Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Veteran Air Marshal Harish Masand Vir Chakra Pays Tribute to Martyr Air Vice Marshal Samir Borade. Both these senior officers belong to Indore and are settled in Mhow.
Veteran Air Marshal Harish Masand said, "Air Vice Marshal Samir Borade did his schooling from St Paul’s in Indore. He joined school after I had left the parent school St Raphael’s in 1963. I met him for the first time in early 1988 when he reported to my Squadron, 28, better known as the First Supersonics, on MiG-29s as a freshly commissioned technical officer in the rank of Pilot Officer. He was a sincere and hardworking young officer and we established a good rapport. We also interacted socially and I found him to be a zealous and keen officer willing to learn from his seniors. Herein, he was fortunate to have good senior technical and flying branch officers. He was also very keen on getting some flying and I still remember personally taking him to a detachment in Naliya in the winter of 1988 in a trainer aircraft, a sortie that he reminded me of here in Mhow after retirement. "
"Samir had a good career in the Air Force and soon established himself as a professional technical officer who got important assignments in the Air Force through professional abilities and sheer hard work. I never really worked with him again in my remaining service since he normally got posted to places after I had left. However, we did get to meet when he was commanding 11 BRD in Ozar as an Air Commodore and I was passing through as a retired officer. The visit was made all the more memorable with the meeting Samir arranged with MiG-29 technicians who had earlier served with me and who proudly showed me the innovations they had brought about in servicing the MiG-29s as well as the Su-30s in 11 BRD. That is when we also got to meet Deepali as well as Samir’s father."
"Being from Indore, we had a lot to talk about and we were touched by the hospitality and affection showered on us by the Borade family. After he retired as an Air Vice Marshal, we were particularly happy when Samir and Deepali announced that they would rather settle in Mhow instead of Indore. Samir was a very talented man and soon further impressed me with his poetry, photography and writings on technical aspects of military aviation. Samir was also very humble and modest and always ran his writings through me for advice before publishing."
"We also regularly played golf together. A true professional and a gentleman who was plucked away from our midst too soon. Samir still had a lot to give to the community but that was not to be. Samir is survived by his wife, Deepali, son Amay and daughter Raashi. The entire veteran community joins me in conveying our heartfelt condolences to them while praying to the almighty to give them the strength to bear this untimely and huge loss."
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