

GS was handed over a long rope ,which he had to hook on the suitcase & tug it in to the steel trunk.Pin drop silence everywhere . He tugged once ,twice ,the suitcase wouldnt budge. All eyes on GS & Avinash . What next. With the same glint in his eyes Captain Avinash exchanged Quick glances with GS & rope was unhooked. GS was handed over a 6 feet pole with a hook.It meant he had to physically lift it up like fishing. It would be dangerous. Rope was at least 20 feet long,but now he would be much closer to the evil designs.

Gently GS lifted the suitcase & carried it towards the Big steel trunk kept further away from us & gently placed it in ,to everyones relief ,so far so good.He gently closed the Trunk & started moving away. All of us couldnt help but clap hands & Bharath Mata ki Jai was resounding everywhere. It was a proud moment , I thought. GS removed his helmet ,again profusely sweating & the team quietly went about packing their gadgets.

People were patting Ghanshyam & the team. Avinash continued to have the glint in his eyes as the team was getting ready to move.All the eyes focussed on these brave guys.

In the melle ,I almost lost my balance & fell on the floor & dropped my cookie. As I lifted up myself ,at the distance Did I see a jawan lift the Suitcase out of the Steel trunk ,with bare hands. More jostling & again when I saw that corner the Jawans & the steel trunk were missing. Did I imagine ? Was it a Routine practice of Bomb disposal? Did the Jawans know of it ? Then why was GS sweating so much ? Was it the reason Avinash had a smile in his eyes ? How does it matter ,I am proud of my Jawans .

I waited for my son & colleague to return. But ,didnt know What to share with them!!