Don’t Be a Gamma in the Land of Lama

By Lieutenant Colonel Shubham Shukla (Retd) 

When I was commissioned into the Bihar Regiment, I was elated. But my first posting took me straight to Drass, Jammu & Kashmir — the “Land of Snow,” infamous for the Kargil War, Tiger Hill, and temperatures that make refrigerators feel warm. 

The journey began with postcard views of the Kashmir Valley, but paradise quickly turned to purgatory. Green valleys gave way to barren brown mountains, rivers froze, and the cold bit through every layer. Drass, at 9,000–10,000 feet, was majestic from afar but unforgiving up close. 

As the junior-most officer, I was thrown into pre-induction training: scaling ice walls, rappelling, and acclimatizing to high altitude. One phrase became our mantra: “Don’t be a Gamma in the land of Lama.” Acclimatization wasn’t optional — it was survival. 

Life in Drass was a paradox. At higher posts, solitude meant endless sleep, Maggi, and rationed luxuries. But winter transformed the valley into a white wonderland — breathtaking yet isolating. Cut off from the world for months, we lived by two truths: “Everything is mental” and “This too shall pass.” 

Leadership lessons came hard. Once, I ordered men to carry a generator intact to 17,000 feet. Only after struggling alongside them did I realize altitude halves strength. Lesson learnt: leadership means being at the point of action, not commanding from afar. 

There were lighter moments too — card games with North and South Biharis, sunbathing on FRP roofs, and nicknames born of misadventures. Yet there were also heartbreaks, like the day I had to shoot a beloved mountain dog to protect my men. 

Two years in Drass were not “cherished,” but they were transformative. The terrain tested body and mind, teaching resilience, leadership, and humility. 

Reflection 

Drass taught me that resilience is forged in silence, leadership is learned through mistakes, and survival is as much mental as physical. The mountains strip away comfort and ego, leaving only grit, humor, and the bonds that carry you through. 

ABCEL Perspective 

This story reminds us that resilience is not built in moments of ease but in landscapes of hardship. Drass, with its beauty and brutality, became a crucible for leadership and endurance. Veterans carry forward these lessons — that courage is mental, leadership is grounded, and camaraderie is the lifeline in isolation. Their experiences offer timeless wisdom for navigating uncertainty in civilian life.