TWO DEAR FRIENDS - MEL KENDALL AND VIJJI MALHOTRA - DEPART

"....one thing is certain that Life flies

One thing is certsin, and the Rest is Lies

The Flower that once has blown forever dies." The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

January was a harsh month; two dear friends went to their heavenly abode. Some memories.

1955-58. Melvyn Charles Kendall, affectionately known as Mel or Mel Charles, and I are naval cadets in NDA. He is in 'I' (Item) Squadron and I am in 'F' (Fox) for first term and then in 'K' (King) for the rest. For the first two years, we hardly meet being in different squadrons and academic classes but in fifth and sixth terms, our interaction increases with the introduction of subjects for naval cadets.

July 1958. We board the Cadet Training Ship, Tir. I am among the very seasick and Mel less so. To tease the seasick, he coins a phrase he repeatedly shouts whenever a guy scrambles to throw up over the guardrails, "Hol-tol-tol,  hol-tol-tol." Between sickness and anger, the guy forgets he is on the windward side and ends up puking all over himself!

We move on to Mysore as Midshipmen. We are being shown around the various compartments of the ship by a senior sailor. Mel is in the rear with one of the two Nigerians training with us. In the Engine Room, the Nigerian in his not very clear accent asks Mel, "Vath room is this?" Mel replies, "This is not bathroom." Nigerian, "No no, vath room is this." Mel, "I told you this is not bathroom." Nigerian, "I know this is not vathroom. Vaath room is this?" Mel, "And I keep telling you this is not baathroom." They almost come to blows but we had strong men like BB Singh and James Gill who kept them at bay. But Mel did not enlighten the Nigerian with what room it was!

The ship's concert is on and Midshipmen have to perform. Mel Kendall, Roy Chow, Ashok Sinha, Magoo Nehra and I form a group I christen as "The Five Off-Keys" and sing the hit song of those days, "Tom Dooley" made popular by "The Kingston Trio".

On 01 January 1960, we are commissioned as officers and promoted to the rank of Sub Lieutenant. We serve on different ships and then are appointed as Divisional Officers in the NDA. We stay in the Officers' Mess and get together on most evenings for a drink and singsong session with other bachelors.

To different ships again and then we undergo specialisation, Mel in 'Torpedo and Anti-Submarine' and I in 'Communications'. In 1970, we are both posted in Cochin. Most of our coursemates have got married while three of us, Mel, Ashok and I are still surviving as bachelors, stay in nearby cabins and run into each other all the time. One afternoon I walk into Mel's cabin and find him in an unusually foul mood. When queried, he says his neighbour had borrowed his nailcutter and broken it into two. "Man, he cut his toenails with my nailcutter. Can you believe it, cutting toenails with a nailcutter?" I hummed and hawed and made a hurried exit. I have always been cutting my toenails with a nailcutter, apparently a sin in Mel's books!

Another rule from Mel - never eat seafood in months which don't have the letter 'r' in them. I am a vegetarian but pass the advice on to whoever I can.

Soon Mel meets Cherub whose family lives in a town near Cochin- Alwaye? A marriage is fixed and Mel deserts bachelorhood.

While I move East to Vishakhapatnam, Mel leaves the Navy, moves to Bangalore and we lose touch.  I too get married and in 1978, am on the Directing Staff in Wellington, Coonoor. One evening, the doorbell rings and I am pleasantly surprised to see a grinning Mel. Cherub has a property in Ooty which they frequently visit and on finding out that I am in Wellington, Mel decides to make an unannounced visit. From then on, we see each meet a number of times till I get transferred, leave the Navy and find a job in New Delhi.

In 1992, I am at office when I receive a call and the man on the line says he is from the Central Bureau of Investigation looking into bribing charges against our Company. I am a bit confused while he goes on saying things which I have no knowledge of. Finally, he bursts into laughter and reveals he is Mel. We meet and talk about old times till he goes back to Bangalore.

We speak to each other off and on and in 2017, Akhila and I go to Bangalore and ring up Mel. He says he is in Ooty with Cherub who has had a stroke. We are disappointed but wish them the best. Sometime later, on return to Delhi, we are told of Cherub's passing away.

On 8 January this year, we get a message from Kaustav, late Roy Chow's son, that Mel had a fall and has passed away. He also forwards a touching poem written by Mel's sons, Chris and Jeffrey, as a tribute to Mel with each verse beginning with the letters MELVYN CHARL KENDAL.

