The first few days of the 1971 Indo-Pak War went off very well for the Indian Navy. The Navy, in action for the first time in independent India, was itching to prove its mettle and through brilliant planning and innovation, carried out very successful air strikes on the eastern front blockading the Bay of Bengal and missile attacks in the west causing havoc on Pak naval ships and harbour installations.
It was perhaps overconfidence and a bit of bravado that caused the Navy its two tragic losses - the sinking of Khukri on 9 December and the downing of an Alize on the 10th. And on each of these, I lost a close friend - Jack Suri and Aku Roy respectively.
Jack was the Executive Officer, second-in-command on Khukri. We are all familiar with the brave actions of Captain Mulla. Jack was his right hand man and had the ability, intelligence and personality of a fine officer. He would not suffer fools but had a soft heart and was a very sociable person. Although he was 3 courses senior to me, we got to know each other when he could not make it for flying and joined our batch for SLt's training courses. A year later, we were shipmates on Gomati. Sometime later, he was an instructor in Signal School when I did my Communications specialisation. He was a fitness freak and was forever worried about a bulging waistline though he had not a gram of extra flesh on his waist. Squash was his passion and he played every day and was the naval champion for many years. I was not quite his standard but could give him a good game and we played each other often. Fond of his drink, he would croon Elvis Presley's "Wooden Heart" and Mohammed Rafi's "Abhi na jao Chhodkar" or "Teri pyari pyari soorat" without much coaxing! Incidentally, he also taught Lucky the 'naughty girls in London' trick!
Aku was an excellent pilot who was held in high esteem by the aviation community. He was a lovable, popular figure who believed in living life to the hilt. He was a restless soul always moving on. It was perhaps because of this that he was chosen to fly a sortie which was an overreach for a slow and defenceless aircraft like the Alize.
Two years earlier, he was flying off Vikrant over the Bay of Bengal and had to ditch in the sea due to a technical fault. I was on board the rescue destroyer "Trishul" and witness to the ditching though unaware of the identity of the pilot. I had a sinking feeling it was Aku. But Aku had made a perfect ditching and the crew was picked up by a helicopter safely and without any injuries before the aircraft sank. Relieved, I sent Aku a message I still remember, "Of all the places in the world, did you have to choose the Bay of Bengal to dip your wick?"
I was far away on Vikrant in the Bay of Bengal when we got the news of the downing of the Alize over the Arabian Sea on 10 December. I experienced the same sinking feeling and was right but this time, Aku's luck had run out!
There were rumours that Aku was one of the many POWs who were illegally held in Pakistan long after the War but these remained unsubstantiated.
Aku was one year junior to me but we served in the same station many a time and found each other's company fun. Once he took Viji Malhotra and me on an Alize flight to shake us out of our senses. He went through all kinds of stunts but Viji and I kept our nerves. When we got back to our cabins, we passed out for 24 hours!
Aku was tall and handsome and quite a ladies' man. Some compared his looks to a Greek god. He and Jack were different personalities but shared many traits. Above all, both were very eligible bachelors. In view of their fate, it was perhaps better that they remained so. Still, they left behind a large number of friends who would always remember and miss them.
God rest their souls in peace.
It was perhaps overconfidence and a bit of bravado that caused the Navy its two tragic losses - the sinking of Khukri on 9 December and the downing of an Alize on the 10th. And on each of these, I lost a close friend - Jack Suri and Aku Roy respectively.
Jack was the Executive Officer, second-in-command on Khukri. We are all familiar with the brave actions of Captain Mulla. Jack was his right hand man and had the ability, intelligence and personality of a fine officer. He would not suffer fools but had a soft heart and was a very sociable person. Although he was 3 courses senior to me, we got to know each other when he could not make it for flying and joined our batch for SLt's training courses. A year later, we were shipmates on Gomati. Sometime later, he was an instructor in Signal School when I did my Communications specialisation. He was a fitness freak and was forever worried about a bulging waistline though he had not a gram of extra flesh on his waist. Squash was his passion and he played every day and was the naval champion for many years. I was not quite his standard but could give him a good game and we played each other often. Fond of his drink, he would croon Elvis Presley's "Wooden Heart" and Mohammed Rafi's "Abhi na jao Chhodkar" or "Teri pyari pyari soorat" without much coaxing! Incidentally, he also taught Lucky the 'naughty girls in London' trick!
Aku was an excellent pilot who was held in high esteem by the aviation community. He was a lovable, popular figure who believed in living life to the hilt. He was a restless soul always moving on. It was perhaps because of this that he was chosen to fly a sortie which was an overreach for a slow and defenceless aircraft like the Alize.
