India, May 10 -- Amongst my fondest memories are evenings spent on the terrace of our old farm in Chhatarpur, listening to Daddy reminisce about his days in the army as he sipped his first drink. To my teenage ears, places like Kohat, Quetta and Loralai seemed to belong to another world. Even Ambala, where he commanded 4 Div in the 1950s, appeared exotic. These were stories of a time long past. Of nostalgia and history. Yet they became vivid in his telling of them. My favourite was when my parents were presented at Court in the late 1930s. George the VI was King Emperor, Daddy was a young captain and Mummy a new bride. As they lined up in one of the palace's ante-rooms, to be received by the British sovereign, an equerry mistook Mummy's pallu for a train and tugged at it. That virtually undid her sari seconds before her turn to be received by their majesties. She was 19 and quite flustered by this experience. Mummy recounted how later, at the reception, the tip of the scabbard of Daddy's ceremonial sword got embedded in the Marchioness of Zetland's dress. At the time, her husband was the Secretary of State for India. To be honest, nothing could have been more embarrassing. General Manoj Naravane's new book, The Curious and the Classified: Unearthing Military Myths and Mysteries, reminds me of Daddy's anecdotes. The book is about the legends and lore of the Indian army, the navy and the air force. It's about things you may occasionally have thought about but never really bothered to find out more. And it's a riveting read. For instance, do you know the difference between an army, air force and navy salute? As Daddy's son, I thought I did. I was wrong. All three salutes are performed with the right hand raised to the forehead. In the army case, the palm faces outwards. In the navy, it faces down. In the air force, it's angled upwards. General Naravane reveals that the origin of the salute probably stretches back to ancient Rome or, even, the Apache Indians of America. As he puts it, "Soldiers would raise their right hand to demonstrate that they were unarmed and not a threat." However, it's the three chapters at the end of the book that truly fascinated me. One of them is about rum and its unique connection to soldiering. The General describes how the Company Quartermaster meticulously uses a peg measure to pour out a tot to each jawan. In a delightful aside he reveals that the army categorizes soldiers as "meater" (non-vegetarian) and "non-meater" (vegetarian). How very apt! Now, if you're a drinker, you will know the name Mohan Meakin. It's the legendary brewery in Solan which makes Old Monk. But did you know that it was originally founded by the father of General Reginald Dyer of Jallianwala Bagh notoriety? The second fascinating chapter is about the origin and tradition of army messes. The word mess, the General points out, comes from old French word mes, which means a portion of food or a course of a meal. However, the chapter that I will always remember is simply called PPC. The initials stand for the French phrase pour prendre conge, which goes back to Louis XIV, the Sun King. It's the formal way officers would request time off duty from their superiors. The General recounts how officers, when posted out of the station they are serving in, would sign in the remarks column of the Mess visitor's book with the letters PPC. It would "signify that the association with the present unit was coming to an end". On April 28, 2022, when he was being "dined out" at the Army Battle Honours Mess on his retirement as Army Chief, General Naravane wrote PPC in the remarks column of the visitor's book. "It encapsulated everything the army had taught me to value," he adds. ". of letting go with grace and never looking back." I recommend this book to everyone with a military connection....