REMEMBERING ADMIRAL CHATTERJI

 

Today, 22 November, is Admiral A.K.Chatterji's birth anniversary. Time to remember this extraordinary naval officer. 

I had written two pieces on him which were included in the book "The Admiral Who Shed His Vice". The title was based on his promotion from Vice Admiral to an Admiral. Here, I have combined my two pieces in one for those who may not have seen them and may be interested to read about him and my association with him.

In May 1965, I was cooling my heels in a cushy job as a Divisional Officer at 'J' Squadron, NDA Kharakvasla, looking after 100-odd cadets. Out of the blue, one fine morning I was summoned to the Battalion Commander’s office and told to catch the first available train to New Delhi for an interview for the appointment of Flag Lt to the Commandant, National Defence College (NDC). At that time, I did not even know what NDC stood for and who its Commandant was!

On arrival at the NDC, I met the incumbent Flag Lt who eyed me commiseratingly and hastened to add that he had played no part in disturbing me out of my peaceful stay in Kharakvasla and that the Commandant, Vice Admiral AK Chatterji had picked my name out of the short list forwarded by the NHQ. With that, I was ushered into the Admiral’s office and that was the first time I saw him.

Without any preamble, the Admiral shot the question, ‘will you take up the job as my Flag Lt?’ I was stunned by the suddenness of it all particularly as I did not know I had an option! Nobody before or thereafter, ever gave me a choice and all my appointments were by an NHQ letter directing me to such-and-such appointment DTBR, which all knowledgable naval personnel know stands for ‘date to be reported’ on assuming the appointment. A ‘yessir’ shot out of my mouth and I was told to go back to NDA, pick up my belongings and return to Delhi pronto.

As it turned out, that ‘yessir’ was the smartest reply I ever uttered for it gave me the opportunity to be close to, observe and learn from perhaps the most intelligent, professional and affable person I have known. It would be presumptuous on my part to list his numerous attributes and achievements. Very briefly though, he was the architect of the modern Indian Navy and a lot of credit for the Navy’s success in the 1971 war should be attributed to him as the acquisition of the missile boats was his brainchild with the project aptly named ‘AK' boats after his initials. Also, the acquisition of submarines and the concept of two fleets each with an aircraft carrier were proposed by him in a ten year plan paper as early as 1947 when at the age of 32, he was Director of Naval Plans in the NHQ. Although approved by the government of the day, the plans remained largely in limbo till fittingly, Admiral Chatterji took over as Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) in 1966 and began the process of implementing them..

Among his other accomplishments, he was the first Indian Captain of the cruiser Delhi at the age of 35. His handling of that large ship was legendary. He was the first full Admiral in the Indian Navy and after a 4-year term, retired at the age of 55. Today the retiring age of the CNS is 62 and not all are able to complete their 3-year term!

A big benefit of being his Flag Lt was that it gave me an opportunity to be close to his wonderful family. My engagement took place in Delhi and immediately thereafter, Akhila and I proceeded to his house to seek his and Mrs. Chatterji’s blessings. Both of them had always been extremely kind and loving and Mrs. Chatterji continued to shower us with her affection and gifts even after the Admiral had passed away. His elder daughter Bula (Purobi) and her husband Deb Mukharji I have known from the time of their engagement while I was at the NDC. The wedding took place soon after and I never fail to remind them that I was responsible for organizing the ceremony! The younger daughter Tuktuk (Probhati) and her husband Shantanu Mukherjee, who was with Air India, were together with us in Singapore when I was posted in the High Commission as the Defence Adviser and their son Mohit and our children studied together at the United World College. So a short appointment of a year as Flag Lt laid the foundation of a lifelong relationship which Akhila and I strongly cherish.

In a lighter vein, I must recount an unforgettable incident. I was told on taking over my appointment that the Admiral had a very short temper. Somehow, I was lucky never to have been in the firing line while at the NDC. But the fear lurked and I missed incurring his wrath a year later by a hair’s breadth or should I say, by a few rail level crossings!

The Admiral had become the CNS and Avinash Bhatia was his Flag Lt. I learnt that they were proceeding to Kanpur for some official function which coincided with my friend and coursemate, Premvir Das’s wedding. I asked Avinash if I could hitch a ride in the IAF aircraft and he got the Admiral’s OK.

On arrival at Kanpur airport, Army personnel met us, quickly escorted us to a couple of staff cars and spirited us away to far-off Kamala Retreat where arrangements were made for our stay. En route, we encountered a number of level crossings most of which were open so that we made the road journey quite fast. On reaching the Retreat, Admiral and Mrs. Chatterji were taken to their suite and Avinash and I to ours. We then asked the Liaison Officer about our baggage whereupon he retorted, “What baggage?” In all the hurry and flurry, the baggage had been completely forgotten and so was the Admiral’s steward! Frantic efforts were made to contact the airport but given Kanpur’s telecommunications of those days, the efforts were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, the Admiral kept ringing us up to inquire about the baggage and we kept putting him off by reminding him of the level crossings. But we could sense that the Admiral’s fuse was getting shorter by the minute! 

Finally, we got through to the airport and were told that the aircraft had flown back to Delhi and the ATC had no knowledge of any baggage or the missing steward! The earth shook under our feet and Avinash and I started contemplating a career out of the Navy. There was nothing left to do except make a clean breast of it to the Admiral.

Just then, a 3-tonner arrived with the very harassed Admiral’s steward. Fortunately, the worthy had offloaded the baggage from the plane, contacted the Army and requisitioned a vehicle to get to us!

The Admiral was not told of the near disaster, the level crossings were blamed for the delay and the rest of the stay proceeded smoothly. We not only kept our jobs but lasted in the Navy till long after the incident. The Steward was told that he would go far if he kept his mouth shut which he did!

The Admiral was a simple and honest person who endeared himself to all. He would drive to the NDC and back in his personal car eschewing the use of staff car. On tours, gifts such as a bottle of scotch would be shared with the team of officers accompanying him.

Incredibly, our government never conferred any award on him!