Suresh Rathore joined the 55th course but passed out with the Chappans from Golf sqn. His pen picture when he passed out was "He did not believe two plus two make four". A proud Rajput hailing from the idyllic Bhaderwah valley in J&K, schooled from Sainik School Jamnagar and commissioned into a very fine fighting unit-14 Bihar.

Post commissioning, Rathore did a complete 180-degree flip from his NDA attitude. Became OG to the core and served the battalion with distinction. He led his men fearlessly in the CI Op environment in Manipur, Nagaland and J&K. Shamming was hard-wired into his DNA, but he never ever shirked any task since he had no intention of letting himself down in the eyes of his men.

Due to his appearance, bearing, turnout, and impeccable drill, he was selected by his battalion to receive the Colours from the President. After the success of this event, he became a little more flamboyant, bought a Bullet and begun to paint Ahmedabad red. That's where he met the future Mrs Colleen Rathore. In spite of resistance from his mother, who was uneasy over having a Christian daughter in law, went right ahead and married her in Aug 1988 with the CO's approval. In fact, Suresh was a fan of Deshmukh who was amazingly fit and daring, as mentioned by Biraj Guha. Biraj also reminiscences that "Rathore used to say that fearless aur daring hona jaroori hai, tabhi jaa ke success milega".

After marriage, he was deployed in the Tuting valley in Arunachal where the turbulent Siang River, the headwaters of the Brahmaputra, scoured the valley. Married life suited him well, and resultantly, he put on a nice bit of weight. The CO immediately dispatched him on the mother of patrols called Teen Patta, a 17-day LRP along the watershed with Tibet. That patrol cost him 20 kgs. When he started, his uniform was bursting at the seams, but on his return, he resembled a scarecrow. He never put on weight again.

We think the onset of his health problems manifested in 1992, but he never bothered to take care. As he slowly began to deteriorate, he opted for PMR in 2003 basically to be with family and also due to the need for strict diet control. Then settled down in Ahmedabad where Mrs Rathore was a professor in a college, and he took up the job of HOD Admin in various educational institutes.

By the beginning of 2014, he was convinced that he would cross the great divide and so wanted one more opinion from the RR hospital. 14 Bihar was in Delhi preparing to embark on a UN mission. The unit was thus mobilized for the needful. He and Colleen flew in from Ahmedabad, but despite all efforts, even RR expressed their utter helplessness as he was too far gone. They gave him about six months more. It is hats off to Colleen, who with admirable tenacity and boundless energy took loving care of him during his last days. Despite her herculean ministrations, he breathed his last on 01 Nov 2014. It was Pancreatitis that took him away. This was a genetic defect since Rathore had already lost two sisters and one brother for the same reason.

With the grace of God, his Mom is in the nineties and faring well. She is very proud of her daughter in law and her grandson, Arjun who really is a chip of the old block. Colleen and Arjun stay at Ahmedabad close to the Cantonment. Colleen still teaches and Arjun, his son, is a successful lawyer.

He loved his men and his wife and doted on his son. His last words to Ashok Mukherjee was an order to present a brass nameplate "Rathores" to his wife after his demise. "Usko tu kharidega aur tu usko Colleen ko present karega aur mera naam nahin lena". He had a very rough and macho exterior but a soft and mushy interior. He was a very good friend of Ashok, his brother officer from Bihar Regiment and now he has gone forever.

To quote our good friend Rustom Patnaik, "There was more to Rathore than what meets the eye. You scratch the surface, and you would find an affable fellow, a generous friend and a very fine human being."

Penned with inputs from Ashok Mukherjee, Mann, Rustom, Biraj, Vijayan, Patel and Murthy.

🙏May his soul rest in peace🙏