" To Russia and back "
“Ya tak khachu stobi letho ni kanchalas,
Rejoinder –“No unhas zdecb,bcegda letho”!
…popular Russian song of the late seventies
(“I wish that the summer never ended…
Rejoinder- “But for us here (in India), its always summer”!)
‘When are you off to Russia, Tushar”? –“Am in no “Rush yaar”, was the instant retort.
After a delay of almost two years and numerous farewells including a final one at the Bombay airport, we flew into Moscow, thoroughly exhausted. It was mid January ’79 in the thick of winter. Anxious mothers had clothed the children in multi layers turning them into robots, whilst some adults resembled the stuffed files of the ministry. Post an overnight hotel stay at Moscow, we were flown to Sukhumi, and finally driven to our destination—Poti. Poti is a Black sea port, in the currently troubled state of Georgia, once the stronghold of Stalin. However, the prevalent chorus then was,--“Lenin, Engel, Marx”.
Here we were to train for a powerful warship, first of its class-- the Rajput, being built in the Soviet Union. Rajput was to set the trend for the future ships of the navy, besides proving a lucky ship, turning out a large number of admirals.
The inordinate delay in our departure was due slippage in the shipbuilding program. Both the ruble and the cold war doctrine had begun to thaw, possibly making way for the inevitable perestroika. However, all this was not going to affect us directly.
Accommodation being scarce, single officers and the sailors were housed within the naval base, in the ’paykayze’-- basically an accommodation ship without engines, but tow able. Officers with families were housed all over the town-- in hotels, guesthouses, dorms, etc. Captain and the heads of departments also stayed in the base. Both Captain Hiranandani, (codenamed Hira / diamond) and the Executive officer, Commander Ravi Vohra were seasoned, steely seafarers, perfect gentlemen and future admirals. In the existing somewhat difficult conditions, all the married officers and families took turns to feed us home cooked meals and make our stay comfortable. We had talented cooks amongst the bachelors too, who took care to see we did not sleep hungry, as dinner used to be served rather early, at 6 pm.
As our stay was reduced to just under a year, the training and instructions, all in Russian, began in real earnest the very next day after the customary briefing and introductions. We used to have classes Monday thru’ Friday from morning till sundown, with a two hour lunch break cum siesta in between. Training had indeed begun without warning. We used to be extremely busy through the week getting to know the equipments and systems. Only on the weekends would we visit the town.
It was still winter and Poti had little to offer, besides the kiosks selling Piva (beer) in mugs, which invariably smelled of garlic. The local folk, the Gruzins seemed to have a distinct Turkish stamp in their looks, behaviour and talk, possibly owing to the proximity across the border. They were openly anti Russian, but loved Indians, our movies and songs. “Mera jootha hai japani” (song from‘50s classic, Shree 420) was their favourite.
The summer months, July until October, were comparatively lively. Poti would be flooded with tourists from the cold north. The restaurants and the ‘plaash’/beach would be full. Besides occasionally calling on the married officers, our main haunt during weekends was the ‘More’ Vagzal’—‘Sea Terminal’, a restaurant scenically located on the jetty. Here we spent many an evening in song and dance sipping wine or champagne eating fried kalbaza (oversized salami slices), luliya kababs (tough, unmarinated roasted lamb/sheep meat) along with radish and cucumber salyonka (pickled in vinegar) -- what a fare! Occasional ‘surprise’ pulled out of the pocket was mildly tanned raw fish, considered to be the ultimate Russian delicacy. Times we had no choice but to join the locals in the customary celebration toasting, which was basically a shot of vodka chased with wine or even champagne-- potential‘ Molotov’ cocktail, if one was not careful. Despite all, we mostly got back to the base in time and keep peace with the duty officer. Times we even heralded our entry into the base with Russian and Georgian songs, to put him at ease. I recall an incident while returning one evening, we were ‘accosted’ by a number of black robed Georgian families who insisted that we join them for a feast .We soon discovered it was a funeral congregation. We were asked to sing our hearts out, as only then the dear departed’s soul would ‘rest in peace’. We were getting late, but looking at the countenance all around, we had little choice but to heed to their request. They kept toasting and topping our glasses, whilst our songs grew louder by the minute. Finally after singing ourselves hoarse, we took leave. They thanked us profusely -“You have indeed feathered his grave, he is smiling in heaven’’! This excuse proved too tough for the duty officer to handle.
