Gomati, a destroyer, was my first appointment as a full-fledged watchkeeping officer. Shortly after joining, I shipped my Lieutenant's stripe on 01 May 1960. I reported to the then CO Lt Cdr Sam Mathews but soon afterwards, he was replaced by Lt Cdr Rameshwar N Batra. I was given the job of a TAS (Torpedo and anti-submarine) officer and brushed up my knowledge of sonars and torpedoes. I recall repairing the depth recorder on the Bridge with the help of a BR (Book of Reference) and being so elated by the success that I told the Captain I wanted to specialise in TAS. LCDR Batra, being a TAS specialist himself, said that TAS had got him nowhere and I should think of something else!
Gomati was awaiting a refit but was down on priority and her turn was just not coming up. Meanwhile, we learnt of a merchant ship, Maharashmi, in distress off Port Albert Victor on the Gujarat coast and our Captain smelt an opportunity to do something useful. So he volunteered to rush for support and we sailed in rough monsoon weather to assist Maharashmi. We rendezvoused with the ship, established communications and told her we would take her in tow in the morning. At night rounds, however, our XO, second-in-command, discovered a major leak in one of the aft magazines (ammunition compartments). Efforts to stop the leaks failed and the magazine continued to flood. It was therefore decided to immediately head back to Bombay on our own. We barely managed to make it back to harbour what with the battering of the monsoon winds and waves taking a toll of the weak hull. The flooding kept increasing causing half the after section of the ship to be underwater!
That ensured an alongside berth for the ship and no more sailing. It also cost LCDR Batra further promotion which was a pity because I thought he was a competent and caring officer who deserved better.
We had a lively wardroom and often had parties with guests from Bollywood. Our Engineer Officer, LCDR Dileep Bhandari, was married to the well-known actress, Yashodhara Katju. Our Supply Officer, Lt YN Sharma, claimed that he was the Rakhi brother of Nargis. We never saw her on board but YN used to bring her real brother Anwar frequently to the ship. When offered a drink, Anwar would ask for a 'peeli' or 'hari' (presumably a Drambuie or Creme de Menthe) which he had had on an earlier occasion! I would often invite Vinnie Mama, Mamiji and her brother Roop K Shorey (Bhaijan) on board. Bhaijan loved his drink and would never be in a hurry to leave. On one occasion we wound up after midnight and when I went to see them off at Lion Gate, the security JCO said the gates were closed for guests. Bhaijan promptly offered to go back to the ship which had the otherwise strict JCO break out in smile and he graciously let Bhaijan go!
We missed the '61 Goa Liberation action but our Squadron Commander D22 was kind enough to get us two big flasks of red wine which were equally divided between the married folks and the three bachelors on board. We bachelors decided to finish our flask on a saturday afternoon, The wine was very smooth and we didn't feel the effect till we stood up and were knocked out for about 16 hours! Incidentally, Lt JK (Jack) Suri, later a casualty as XO Khukri in the '71 war and I were the 2 bachelors staying on board in a 3-berther cabin known as 'Arab Quarters' for some unknown reason. Jack often complained that rats used to nibble at his toes at night and even showed me teeth marks. I asked him why he didn't kick away the rats but he said he didn't realise he was being bitten as he used to sleep through it!
Being in no state to sail and with an endless wait for refit, NHQ transferred our CO and XO which saw Jack becoming the acting CO with me as his XO! Fond of movies, we used to see all the new releases and more. Those were the heydays of Shammi Kapoor who came out with "Junglee" and its "Yahoo, Chaahe Kohi Mujhe Junglee Kahe" and "Tumsa Nahin Dekha" and its popular theme song. In the latter movie, Rajendra Nath as his sidekick was given the task of identifying Shammi's girlfriend by uttering the lines 'Teri aankhen nahin yeh to teer hain' and 'Oh tera kya kehna' at all the passing girls and getting thrashed in the bargain. "Chaudhvin Ka Chand" and its romantic theme song and "Hum Dono" with its "Abhi Na Jao Chhod Kar" were other movies that come to mind.
By the end of the year, Jack too got transferred and I became the Captain of the destroyer as a Lt of less than a year's seniority! I moved into the Captain's cabin and felt elated. At that time, Shashi Mama's family was away in Jaipur and he was staying on his ship Trishul at anchorage. When Janamashthmi came he was wondering how to keep his fast and break it at midnight after puja. I asked him to come on board and at midnight, we performed puja in front of a painting of Lord Krishna in my cabin and ate specially made puris, aloo and suji halwa before I saw him off in the 0030 boat back to his ship.