Zoom back to January 1956. I have been shifted to 'K' and the 15th Course joins, two naval cadets of which, Vijay Malhotra and Lalit Talwar, are in my Division. We cross paths off and on.

September 1967. Vijji (that's how he is generally called by most though a few address him as 'Mallu') Malhotra and I are in Cochin together for our Long 'C' (Communications) course. Rita, his wife, is in Delhi expecting their first child, so Vijji is staying in a cabin across the road from mine. We get on famously with each other, spend a lot of time together at studies as well as at leisure and I get to know him well. Some incidents that define him-

One afternoon, I walk into his cabin and find him fiddling with a whisky bottle. It is too early for a drink and he is not very fond of alcohol so I ask him what he is up to. He says he suspects his bearer of drinking his whisky and replacing it with water to maintain the level. So he is sticking a hair in the bottle top and if that disappears, he would know that the bearer is guilty.

The next day he tells me that the bearer fell in the trap and admitted his guilt. From then on, I have always called him 'Bond'. In any case, he always introduces himself as "Malhotra, Vijay Malhotra", in true James Bond style. 

We are sitting in classroom with GBS Kohli in front of us. Vijji is smoking and seeing GBS's hair sticking out of his turban at the back of the neck, can't resist the temptation to torch the hair with the lighted end of his cigarette. I am aghast and wave my hand to tell Vijji to stop it but he disregards. Soon the hair singe, GBS feels the heat and brings his hand to the neck. Vijji frantically beats the hair with his notes and tells GBS that all is well as he has swiped away an insect from the neck.

I discover that Vijji has an amazing memory, almost photographic. He can repeat word for word a passage he scans for a few minutes. Of course, he is highly intelligent.

He is a great storyteller too. Like the time as Flag Lt to Admiral 'Chippy' Samson, he and Keki Pestonji tried to drive the staff car up the steps of Bombay's Ambassador Hotel.

Midway through the Course, Rita gives birth to Nikhil and they come to Cochin. Vijji moves to a house where I am always welcome. Rita accepts me like a family member.

On successful completion of our Course, we are off to Bombay, Vijji to join Khukri and I, Trishul. Vijji has a Standard Vanguard so he decides to fly Rita and Nikhil while he and I drive his car to Bombay.

After our seatime, Vijji is transferred to NHQ Delhi and I to Signal School Cochin. Whenever I go to Delhi on duty or leave, I stay with Vijji and Rita in their Defence Colony home. Vijji has acquired an Akai music system and my favourite way of spending time at his house is to turn the Akai on and listen to Santana's "Evil Ways" booming from the big hi-fi speakers.

While in Delhi, Rita and Vijji win the All-India Wills' "Made for Each Other" contest.

My marriage is fixed for 11 March 1972 and I invite Vijji to come with the baraat to Bijnor. He readily agrees. As usual he has stories to tell about the baraat. For example, the bus makes a stopover halfway to Bijnor and most males rush out to ease themselves against the nearest wall. Vinnie Mama shakes his head disparagingly at them and utters, "Verry badd!" This phrase becomes our favourite exchange whenever we meet subsequently.

At Bijnor, Akhila is getting dressed up for the wedding when Vijji enters the room, introduces himself and asks her, "Why are you marrying Ravi?"

In December 1973, on completion of Staff College Course, he takes over as Eastern Fleet Communications Officer from me while I proceed to Wellington to do the Course.

For many years, we don't meet as he is on the west side while I am mainly in the east. In 1983, I come to Bombay as Fleet Operations Officer followed by command of Trishul. Vijji commands Udaygiri and we stay in adjacent blocks, so Rita and Akhila also meet a lot. More than that, Mandira and Shumita get to know each other and develop a fond relationship. 

Different paths again for many years till we both retire and settle down in Delhi. Vijji and Rita call us for lunch at their house in Golf Links and Vijji presents me with his book, "Time Tide and Tradition", a brilliant compilation of naval customs and traditions. Vijji's inscription reads, 

"Ravi and Akhila

A lifetime of friendship and good cheer

With affection and regard

 Vijji"

Rita says she hasn't seen a movie in a long time. A James Bond movie "Die Another Day" has just been released, so appropriately for my Bond, we take them out to see it.