Winter once again descended on Poti. We managed to finish all instructions, training and sea sortees by mid December as planned, ready to return back to India. The journey to Moscow was by rail, ‘manned’ by uniformed, belligerent looking lady conductors, reminiscent of the James Bond movie. We stayed a couple of days in Moscow, enjoying the attaché staff and the snow clad city’s warm hospitality, at minus 7 degrees Celsius. New Year’s eve, we flew back to Bombay, somewhat downcast. However the Captain on board the flight, an ex Air force officer uncorked some champagne and spread good cheer. We landed in Bombay on New Year morning, albeit late for the celebrations, but glad to be back—
“Akhir phir bhi dil hai Hindusthani”! (Indian at heart, after all!)
Tushar Dutt,
Commander(Retd),’91
tushar.dutt49@gmail.com
Mob:91-11-9811112030
Monday, June 15, 2009
"Acting Sub Lieut" by Cdr Tushar Dutt
"Acting’ Sub Lieutenant"
“I am the rider of the tide,
sails full and anchor free,
waiting for the right wind,
kiss the deep blue sea”!
It was the summer of ‘70s ,we were graduating out of IIT Madras. Some opted for the US to do post graduation, some for management studies and rest, went into industry. I had decided it was either the US or Navy for me.
Navy offered access to modern technology in all three dimensions-surface, air and underwater, besides a full life.
A six month delay getting to the US, made the decision simpler. I embraced my destiny and my tryst with the Navy began in Dec’70.I was so to say, ‘ready’ for sea.
After a couple of months of basic training at Cochin and Sea acquaintance on board the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant , we,a batch of around twenty from various universities along with four cadet entry officers from NDA ,entered the electrical training base, INS Valsura at Jamnagar.We were warmly ‘welcomed’ in the wardroom the same evening by some of our instructors to be--Lcdrs Ravi Jaitly, S Majumdar, Lts KB Suri, Alan Quadros, Basu Bose and Madhavan.
After a couple of months of basic training at Cochin and Sea acquaintance on board the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant , we,a batch of around twenty from various universities along with four cadet entry officers from NDA ,entered the electrical training base, INS Valsura at Jamnagar.We were warmly ‘welcomed’ in the wardroom the same evening by some of our instructors to be--Lcdrs Ravi Jaitly, S Majumdar, Lts KB Suri, Alan Quadros, Basu Bose and Madhavan.
Shortly, two foreign navy officers, Dada from Nigeria and Odei from Ghana, joined us.We had difficulty understanding them initially, but thanks to their gifted, delightful ‘intonations’, we learnt fast. We were indeed a good mix , and an eventful, enjoyable eleven months was to follow.
As accommodation was short, we had to stay in tents temporarily. Owing the ‘hardlying’ conditions we were ‘excused’ morning Physical Training(PT), which was indeed a blessing! Barring a few incidents , like reptilian visitors after rain
and dogs occasionally taking off with our shoes, we had got quite used to the outdoor living and enjoying it. However after a few months once the cabins fell vacant, we had to shift . Now we would have to do PT and cross country. All along we remained busy, both in and out of the class. On a long weekend we made a nice, hectic trip to Gir forest, Dwarka and Veraval, by the sea. We thoroughly enjoyed life in the base, never a dull moment--it was a good blend of seriousness and humour, in uniform.
Recalling an incident—once on parade, some of us could not help laughing at our Parade Commander, Lcdr Majumdar carrying out the cutlass salute, whereby instead of bringing the cutlass up to the lips, his lips would reach for it down midway.
We were ‘doled’ out ‘extra’ rifle drill that afternoon with Lcdr Majumdar himself taking charge! Being just four of us in the huge parade ground, to try do some justice, we got down to yelling out the drill timings at the top of our voices. The message must have got around the base fairly quick, the drill duration was cut short. We subsequently nursed our throats that evening, at the bar.