Time passed by in the humdrum of life on a ship permanently alongside with nothing exciting happening. In spare time I kept myself busy reading, seeing movies and entertaining people on board. In October 1962, Bhaijan came on board with the actress Saeeda Khan who was acting in his film "Main Shaadi Karne Chala". I got talking to her and asked her out to dinner which she readily accepted. Meanwhile the Indo-Chinese war started and a state of emergency was declared. We were told to be in uniform all the time so that when I went for my dinner date with Saeeda to a five star hotel on Marine Drive, I had to dress up in No.6s with mess jacket, bow tie, cummerbund et al making quite a sight! Vinnie Mama and family did not quite approve of the date and any follow-up was actively discouraged!
Finally we got the long awaited order that our ship would be taken in for refit but in Garden Reach Workshop at Calcutta. This meant a double demotion for me as NHQ appointed a temporary CO, LCDR KC Divakaran, a diehard old-time surveyor, for our passage and LT Ravi Khanna as the XO. I became the Navigating Officer which at least was very interesting, important and useful after all the rusting of more than a year. After some patchwork repairs, we sailed with Godavari as our escort. Our passage was safe and smooth and the only incident I remember was the CO asking me if I had procured Weir's Azimuth Diagrams. I had never even heard of them but the Captain wondered how I would find sun's bearings without them. I told him that we were taught to use the Nautical Almanac but the Captain was not convinced and asked me to get them from Navigation (ND) School during our stay at Cochin. At the ND School, LCDR JG 'Podgy' Nadkarni (later CNS) laughed at me and said nobody since Nelson had used them. At my insistence, he asked his assistant to give me a few if he could find them which he did.
Armed with the diagrams we sailed from Cochin and were soon in the Gulf of Mannar with no land visible. It was time to exchange the noon position with Godavari and I took a sun sight and worked out our position which was a little away from the DR (a position based on course and speed). The Captain wanted to cross check and asked for the Diagram. On opening the blessed thing, we discovered that the Diagram was valid only for Latitudes 75* N. to 90*N. It was then that I learnt that Weir's Diagrams are latitude specific. A lesson learnt but of no use as nobody ever asked for these diagrams again! But the Captain was wild and I got a good 'bottle' (naval term for scolding) from him at my incompetence. When asked for our position by Godavari, the Captain, not trusting my working, asked me to give a position close to the DR. I had the last laugh when the position given by Godavari happened to be the same as mine!
We reached Calcutta without any other incident or 'bottle'. On opening the mail awaiting us, I found a letter of appointment ordering me to join Khukri at Bombay forthwith. Before leaving, I did find time hear the famous Pam Crain singing at a restaurant on Chowringhee Lane.
Gomati was awaiting a refit but was down on priority and her turn was just not coming up. Meanwhile, we learnt of a merchant ship, Maharashmi, in distress off Port Albert Victor on the Gujarat coast and our Captain smelt an opportunity to do something useful. So he volunteered to rush for support and we sailed in rough monsoon weather to assist Maharashmi. We rendezvoused with the ship, established communications and told her we would take her in tow in the morning. At night rounds, however, our XO, second-in-command, discovered a major leak in one of the aft magazines (ammunition compartments). Efforts to stop the leaks failed and the magazine continued to flood. It was therefore decided to immediately head back to Bombay on our own. We barely managed to make it back to harbour what with the battering of the monsoon winds and waves taking a toll of the weak hull. The flooding kept increasing causing half the after section of the ship to be underwater!
That ensured an alongside berth for the ship and no more sailing. It also cost LCDR Batra further promotion which was a pity because I thought he was a competent and caring officer who deserved better.
We had a lively wardroom and often had parties with guests from Bollywood. Our Engineer Officer, LCDR Dileep Bhandari, was married to the well-known actress, Yashodhara Katju. Our Supply Officer, Lt YN Sharma, claimed that he was the Rakhi brother of Nargis. We never saw her on board but YN used to bring her real brother Anwar frequently to the ship. When offered a drink, Anwar would ask for a 'peeli' or 'hari' (presumably a Drambuie or Creme de Menthe) which he had had on an earlier occasion! I would often invite Vinnie Mama, Mamiji and her brother Roop K Shorey (Bhaijan) on board. Bhaijan loved his drink and would never be in a hurry to leave. On one occasion we wound up after midnight and when I went to see them off at Lion Gate, the security JCO said the gates were closed for guests. Bhaijan promptly offered to go back to the ship which had the otherwise strict JCO break out in smile and he graciously let Bhaijan go!
We missed the '61 Goa Liberation action but our Squadron Commander D22 was kind enough to get us two big flasks of red wine which were equally divided between the married folks and the three bachelors on board. We bachelors decided to finish our flask on a saturday afternoon, The wine was very smooth and we didn't feel the effect till we stood up and were knocked out for about 16 hours! Incidentally, Lt JK (Jack) Suri, later a casualty as XO Khukri in the '71 war and I were the 2 bachelors staying on board in a 3-berther cabin known as 'Arab Quarters' for some unknown reason. Jack often complained that rats used to nibble at his toes at night and even showed me teeth marks. I asked him why he didn't kick away the rats but he said he didn't realise he was being bitten as he used to sleep through it!