I start writing a blog and one of the most encouraging readers is Vijji. He provides a lot of inputs for naval pieces, eg, details of Cauvery landing a hedgehog on Admiral Superintendent Dockyard's office and the ASD's signal to the Fleet Commander, "I will repair your ships free of charge but please tell your ships to stop firing at me." Or Mysore firing at an Air India plane in the 1965 war mistaking it for a Pak plane; that got a nice scolding for the Fleet Admiral from NHQ! Incidentally, Mysore herself was a victim with Betwa firing at her mistaking her for Pak ship Babar!

In 2015, Rita falls sick and passes on. Vijji is shaken and so are we.

Vijji too starts keeping unwell and is under treatment with frequent visits to the hospital. Our once long telephone conversations become shorter and shorter. In the latter half of 2025, he is finally discharged from the hospital and advised to manage his illness at home. Mandira and her husband Sumeet arrange constant medical care and diligently look after him with love and devotion. They also create a WhatsApp group and keep his friends informed regularly of his condition.

Mid-November, Akhila and I are leaving for Jaipur and ask Mandira if we can come and see Vijji. She says yes and we visit him one evening. Though confined to bed, he is in good spirits and we exchange old stories including "Verry badd"! Reluctantly we leave hoping to meet him on our return.

That was not to be as he passed away on 21 January while we were still in Jaipur.

Two flowers had blown and withered. 

P.S. 21 January recorded another loss with Mrs. Vasundhara Gupta, wife of a good senior friend and golf partner, Cmde PK Gupta (PKG), breathing her last that evening. 3 weeks later, PKG himself followed her. 

All RIP.

SOME REMEMBRANCES OF MY ONE TERM IN FOX SQUADRON

Some of you might find this interesting. It's self-explanatory.

Hello Foxies,

I am Commodore Ravi Sharma, Academy number 2134, ex-Fox Squadron. Cdr Arun Jyoti rang me up the other day asking me to come for the get together at DSOI but I had to decline as I am in Jaipur at present. So he asked me to send a message which would be read out at the party. Here are some remembrances.

I had heard of Fox Squadron even before coming to the NDA as my uncle, Commodore Vinnie Sharma, was a Divisional Officer in Fox in early 1950s when NDA was still JSW in Clementown, Dehradun. It was indeed a pleasant surprise when I was directed to join Fox on reporting to the NDA as a cadet on 22 July 1955.

The pleasant part was short-lived as soon as the seniors saw me. Ragging was rampant and one of the toughest raggers was SK Roy Chowdhury whose main aim was to ensure the new cadets knew how many front rolls and back rolls made a corridor. Roy Chowdhury as everyone must know went on to become the Chief of the Army Staff.

A more likeable senior was Sudarshan Chand who was content to hear us sing songs for him. I was able to satisfy him with some from Pankaj Mullick and Frankie Laine. Chand rose to the rank of Vice Admiral and retired as the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. There were many others who had illustrious careers like Nanda Cariappa, Field Marshal Cariappa's son. His plane was shot down in the 1965 war but he survived and was captured. There is the well-known real life story of the Pak President Field Marshal Ayub Khan ringing up the then General Cariappa and offering to release his son. The General told him to treat Nanda in the same way as other POWs. Eventually back, Nanda earned his promotions right to the rank of Air Marshal. He and I were ADCs to our respective bosses in Delhi in 1966 and played a lot of golf together. He now lives in Coorg where I last met him on a visit in 2017.

A coursemate of mine is Premvir Das, another Foxie, who reached the rank of Vice Admiral.

Ramendra Bhargava from Jaipur was an Air Force cadet whose parents were well known to my grandparents and whose younger brother, Krishnendra, was my schoolmate and a good friend. Ramendra provided me substantial shelter from ragging and later became ADC to the President of India. He left the IAF early and opened Jaipur Inn in the city's Bani Park. Alas, he is no more but his son, Pushpendra, is successfully running the Inn.

My stay in Fox was only for one term as at the beginning of my second term, a new squadron, King, was formed and I was transferred to it. So it was goodbye to the Foxies including the Squadron Commander, Major Bonny, and my Divisional Officer, Lieutenant 'Shortie' Kanwar of the Navy.

Have a nice party.

