India, Nov. 28 -- As part of the silver jubilee celebrations of India's victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war, all command headquarters of the army were told to conduct the Army Day parade on January 15, 1996, at key locations for public viewing and to motivate citizens, particularly the youth. I was commanding the Southern Command headquartered in Pune and we decided to hold the event in Mumbai. Instead of holding it in the cantonment part of Colaba, which was logistically easier, it was decided to do so at Shivaji Park in Dadar. The parade was to be preceded with a display of weapons and equipment and it was to conclude with a sky-diving display by the Parachute Regiment. My navy and air force counterparts, the flag officer commanding-in-chief (FOC-in-C) and the air officer commanding-in-chief (AOC-in-C), agreed to join me in taking the salute. While making the arrangements, for reasons unknown to us, the then Bombay Municipal Corporation would not give a written approval to make use of the Shivaji Park for the event. When a personal enquiry was made, the staff was told that we would require an okay from Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray first. Time was short. Two officers took an appointment with Balasaheb. He was cordial, raised no objection and even asked if he could attend the parade. The officers tactfully explained that his presence at the parade would cause distraction among the public and participants. His family would be welcome. If desired, he could join during the tea reception after the parade. Immediately, thereafter, formal invitations were printed and delivered to all ministers and senior officials of the Maharashtra Government besides eminent citizens of the city. Three days before the event, I along with my wife and personal staff came to Mumbai to take a final preparatory look and participate in the parade. Late that evening after dinner, my wife suggested that we go for a stroll to Marine Drive. Accompanied by my ADC, Captain Sanjeev Bakshi, we parked the car in a bylane and walked along Marine Drive to Chowpatty. There, we came across a cart vendor who had displayed a small board: "Sharma Bhelpuriwala. Soldiers with identity card will be given 25% concession." Without disclosing our identity (in any case none of us was carrying identity cards), we ordered a bhelpuri plate each. To strike a conversation, I asked Sharma ji why he was giving this concession to soldiers. He replied promptly, "Saab, woh desh ki raksha karte hain. Nek aur imaandar log hain. (They protect our country and are honest people)." I attempted to provoke him further, and said that every soldier may not be so. In any case, people say that corruption is creeping into the army also. He vehemently disagreed and said, "Hoga, par abhi bhi sab sarkari mahakmon se achhe log hain. (Maybe, but they are still the best among all other government departments)." No further provocative statements from me worked on Sharma ji. The conversation ended. We paid for the bhelpuri. And then my wife made a telling point. She said, "Instead of running after political leaders and government officials and wasting invitation cards because most of them won't come, we should invite people like Sharma ji who deserve to watch the Army Day parade." There was no argument on that. The walk ended with a salute to Sharma ji....