Being in no state to sail and with an endless wait for refit, NHQ transferred our CO and XO which saw Jack becoming the acting CO with me as his XO! Fond of movies, we used to see all the new releases and more. Those were the heydays of Shammi Kapoor who came out with "Junglee" and its "Yahoo, Chaahe Kohi Mujhe Junglee Kahe" and "Tumsa Nahin Dekha" and its popular theme song. In the latter movie, Rajendra Nath as his sidekick was given the task of identifying Shammi's girlfriend by uttering the lines 'Teri aankhen nahin yeh to teer hain' and 'Oh tera kya kehna' at all the passing girls and getting thrashed in the bargain. "Chaudhvin Ka Chand" and its romantic theme song and "Hum Dono" with its "Abhi Na Jao Chhod Kar" were other movies that come to mind.
By the end of the year, Jack too got transferred and I became the Captain of the destroyer as a Lt of less than a year's seniority! I moved into the Captain's cabin and felt elated. At that time, Shashi Mama's family was away in Jaipur and he was staying on his ship Trishul at anchorage. When Janamashthmi came he was wondering how to keep his fast and break it at midnight after puja. I asked him to come on board and at midnight, we performed puja in front of a painting of Lord Krishna in my cabin and ate specially made puris, aloo and suji halwa before I saw him off in the 0030 boat back to his ship.
Time passed by in the humdrum of life on a ship permanently alongside with nothing exciting happening. In spare time I kept myself busy reading, seeing movies and entertaining people on board. In October 1962, Bhaijan came on board with the actress Saeeda Khan who was acting in his film "Main Shaadi Karne Chala". I got talking to her and asked her out to dinner which she readily accepted. Meanwhile the Indo-Chinese war started and a state of emergency was declared. We were told to be in uniform all the time so that when I went for my dinner date with Saeeda to a five star hotel on Marine Drive, I had to dress up in No.6s with mess jacket, bow tie, cummerbund et al making quite a sight! Vinnie Mama and family did not quite approve of the date and any follow-up was actively discouraged!
Finally we got the long awaited order that our ship would be taken in for refit but in Garden Reach Workshop at Calcutta. This meant a double demotion for me as NHQ appointed a temporary CO, LCDR KC Divakaran, a diehard old-time surveyor, for our passage and LT Ravi Khanna as the XO. I became the Navigating Officer which at least was very interesting, important and useful after all the rusting of more than a year. After some patchwork repairs, we sailed with Godavari as our escort. Our passage was safe and smooth and the only incident I remember was the CO asking me if I had procured Weir's Azimuth Diagrams. I had never even heard of them but the Captain wondered how I would find sun's bearings without them. I told him that we were taught to use the Nautical Almanac but the Captain was not convinced and asked me to get them from Navigation (ND) School during our stay at Cochin. At the ND School, LCDR JG 'Podgy' Nadkarni (later CNS) laughed at me and said nobody since Nelson had used them. At my insistence, he asked his assistant to give me a few if he could find them which he did.
Armed with the diagrams we sailed from Cochin and were soon in the Gulf of Mannar with no land visible. It was time to exchange the noon position with Godavari and I took a sun sight and worked out our position which was a little away from the DR (a position based on course and speed). The Captain wanted to cross check and asked for the Diagram. On opening the blessed thing, we discovered that the Diagram was valid only for Latitudes 75* N. to 90*N. It was then that I learnt that Weir's Diagrams are latitude specific. A lesson learnt but of no use as nobody ever asked for these diagrams again! But the Captain was wild and I got a good 'bottle' (naval term for scolding) from him at my incompetence. When asked for our position by Godavari, the Captain, not trusting my working, asked me to give a position close to the DR. I had the last laugh when the position given by Godavari happened to be the same as mine!
We reached Calcutta without any other incident or 'bottle'. On opening the mail awaiting us, I found a letter of appointment ordering me to join Khukri at Bombay forthwith. Before leaving, I did find time hear the famous Pam Crain singing at a restaurant on Chowringhee Lane.
Pam Crain sang at the then famous Mocambo!
ReplyDeleteWhat memories. Thanx as always.
ReplyDeleteVijji
Lucky you... you got to listen to Pam Crain sing! Incidentally, your other 'date' Sayeeda Khan met a tragic end: https://youtu.be/UL9zUtUwnkk
ReplyDeleteSad to hear this. I had no contact with her after 1962.
Delete