A TASTE OF MODERN EATERIES IN JAIPUR

At the Jaipur Literature Festival this year. Akhila and I chanced upon a session "Table For Four: Delhi's Dining Legacy" in which Vir Sanghvi was discussing the book of the same title with Sunil Kant Munjal, one of its three authors. Four well-known industrialists and Doon School friends, Munjal, Nitan Kapoor, Ajay Shriram and Deepak Nirula, used to get together and meet for lunch in the upcoming restaurants of Delhi. Nirula passed away in 2022 and the other three decided to record their dining experiences producing an interesting record of Delhi's evolving culinary history.

Winding up the session, Sunil Munjal singled Florence as the best city for food connoisseurs and mentioned Delhi and Bombay (that's how I have always known it) as cities in India where the food revolution continues to gain momentum day by day. I wish he had kept an eye on Jaipur more closely as on my visits to Jaipur every 2-3 months, I discover new places every time. I am not a food expert but as I love the city of Jaipur, I try and keep track of eateries worth visiting. So let me just list a few to show how food venues in the city are keeping pace with the ever increasing number of tourists thanks in no small measure to the internationally famous annual Jaipur Literature Festival.

We start with one of the older modern ones, "Tapri Central". Basically a tea house with a large variety of tea to choose from, what makes it special is the spectacular rooftop view it provides overlooking the Central Park and surrounding areas. Order some 'chaat' with masala tea, watch the glorious sunset and the lights coming up in the city.

Across the road in Central Park, a vegetarian restaurant named "Peepal" has recently opened up. The food and decor are a great blend of tradition and modernity. The restaurant is gaining popularity for its Sunday brunch.

On the West end of Central Park is the famous Rambagh Hotel voted a couple of years back by Trip Advisor as the best hotel in the world. Its "Steam" bar and restaurant, unique for being housed in a couple of train bogies connected to a steam locomotive, is easily one of the best eateries in Jaipur known for its 'global comfort cuisine'. There is outdoor seating by the swimming pool as well and you can wallow in the ambience while feasting on Italian, Mediterranean or Thai cuisine.

Next to the Hotel, there is the Rajasthan Polo Club, old by itself but its dining room has recently been given a bright yellow and blue striped look and named Polo Palladio as it shares its Dutch architect, Marie-Anne Oudejans, with the very popular Bar Palladio owned by the Italian Barbara Miolini in nearby Narain Niwas Palace. Polo Palladio serves typical clubhouse food like club sandwiches and burgers as also Persian pulaos and kebabs. The best part is that you don't have to be a member of the Club but can pay a small fees and use the restaurant. And if the Polo season is on, you can watch the game in progress while tending to your tummy!

A place that caught my eye just a few days ago is "Nouba" Restaurant on Sarojini Marg, 'C' Scheme. It boasts of a Rooftop Lounge which looks over the Eastern half of Jaipur which you might have missed from Tapri Central. Here you can gorge on North Indian and Mughlai dishes or their wood-fired pizzas. 

If you are very particular about organic food, there is a small Cafe called "Anokhi" on Prithviraj Road which will serve you homemade bread, fresh juices, seasonal food and salads topped by organic filter coffee. 

The best part - all these places are within 2 kms. from my house!

Venturing further, for Rajasthani/Indian food created with a modern touch, there is The Johri Restaurant located in a haveli on MSB Ka Rasta, a lane leading from the main Johri Bazar. The lane is a bit narrow but it is a worthwhile experience to see how nicely a haveli has been converted into a beautiful hotel. The food is unique with dishes like 'Chakundar and Kali Gajar Carpaccio', 'Crispy Avocado Chaat', 'Truffle Cheese Kulcha', 'Corn Palak and Zero Sized Matar' and 'Gadbad Ice Cream'. 

For Italian and Mediterranean food, we have discovered "Serai Brews Cafe" in a boutique hotel on Durga Marg, Bani Park, with outdoor seating in a small, cosy garden. We loved its ' Pesto Exotic Veggie' Bruschetta,  'Agilio-E-Olio' Pasta, and the 'Mezze Platter'. 

Just a couple of years ago, Raffles opened a hotel on the outskirts of Jaipur with "The Writers Bar" serving Singapore Sling sure to take you back in time with visions of Somerset Maugham working on his novels in the original Raffles Hotel.

The great travel writer Paul Theroux famously wrote that no matter how many places you visit, there is so much more to see. Same applies to Jaipur's restaurants; there are scores of them that I have only heard or not even heard of. So let's wind up here.

