Dear Colleagues,

I am sure I speak for a lot of people when I say that The Great Pushpindar (hereafter referred to as TGP) was a fixture in the lives of all of us who - at least before the COVID destroyed this business - trot around the world to one defence expo or air show after another. You could always spot him with his distinctive turban - showing pride in his heritage but also in the Indian Armed Forces that he was always pointing out when and where they were failing and how they could do better.

Several aspects of TGP that I was fond of: in all of his bounty and generosity created more horses’ asses that horses to wear them. TGP was not one of them. He was never a know-it-all and was never afraid to show there was benefit in asking what another person had to say on a given subject. I think the phrase I heard from him most often was “I want to ask you something, what do you think about…” The mark of a truly great man is that he realises we never, ever stop learning.

and tell it like it is. to power - separating him from the many yes-men whose numbers at the higher levels of India’s government and armed forces seem to multiply geometrically. and tie - even in some of the most unbearable heat that air shows are legendary for taking place in. really loved that he told was “come to Dubai - it is the best city in India.”

I will miss him and places like Le Bourget, Singapore,

Dubai, etc. will never be the same without him.

For sure everyone is going to miss TGP and he is another in a growing list of persons who have left us thanks to what I refer to as “the Great

Gift From China.”

I remember more than 11 years ago and during the time that I would spend weeks upon weeks of time in

China I was sitting in a pub/ restaurant in the Sanlitun section of Beijing ( where most of the embassies are) with the Canadian Defence

Attache. As we were sitting there we reminisced about all of the examples of what we had seen in China which showed that they always operated on the basis of 80 per cent (or less) of what was considered the bare minimum safety margin anywhere else in the world was always regarded as adequate for their purposes. I remember him shaking his head and telling me “China is a disaster waiting to happen.” I knew he was absolutely right at the time - what I did not know was that this disaster would take down the rest of the world in the process. I still cannot believe what we are living through these past 17 months now.

I pass on all of my very sincere condolences and ask for blessings for all of TGP’s family and friends.