Then came the Anniversary day celebrations. Our Commanding Officer, Commodore Lele & his wife were keen theatre and music enthusiasts. Preparations were on in full swing. We under trainees were to put up a play, and eyes naturally zoomed in on the junior batch-the’murgas’/lambs. A play had to be ‘manufactured’ in no time. I was asked whether I know acting, to which
I replied that the only acting I know is that ‘I am Acting sub lieutenant’--that did it . Our director appointed on the spot, was the talented Ava (JV Avadhanulu, a batch senior), and we got together right away setting up the script which was mostly impromptu and ever changing.We were running out of time and soon the day of reckoning came .Our play scheduled for earlier part of the evening was delayed owing power problems. So some of us decided to take time off and visit the wardroom to take ‘courage’. We had to however assure our anxious director who finally relented- “liberty expires in half hour”! We got back in good time, kept the dialogues in place, or at least thought so, and the play was a great success! We were congratulated by all including Commodore Lele and his good lady- “You Acting sub lieutenants have lived up to your rank, you can certainly act, we should have plays more often”!
Subsequently, we were to see a change in Command—Commodore Schunker, an executive officer came in. He was a keen, outdoors man, and along with the new Executive officer, Commander RC Bhalla, kept us busy with cross countries and
wardroom activities. Then came the Pak war, Dec’71 operations. Classes were called off in advance and we were deployed in Operations room and Patrolling duties, which we thoroughly enjoyed .We were however missing out on classes and lagging on the course syllabi. Within a fortnight or so, around end Dec’71,‘ceasefire’was declared ,only to be broken by one of our colleagues who took a potshot at an errant cow, and thankfully missed! We immediately proceeded on a few days ‘hard earned’ leave, returned to complete the course in good time and join the fleet, as scheduled. The war did not seem to affect us at all, thanks to Valsura and the Navy.
“Life is indeed but one big multi role act, ‘Acting’ Sub Lieutenant is a splendid start” Cheers!
and dogs occasionally taking off with our shoes, we had got quite used to the outdoor living and enjoying it. However after a few months once the cabins fell vacant, we had to shift . Now we would have to do PT and cross country. All along we remained busy, both in and out of the class. On a long weekend we made a nice, hectic trip to Gir forest, Dwarka and Veraval, by the sea. We thoroughly enjoyed life in the base, never a dull moment--it was a good blend of seriousness and humour, in uniform.
Recalling an incident—once on parade, some of us could not help laughing at our Parade Commander, Lcdr Majumdar carrying out the cutlass salute, whereby instead of bringing the cutlass up to the lips, his lips would reach for it down midway.
We were ‘doled’ out ‘extra’ rifle drill that afternoon with Lcdr Majumdar himself taking charge! Being just four of us in the huge parade ground, to try do some justice, we got down to yelling out the drill timings at the top of our voices. The message must have got around the base fairly quick, the drill duration was cut short. We subsequently nursed our throats that evening, at the bar.
Then came the Anniversary day celebrations. Our Commanding Officer, Commodore Lele & his wife were keen theatre and music enthusiasts. Preparations were on in full swing. We under trainees were to put up a play, and eyes naturally zoomed in on the junior batch-the’murgas’/lambs. A play had to be ‘manufactured’ in no time. I was asked whether I know acting, to which
I replied that the only acting I know is that ‘I am Acting sub lieutenant’--that did it . Our director appointed on the spot, was the talented Ava (JV Avadhanulu, a batch senior), and we got together right away setting up the script which was mostly impromptu and ever changing.We were running out of time and soon the day of reckoning came .Our play scheduled for earlier part of the evening was delayed owing power problems. So some of us decided to take time off and visit the wardroom to take ‘courage’. We had to however assure our anxious director who finally relented- “liberty expires in half hour”! We got back in good time, kept the dialogues in place, or at least thought so, and the play was a great success! We were congratulated by all including Commodore Lele and his good lady- “You Acting sub lieutenants have lived up to your rank, you can certainly act, we should have plays more often”!
Subsequently, we were to see a change in Command—Commodore Schunker, an executive officer came in. He was a keen, outdoors man, and along with the new Executive officer, Commander RC Bhalla, kept us busy with cross countries and
wardroom activities. Then came the Pak war, Dec’71 operations. Classes were called off in advance and we were deployed in Operations room and Patrolling duties, which we thoroughly enjoyed .We were however missing out on classes and lagging on the course syllabi. Within a fortnight or so, around end Dec’71,‘ceasefire’was declared ,only to be broken by one of our colleagues who took a potshot at an errant cow, and thankfully missed! We immediately proceeded on a few days ‘hard earned’ leave, returned to complete the course in good time and join the fleet, as scheduled. The war did not seem to affect us at all, thanks to Valsura and the Navy.
“Life is indeed but one big multi role act, ‘Acting’ Sub Lieutenant is a splendid start” Cheers!
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