SOURCE: INDIA TODAY
All good things come to an end, welcome to hell,” was the response of Commander Nishant Singh’s senior to the young Indian Navy pilot’s creative letter about getting married in May during the coronavirus-induced lockdown. About seven months ago, Commander Nishant Singh had sought his senior’s “permission to bite the bullet” and “willingly sacrifice” himself in “absolute peacetime”.
Commander Nishant Singh has been missing since Thursday after his MiG-29K crashed into the Arabian Sea. While one pilot was rescued, Commander Nishant Singh has been missing.
The letter written on May 9 studded with wit resurfaced on social media ever since the pilot went missing after his MiG-29K trainer aircraft crashed. In his humour-laden letter, Commander Nishant Singh expressed “regret to be dropping this bomb” at a short notice.
“I intend to drop a nuclear one on myself and I realise that just like all the split second decisions we take up in the air in the heat of combat, I cannot afford to allow myself the luxury of time to re-evaluate my decision,” he wrote talking about his prospective marriage.
Using air combat jargon and comparing it to his courtship, Commander Nishant Singh wrote, “On successful completion of three years of extensive SCTT (Survivability and Compatibility Testing Trials), Miss Nayaab Randhawa and I have come to a mutual agreement that we might actually be able to get through the rest of our lives together, without killing each other.”
As per the tradition, young officers have to seek the approval of their COs to get married. However, the letter titled “permission to bite the bullet” went viral for its wits.
“I assure you that even my best efforts of trying to follow my instrument readings were not able to help me recover from the trance of this Spatial Disorientation. I hope you shall find it in your heart to forgive this reckless, evidently suicidal and an absolutely amateurish blunder of a manoeuvre on my part I promise to never repeat such a performance in air or teach it to my trainee pilots.”
The letter ended with the young pilot extending an invitation to his senior to “witness the massacre and pay condolences to the couple”. Signing off, he wrote, “Used to yours but now, Her’s faithfully.”
Giving his approval, the Commanding Officer wrote, “Saw the spark in you and always knew you were different.”
The Navy has launched an extensive search operation to rescue the pilot.
