It was the evening of August 6, 1947. Though it was hot in Delhi, the air carried a certain chill. The mood was sombre, somewhat sedate.At the beautiful Delhi Gymkhana Club, the green lawns and grand ballroom were softly lit. Women turned up in colourful sarees, officers in khaki uniforms. Brigadier Kodandera Madappa Cariappa (who later became India’s first Field Marshal) was the host that evening. But this was no ordinary party. Partition had been announced. The Army was also being divided. Cariappa had organised it as a farewell party for fellow officers of the British Indian Army who were now going to join the new Pakistan Army.AdvertisementCards by the “Officers of the Armed Forces of the Dominion of India” invited guests to the party to bid farewell to “Old Comrades Reception in Honour of the Officers of the Armed Forces of the Dominion of Pakistan”.The book Freedom at Midnight, by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, referred to this party as “the most emotional farewell”.The club building, designed by Robert Tor Russell, was specially decorated that evening. Tents were put up on the lawns with tables full of whisky, gin, and Indian food. A band played in the ballroom. Officers hugged each other and recalled old memories.AdvertisementCollins and Lapierre write about the conversations and the camaraderie at the party in great detail.“Do you remember how we fought together on the Burma front in 1942?” a Muslim officer asked his Hindu friend.“Yes, and that night when we faced the Japanese attack? You saved my life,” the other replied, with tears in his eyes.The host of the evening, Brigadier Cariappa, was the first Indian commander of the Rajput Regiment. He was tall, had a strong face, but a soft heart. As the evening grew darker, he climbed onto the raised platform in the ballroom and asked everyone to be quiet.All eyes turned to him.“My dear comrades,” he said in a deep voice, “we have shared a common destiny for so long that our story cannot be separated. We were brothers. We will always remain brothers. And we will never forget the great years we spent together.”The hall fell completely silent. Then, the clapping started. Many officers had tears in their eyes. A Major who was going to Pakistan stepped forward and hugged Cariappa tightly. “Sir, this is very painful,” he said.Cariappa smiled and replied, “It is painful because our bond was deep. But even in this new beginning, we must keep this friendship alive.”The party continued late into the night. Officers kept sharing old stories from the Second World War and their cantonment days. Women sat in a corner, talking. Some wondered what tomorrow would bring. The journey from Delhi to Lahore and Rawalpindi would now mean crossing the border of enmity.A young Captain who was going to Pakistan told his Indian friend, “My belongings are still in Delhi. I thought I would come back and take them once things become normal.”His friend patted his shoulder and said, “Yes, definitely come. We will wait for you.”But history had something else in store. Just a few months later, war broke out in Kashmir. The same officers who had left their belongings behind were now fighting on the enemy side.The writers of Freedom at Midnight describe the atmosphere at the club that evening as one of “great sadness”. The Gymkhana Club, which was once only for the British elite, had become a witness to the emotions of Indian and Pakistani officers.That evening, a Muslim officer going to Pakistan, Brigadier Aga Raza, was given a special gift by his junior officers. According to the book, “Raza plucked the protective cloth from the trophy and held it up to the crowd. Fashioned by a silversmith in old Delhi, it represented two sepoys, one Hindu, One Moslem, standing side by side, rifles at their shoulders trained upon some common foe.”But it didn’t take long for that evening of friendship to turn into nights of hostility.you may likeCariappa went on to become the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army. But he remained a professional soldier all his life. He always spoke of friendship with Pakistan. Even when his own son was a prisoner of war in Pakistan, he put the nation first.The memory of that evening lives on at the Gymkhana Club. The club faces new challenges today, but that farewell party of 1947 remains a proud part of its history.The writer is Ex-Advisor (History), Indira Gandhi Centre for Arts and Culture