Book Excerpt | Silloo, able wife of Sam Manekshaw

In 1937 Silloo Bode went to Lahore to visit her sister Tehmi and brother-in-law, Col. Kaikhushru Bharucha, a doctor in the British Indian Army. At a dinner party she was introduced to a flamboyant young captain who swept her off her feet. Two years later Sam and Silloo were married on April 22, 1939.

Silloo became the quintessential army wife, stepping up to wear the boots and keeping the home fires burning while her husband was away on assignment, which was more often than not in the early years of their marriage. Till 1946 Sam was either busy keeping the tribals at bay in the NWFP or fighting the Japanese in the jungles of Burma, so for the first few years of their married life Silloo stayed in Amritsar with her in-laws. In 1940 the young couple was blessed with a baby girl who they named Sherry.

Silloo was an alumnus of Elphinstone College and J.J. School of Art in Bombay.  Painting was a hobby that she pursued with passion. A voracious reader, she was well informed on many subjects. She seldom skipped her morning yoga and evening walks and she loved a game of cards or mah-jong with army wives. Silloo melded easily into the army’s social fabric. She kept a beautiful home and made a gracious hostess.

To match her husband’s altruism, Silloo’s primary concern was for soldiers’ families. She spent a great deal of her time and energy at the Welfare Centre.

Silloo had her feet firmly planted on the ground. While her daughters, Sherry and Maja, were showered with love and affection, they were raised with a liberal dose of simplicity, discipline and traditional values.

When Sam rose to higher ranks Silloo was non-demanding of attention or special privileges. Never one for petty gossip or politics, even during the unsettling time of the infamous court of inquiry, she continued with life as if nothing were amiss. In fact she directed three plays at the Staff College, one of which was ‘The Man Who Came to Dinner’. A member of the cast was none other than Lt Col (later Lt Gen.) Inder Gill who was a DS at the college.

When I joined Sam in Calcutta as his aide, Silloo went to great lengths to make me comfortable and treated me like a member of the family. One of my fondest memories is of a trip we made to Bombay to bring back a new Fiat allotted to Sherry and Dinky. The road journey took four days. Silloo loved to drive so I was the designated navigator.

As Sam often said, Silloo was both his most ardent supporter and his harshest critic. When he was nearing the end of his appointment as the eastern army commander, speculation was rife that he was tipped to be the next chief. The day of superannuation approached, but no announcement of his promotion was forthcoming. Just when he had resigned himself to his fate, Gen. Kumaramangalam, the army chief, called to give the good news that the government had approved his appointment as the chief of the army staff. He bounded into Silloo's bedroom and said, “Darling, get up. I’ve just been told that I am going to be the next chief. Aren’t you happy?” Silloo rolled over and said, “I always knew you were going to be chief.” “That'’s more than I knew,” he replied and went back quietly to his room.

Excerpted with permission from Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw: The Man and His Times by Brigadier Behram M. Panthaki (Retd) and Zenobia Panthaki

Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw: The Man and His Times

By Brigadier Behram M. Panthaki (Retd) and Zenobia Panthaki

Niyogi Books

pp. 214, Rs 1,495