But not without taking cognisance of the coffee revolution. Jaipur was traditionally a tea place. An exclusive coffee place was not even known. Then came 'Curious Life Coffee' and that started a trend. Today there are so many they are running out of names; there is 'Nothing Before Coffee', 'Crazy Coffee', 'Coffee Sutra", 'Half Light Coffee Roasters, 'Aunty's Coffee', 'Uncle Coffee'....wow!! And at the LitFest we ran into 'Love Over Coffee' and fell in love with it!

There is a place in Jaipur, "DZURT", which is known for its sweets and desserts. It boasts of items like 'Belgium Chocolate Salted Caramel' 'Nutella Cheesecake', the very popular 'Tiramisu' etc. But for desserts for me, nostalgia wins and it is old "Niro's" all the way with its sundaes 'Honeymoon Special' and 'Knickerbocker Glory' which I first had over 75 years ago in my school days and which they happily served for me with special care!

Bon appetit!

 

`

DINO BECOMES DEAN BUT SINGS LIKE DINO

 

It is Boxing Day today. Yesterday was Christmas and trust it was full of merrymaking for you. Regardless of our religious beliefs, all of us enjoy the day with visions of Santa Claus in his red outfit 'ho-ho-hoing' and riding his sleigh guided by Rudolph the red-nose reindeer in the vast expanse of white snow. We shall go on to say a fond goodbye to the present year with memories galore and eagerly welcome the new one. 

From time to time, God has his ways to remind us not to take things for granted and that we are not the masters of destiny. Fifteen years ago, Mummy left this world on the morning of the 25th.

And I chanced on the fact that Dean Martin too departed on this day in 1995. So let us recall the relaxed, easygoing, "King of Cool", one of the greatest showmen of the 20th century who kept us entertained for many many years with his acting and songs which I often listen to even now.

Born to an Italian father and an Italian-American mother, he was named Dino Paul Crocetti. When he took to show business, he named himself 'Dino Martini' before finally becoming 'Dean Martin'. 

Dean Martin first came into limelight when he and the great comedian, Jerry Lewis, combined to produce movies which were riots of fun. In 1956, they parted and Martin took to singing and acting on his own. He became good friends with Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. and along with others like Peter Lawford, formed a group called "Rat Pack" and performed in shows in Las Vegas. On TV too, 'The Dean Martin Show' was immensely popular. Sinatra brought Martin and Lewis together once again on stage in 1976 and their last act was on Martin's 72nd birthday in 1989.

I first saw him in my School days in early 1950s in the comedy movies of Martin and Lewis. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis made a number of movies which were riots of fun. They had a natural chemistry for each other and could just ad-lib their roles without sticking to a script. The usual theme was Martin trying to keep his cool tolerating Lewis' slapstick antics and annoying behaviour till the former could bear no more and would chase Lewis out. Some memories of hilarious scenes flash in my mind from time to time bringing a smile to my face.  For instance, Jerry Lewis making a real mess eating spaghetti in "My Friend Irma Goes West". Or Lewis making a big deal of eating two pieces of beans with imaginary sauce and champagne singing "When You Pretend" in "Artists and Models".

In 1953, Dean Martin, in their movie, “The Caddy”, sang "That's Amore" which became an instant hit and had a lot of Italy in it starting with the title which according to the song is what they say in Napoli when boy meets girl. That's also amore 'when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie' and the lyrics go on to 'Vita bella', 'gay tarantella', 'pasta e fasule', 'signore' and 'scusami'!

Blessed with a deep voice and smooth singing style, Martin became a top singer and he followed up with many big hits with the unique feature of Italian flavour in the lyrics. Hugely popular was "Volare", originally an Italian song "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu", words which Martin repeated often in the lyrics of his English version. There were a host of other hits like "On an Evening in Roma", "Arrividerci Roma", "Mambo Italiano", "Come Back to Sorrento" and "Innamorata." Needless to say, with my inexplicable love for all things Italian, all these songs are my favourites and I adore Dean Martin for them.

Martin had other big hits too without the Italian touch. Apart from his signature song "Everybody Loves Somebody", my personal favoutites are "Sway" and "Memories Are Made of This". The lyrics of the latter are a recipe for cooking memories and I quote-

"Take one fresh and tender kiss

Add one stolen night of bliss....

