AS DIRECTOR NAVAL SIGNALS

 

I took over as Director Naval Signals (DNS) in Naval Headquarters (NHQ) early March 1981. I was then the juniormost Director in the Navy in the rank of Acting Captain taking over from someone who was a Commodore and moving on promotion to Rear Admiral. It did good to my ego to be privileged thus although as far as NHQ was concerned, it was more a matter of availability than any honour being bestowed. Anyway, it felt nice to be head of the branch of my specialization. 

It is worth noting that my Army and Air Force counterparts were a Lieutenant General and an Air Vice Marshal respectively. There were some joint services committees where the chairmanship went by rotation to the person longest in office. With changes of the Army and Air Force Signal Chiefs, I became Chairman of these committees. This led to an embarrassing situation with my heading committees with officers upto three ranks senior to me. As Commodore in the Navy is an appointment rather than a rank, NHQ could have considered making me a Commodore as long as I was DNS but that was not done. To save face, the two Signal Chiefs sent their deputies for such meetings but even then, those officers were a rank or two senior to me!  

At this time, we were allotted our regular accommodation in the Services Enclave on Sardar Patel Marg. So we shifted from Pragati Vihar after about 10 months of living in a cramped but enjoyable space. 

While in the SI Directorate (Dte) I had made plans to go to Srinagar and Gulmarg in May with my family and stay in the Mess the Dte had there. I took some leave and we drove up to Srinagar. Our accommodation was just the right distance away from the hustle and bustle of the city and was exclusively ours. To top it all, the Army officer-in-charge had Bijnor connections being a cousin of Prakash Mehra whose film ‘Laawaris’ had just been released. We went to see it and thoroughly enjoyed it particularly Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Mere Angane Mein’.

We then went to Gulmarg where the SI Dte had a small hut. The next day we rode ponies to go up to the glacier of Khilenmarg and then a sleigh ride up to Al Pathar, the frozen lake on the border with Pakistan. The majestic scene of the mountains and the vast lake was truly breathtaking.

During the pony ride back to Gulmarg, Akhila started feeling unwell. I was riding close to her trying to lift up her spirits and telling her to hold on for a few minutes more. As we were passing the town centre close to our hut, Akhila collapsed and slid off the saddle. Fortunately, the guide accompanying us managed to catch her before she hit the ground. We were opposite a cheap hotel and carried her to the nearest room and lay her on a slept-in bed. Soon, the occupant of the room, a hippie foreigner, walked in and seeing our predicament, sat down patiently. Akhila had fainted but soon came to and opened her eyes. When she took in the seedy surroundings, the dirty bed and the hippie, she jumped up like a jack-in-the-box and ran out shouting, “What has happened, where am I?” I have never seen anyone recover so fast from being unconscious to hyper-conscious!

The rest of the trip passed smoothly and it was back to work in Delhi. Our major concern was improving the two fleets’ tactical communications and we took steps to improve by requisitioning new equipment and upgrading existing ones. A major irritant was the erratic functioning of telephone lines and naval trunk facilities. This was not directly under our control dependent as we were on the P&T department for landlines but for everyone in NHQ, DNS was the convenient whipping boy. One morning, I chanced upon a cartoon showing an official on the phone with the caption, “This is the Director of P&T. Your telephone is working and you have not thanked me yet.” I modified it to read, “This is the DNS, your telephone is working…..”and put a copy of the cartoon in the morning signal pack of the CNS and all the Principal Staff Officers. The only person who responded was the CNS, Adm Ronnie Pereira, who rang me up on the NHQ intercom and said with a loud guffaw, “ Ravi, my telephone is working. Thank you very much.”

On 01 March 1982, Adm Pereira retired and Adm Oscar Stanley Dawson took over. He called for a presentation from each Directorate explaining its functions and future plans. In time our turn came and the presentation went off well. Soon after, I was summoned by the CNS on a Wednesday morning in May. He said, “There is a Naval Exhibition in Genoa, Italy, beginning Monday. Go there and see if you can find some equipment you need.” I had no clue about the Exhibition and rushed to the DCNS, Vice Adm Subimal Mookherji, my immediate boss, and briefed him on my meeting with the CNS. He gave a wry laugh and said tell the CNS that the time is too short for sanctions and that I could attend something similar in the future.

I got back to office and conveyed this to the Secretary to CNS. I got a call back from him to say that the CNS had spoken to the Defence Secretary, Mr. Kaul, and that I should go and see him. I did so and Mr. Kaul asked me to give my details to his PS and said that I would get my sanction by the evening. And so it came without my having to put up any case up the bureaucratic ladder! 

Contrast this with a normal case a little later. We had sent an inquiry for an Electronic Warfare equipment along with its qualitative requirements (QRs). After some time, we received an offer from a US firm saying that they had an equipment which met our QRs and invited us to witness its trials. We examined the offer and it seemed almost perfect. We put up a case for a team of Communication and Electrical officers to visit the US for trials. The case almost went through but then got stuck due to an objection by the Additional Finance Adviser (Addl FA), Ministry of Defence (MoD), who noted that the equipment did not meet our QRs. I went to see him and he said that the sensitivity figures were much too low compared to our requirements. Unfortunately, we had failed to spot a typo of a wrongly placed decimal. I told the Addl FA that that was an oversight and showed proof that the figure on file was an impossible one not available in any equipment the world over. Besides, the equipment more than matched all the other QRs. But the official was adamant and did not clear the case. Apparently, he was annoyed because we had earlier turned down an offer that came through the MoD for some other equipment for want of meeting our QRs.