Two years earlier, he was flying off Vikrant over the Bay of Bengal and had to ditch in the sea due to a technical fault. I was on board the rescue destroyer "Trishul" and witness to the ditching though unaware of the identity of the pilot. I had a sinking feeling it was Aku. But Aku had made a perfect ditching and the crew was picked up by a helicopter safely and without any injuries before the aircraft sank. Relieved, I sent Aku a message I still remember, "Of all the places in the world, did you have to choose the Bay of Bengal to dip your wick?"
I was far away on Vikrant in the Bay of Bengal when we got the news of the downing of the Alize over the Arabian Sea on 10 December. I experienced the same sinking feeling and was right but this time, Aku's luck had run out!
There were rumours that Aku was one of the many POWs who were illegally held in Pakistan long after the War but these remained unsubstantiated.
Aku was one year junior to me but we served in the same station many a time and found each other's company fun. Once he took Viji Malhotra and me on an Alize flight to shake us out of our senses. He went through all kinds of stunts but Viji and I kept our nerves. When we got back to our cabins, we passed out for 24 hours!
Aku was tall and handsome and quite a ladies' man. Some compared his looks to a Greek god. He and Jack were different personalities but shared many traits. Above all, both were very eligible bachelors. In view of their fate, it was perhaps better that they remained so. Still, they left behind a large number of friends who would always remember and miss them.
God rest their souls in peace.
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ReplyDeleteThank you very much for sharing your reminiscences. These not only make for very engaging reading but also bring back to life many dramatis personae and are looked forward to by the followers with keen anticipation. To these very interesting recollections, may I also add a footnote of how I remember Jack Suri ?
ReplyDeleteDuring our Sub Lieutenants’ Courses in 1968, he was our Course Officer in the Signal School. The standard opening sentence by the instructors those days, after the greetings, used to be “Gentlemen, you may smoke if you like”. There were many smokers among us and they would light up their cigarettes just as I would my cigar. I did not think there was anything notable in this till, at one of the routine Pre Lunch Drinks gatherings, Lieut Cdr Suri asked me why I preferred cigar over cigarettes. I honestly responded that I had not given the matter a thought but since he asked me, I must answer the question. So, I calibrated my response on lines “I like the aroma. If unattended after lighting up, cigars stop burning. Clearing ash off their tips and relighting them keeps me awake. I do not really need more than a few puffs at a time and cigars are eminently suitable for this, unlike cigarettes which are smoked till the end because they burn on. Taking all this into account, Trichy Cigars are a cheaper option than the India Kings cigarettes which are current favourites of many”. He smiled, nodded and moved on.
I next met Jack Suri in Oct/ Nov 1971 in the Western Naval Command Mess bar. I wished him and he sort of recognised me. I reminded him that he had been our instructor three years earlier. He said “Yes, I remember you but I am trying to recall something that was peculiar about you”. I instantly developed a very keen interest in this conversation and honestly tried to help him “Sir, was it the pocket watch that I used to wear?” He said no. I tried again “Was it my fixed seat nearest to the instructor to help me keep awake?” Then his eyes sparkled “Not that. But aren’t you the chap that used to smoke cigars? Yes, you are. So, where is the cigar now”. I responded “I stopped smoking cigars after Sub Lieut Courses Sir. For the last two years I have been smoking the pipe”. And, suddenly recalling our last conversation on the subject, I somewhat cheekily added “Would you like me to tell you why I smoke the pipe?” This time my senior officer was very alert and firmly told me “No, you will not. The last time you told me about cigars, I also started smoking cigars and I have still not been able to give them up”. And he showed me the cigar he held in his hand, aromatic smoke gently curling upwards from it !
Legend has it that Captain Mulla went down with Khukri sitting on the ship's Bridge in the Captain's chair, a cigarette in his hand. I like to believe, Jack Suri went down dutifully standing next to his Captain, a cigar in his hand. I also lost a very close personal friend in Khukri, Lieut Suresh Kundanmal the ship's Navigating Officer.
May all the brave souls in that good ship rest in peace.
Ravi,Pradeep. What nostalgic memories. Here I am in Wellington in the guise of an eco refugee,escaping from Delhi's notorious aqi.
ReplyDeleteAku was a thorough gentleman,and a great aviator with nerves of steel.
I was on Vikrant with Chippy Samson,and Aku was aloft in his plane. Coming in to land,his tail hook would not lower and he was told to go around while the arrester net was rigged at the forward edge of the landing deck. Aku made a perfect landing slammed into the net, coolly got out of the cockpit and walked across the flight deck with the stretcher party following him.
It was only a few hours later while we were celebrating his feat in the bar that the tension of that do or die landing hit him and he started to shiver.
And yet on another occasion he baled out of his aircraft off Working,inflated his life jacket and patiently floated around till he was picked up. I recall his swimming prowess.Breast stroke.Which certainly must have come on handy on this occasion. Ravi,your swimming test showing "Passed" in the NDA comes to mind.