Don't forget a small moonbeam

Fold it lightly with a dream

Your lips and mine, two sips of wine....

Then add the wedding bells

One house where lovers dwell

Three little kids for the flavour

Stir carefully through the days

See how the flavour stays

These are the dreams you will savour....

With His blessings from above

Serve it generously with love

One man, one wife, one love through life

Memories are made of this."

Keep having Merry Christmases. Mummy and Dean Martin would want that.

 

THE LITTLE BOY AND THE OLD MAN

Every now and then we come across a song or a poem and think, "Oh, this could be written for me!" And why not, lyricists and poets are people like us going about their daily chores but are blessed with a keen sense of observation and a marvellous gift of creating a song or a poem from what they observe.

We might come across daffodils, take pleasure in the sight and move on but it takes the genius of William Wordsworth to make a delightful poem about them. I just have to quote a few lines-

"I wandered lonely as a cloud....

When all at once I saw a crowd, a host of golden daffodils....

For oft when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye, which is the bliss of solitude,

And then my heart with pleasure fills, 

And dances with the daffodils."

Often on a walk, we come across the sign "Keep off the grass", grunt in disappointment and quietly take a detour. But not Rupert Brooke, who sitting in a cafe in Berlin in 1912, sees a sign "Betreten des Rasens verboten", gets homesick and thinks of the house in a village near Cambridge where he had lived. So he puts down his thoughts in a poem, "The Old Vicarage, Grantchester", recalling the meads near the house "Where das Betreten's not verboten."

Sometime back, I wrote a post saying I felt that the song, "I'm an Ordinary Man" from "My Fair Lady" was written by lyricists Lerner-Loewe for me. Now a friend sent me a poem, "The Little Boy and the Old Man" by Shel Silverstein; is the poet’s old man actually me? The quirks are the same! Here goes-

'Said the little boy ''Sometimes I drop my spoon".

Said the old man, ''I do that too.''

The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants."

"I do that too", laughed the little old man.

Said the little boy, I often cry."

The old man nodded, "So do I,"

But worst of all, said the boy,

"It seems grown-ups don't pay attention to me."

And felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand,

"I know what you mean" said the little old man.'

Life comes a full-circle!

REMEMBERING MADAN SAXENA - NAVY'S RAVI SHANKAR

As a kid, and even in advanced age, I was very fond of the fun puzzle "Connect the dots". One began at the start point and went from dot to dot ending with a complete picture.

Memory is like that - something triggers it and then you move from one memory to another till you end up with a whole picture of someone or something that was a part of your life. 

So it was when Shumita said she and her family planned to go to Cochin (for me it will always be that!).

Oh, that's where Sameer is!

Just the other day, on learning that Vice Admiral Sameer Saxena had taken over as Flag Officer Commanding Southern Naval Command, I had sent him a congratulatory message and got back a sweet reply. Sameer is the son of my senior colleague Late Commodore Madan Saxena who though seven courses my senior, was a close friend, in fact, more of an elder brother.

In fact, we had an older association with the Saxena family; Madan's father was well known to Pitaji, my Nana, since both started their judicial careers in the state of U.P. (United Provinces in the old days) and ended up as High Court Judges, Pitaji in Rajasthan and Justice Saxena in Allahabad.

And before I met Madan, his elder brother, HML Saxena, also a naval officer and known by all as 'Bhaisahib' thanks to Madan, was our Training Officer on the Cadet training ship Tir which we embarked fresh after passing out from the National Defence Academy.

I got to know Madan in June 1965 when I came to Delhi as Flag Lt to Admiral Chatterji, Commandant National Defence College. Madan then was 'Flags' to Admiral Soman, Chief of the Naval Staff. We met  very often both being aides to the two most senior officers of the Navy.

Those tenures over, our appointments took us to different spheres till we found ourselves together on Vikrant in November 1971. Madan was the Navigating Officer of the ship and I was Fleet Communications Officer on the staff of Flag Officer Commanding the newborn Eastern Fleet, embarked on Vikrant. As chance would have it, Bhaisahib was there too as Commander, second-in-command of the carrier.

