With a display of emotions rarely seen among their ilk members of the Madras Regiment, the oldest in the country bid adieu to their colonel Lt. General J.P. Nehra and welcomed his successor Lt. General S.L. Narasimhan at Wellington, near here, on Wednesday.
In a glittering ceremony which marked the occasion at the historic Srinagesh Barracks of the Madras Regimental Centre (MRC) in Wellington, hundreds of recruits and officers turned up in their smart uniforms and took out a procession with Mr. Nehra in a flower bedecked jeep.
He was accompanied by Mr. Narasimhan. The thambis (jawans of the regiment) cheered the duo with their war cries.
Later, Mr. Nehra handed over the baton of the regiment to Mr. Narasimhan.
Among those present were Lt. General (retd) P.G. Kamath, Ex-Colonel of the regiment and Brigadier S. Suresh Kumar, Commandant, MRC.
A spokesman of the regiment told The Hindu that Mr. Narasimhan, who is also the Commandant of the prestigious Army War College, Mhow will take over as the Colonel of the regiment on November 1.
Mr. Nehra will retire from the Army on October 31. It will bring to an end an illustrious career which lasted 44 years.