Within a month of my embarking Vikrant, the Indo-Pak War started and, with our jobs requiring us to be together on the Bridge a lot, I developed a close bond with Madan. It was then that I learnt of his fondness of and proficiency at playing the Sitar. A particular incident is vivid in my mind; one early morning, one of our escort ships reported a submarine contact and we were at action stations for a long time. The threat was over at about 6 a.m. and Madan asked me to come along to his cabin. There he pulled out his sitar and played for an hour to calm and soothe ourselves before adjourning to make up for the disturbed sleep. 

Soon after the War, I decided to get married to Akhila in Bijnor, near Delhi. I requested Madan, then in NHQ, to join the baraat and he readily agreed and came along.

Some years later, Madan was appointed as the Naval Attache, Iran. A Boy Scouts and Girl Guides Jamboree was scheduled in Teheran and Mummy was deputed to lead the Rajasthan Contingent. We were a bit worried as this was Mummy's first trip abroad and further, she was a staunch vegetarian. I got in touch with Madan who kindly offered to look after her. Mummy stayed with Madan and Hema and was full of praise for them on return. 

The early 1980s found both of us in NHQ Delhi staying in the same Sardar Patel Marg block, Madan on 3rd floor and I on 5th. Hema and Akhila got on very well too and we often got together in the evenings for musical sessions and a drink. But I missed a super session they once had which Akhila recounted to me. I was away in Italy on work when Vinnie Mama and family came to Delhi for a short visit and stayed at our flat. Akhila invited Hema and Madan for dinner after which Akhila asked Madan to get his sitar. Vinnie Mama launched into Pankaj Mullick songs with Madan accompanying on the sitar. Akhila volunteered to play the tabla and sang too going well into sunrise. Akhila said her hands were sore for days after that!

Madan shocked all of us when he announced that he was seeking premature retirement. A number of senior officers told him that he was certain to be promoted to flag rank but he remained firm and put in his papers. I guess frequent transfers and relatively meagre pay of those days made him take the hard decision. So off he went in 1983 and joined the Merchant Navy with Hema settling in Noida.

I too moved to Delhi, Noida and back to Delhi after my own retirement and we met Madan and Hema often over the years. And then the final surprise: one morning mid-2008, Madan had a cardiac arrest and passed away suddenly at the age of 74.

We shall always remember Madan plucking away his sitar strings and now his absence tugs our heartstrings. 

"IN THE MOOD"

 

Today, let's get "In the Mood."

Before you get fancy ideas and start making wild guesses, let me clarify: I am only recalling a classic song which is just one year younger than me, a popular jazz swing instrumental by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra which has been inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame as also the US Library of Congress National Recording Registry among recordings considered "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Add to that its inclusion in the US National Public Radio in its list of "The 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century" and you know we are talking of something special.

I am not a big jazz fan but this swinging number grabbed my attention from my first hearing of it and keeps buzzing in my head from time to time. Trombones, saxophones, trumpets and clarinets accompanied by drums combine to blow out a catchy rhythm which has one dancing or at the very least, gleefully tapping one's feet.

A few words about the great Glenn Miller. He was a bandleader, composer and played the trombone. He led an Orchestra which was the best-selling recording band from 1939-42. In this short period of 4 years, he scored 16 number one records and 69 top ten hits, more than Elvis Presley (40) and The Beatles (35). In 1942, he volunteered to join the US Navy but was rejected. Despite his Orchestra's outstanding success and rich earnings, Miller was bent on joining the military and finally his efforts succeeded when he was accepted by the US Army in September 1942. Shortly after, he formed the Captain (later Major) Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra which was the forerunner of big military bands. Deservedly, Glenn Miler is considered the father of modern US military bands. 

Glenn Miller's Orchestra entertained troops during World War II for more than two years before Miller went missing in action in the English Channel on a flight from England to France on 15 December 1944 and was eventually declared dead. That marked the end of a superb musician who had accomplished so much in a short span of just 40 years of life. His recordings continue to entertain us and keep us "In the Mood."

Lyricists and singers brought out vocal versions of the song but none could match the brilliance and popularity of Glenn Miller’s instrumental. He was wise to let his band play the music and leave it to listeners to get in the mood they desired.

To conclude, however, let's choose a number that is more definite on ‘mood’: "I'm in the Mood for Love". First sung by Frances Langford in a movie in 1935, it has many versions by dozens of fine musicians like Louis Armstrong, Vera Lynn and Fats Domino. Its plain message - "I'm in the mood for love, simply because you're near me, funny but when you're near me, I'm in the mood for love."