Back to the Italian Naval Exhibition, I discovered that the delegation was being led by the ACNS (Plans), Rear Adm KK Nayyar with Cmde JN Sukul, Director Electrical Engineering, as a member. They had their sanctions weeks in advance and when I told them I was joining them, they found it hard to believe.

We took the flight to Genoa via Rome a couple of days later and were met by our Naval Attache, Cmde Madan Chopra, who took us to a boutique hotel in the seaside resort of Santa Margherita, Portofino, close to Genoa. The next few days, we spent in the Exhibition talking to various equipment manufacturers There was a weekend in between during which Adm Nayyar and Cmde Sukul went to Venice. Having been to Venice on an earlier visit, I was keen on going to the French Riviera instead. Fortunately, I found an Indian friend at the Exhibition who offered to rent a car and come along. We started off on Saturday after lunch and planned to stay in Monte Carlo or Cannes. On reaching there, we could not find a hotel with a free room. We kept driving on the coastal road past St. Tropez right upto Marseilles on the Spanish border but found all hotels were fully occupied. My friend told me the reason; that Thursday was a holiday and people had taken Friday off for what the French call a ‘pont’ (bridge) to make it a 4-day weekend. By the time we got to Marseilles, it was dark and we had to turn back. So my friend decided to head inland away from the beach and within half an hour, we found a hotel with a room.

We spent the night there and drove back making brief stops at St. Tropez, Cannes and Monte Carlo. The blue sea and the coastal scenery were breathtaking supplemented by bikini clad (or less) women tanning themselves on the beaches. Architecture of the numerous monuments was eye-catching but we had no time to stop and drove on to Santa Margherita arriving there late on Sunday night. I made a promise to myself to return some day to see the Riviera at leisure.

One evening, we were relaxing with a drink on the lawns of our hotel when Adm Nayyar mentioned that in a few months, he was going to take over command of the Western Fleet and was looking for a Fleet Operations Officer (FOO). Saying that, he looked expectantly at me and the conversation stood stalled. Breaking the silence, I said he should not have any trouble as it was an interesting and operational job. The next thing, the Admiral asked me if I would be interested. I felt I had no choice but to say yes.

On another evening, I had a narrow escape from what could have been a disastrous accident. I needed to do some shopping and walked to the nearby market. I was crossing the street when I heard the loud sound of an approaching car engine. Looking over my shoulder, I saw a sports car coming full speed at me. I darted on to the pavement and the car missed me by a whisker. The people who saw the incident were screaming with rage at the driver who didn’t stop and sped away at breakneck speed.

Exhibition over, we flew to Rome and spent a couple of days continuing our talks with company reps. I felt that I had returned to Rome perhaps thanks to the coin thrown in Trevi Fountain in 1976. So I promptly threw another one.

Back in Delhi, we got to the task of preparing the report on our visit. Meanwhile, the CNS asked me if I had found anything worth buying. I told him that I was looking at a number of options and would soon send proposals but it seemed to me that the CNS was disappointed that I had not bought anything off the shelf! 

The DCNS asked for our report and I said it was being prepared. My part of the report was ready but Adm Nayyar and Cmde Sukul were taking their time. After a few days, the DCNS said that at least I could give him my portion of the report. I felt that would be incorrect and the report should go as a whole. This seemed to have annoyed the DCNS; maybe I was being too correct and could have complied with the DCNS’s desire!

After the report was submitted, I applied for leave and drove to Nainital with my family. Meanwhile, my Joint Director took advantage of my absence and got himself included in a delegation to UK and France for purchase of helicopters. When I returned, I told him that he should have consulted me. He didn't take this very sportingly.

There was a view in the Directorate that the three Naval Commands should be kept informed of our plans for upgradation of Communication and Electronic Warfare equipments. We prepared a classified paper with instructions that it should be seen by senior officers only and passed hand to hand. It was first given to the Western Naval Command which was to pass it to the other two Commands and finally return it to us.

We were reaching the end of the year and Rear Adm Nayyar was promoted to the rank of Vice Adm and appointed Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF). My appointment as FOO followed. When I next met the DCNS, he said that I should refuse the appointment. I told him that I did not know I had an option and, in any case, it did not seem like a bad job. I did not realise that the reason for the DCNS’s unhappiness stemmed from the rivalry of the two Admirals and that I was being unwittingly caught in it! Another black mark for me in the DCNS’s book.

It was December and time for the Asiad Games. The Games had provided an impetus to manufacture TVs and we had purchased an EC TV which was reputed to be the best in India We watched most of the Games on TV but the biggest excitement was reserved for the Hockey finals which the two great rivals, India and Pakistan, had qualified for. That had to be seen live and I managed two tickets and took Akhila to watch it. There was a huge rush and while we were walking towards the entrance, we were offered enormous sums of money for our tickets. We refused to be tempted and were soon delighted to  witness the first goal which was scored by India. There was a huge roar in the stadium but soon Pakistan equalized and then scored another, then another and another and yet another! By then, there was total despair and anger all over with people unfairly targeting the poor goalkeeper because of the fact that he used to rush out to the edge of the 'D' to thwart the scoring Pak forward unsuccessfully. At halftime, we decided to get up and walk away regretting giving up the chance to have made easy money! When we reached home, we found little Ruchir playing Cricket. The Ayah said he had also stopped watching the TV at halftime. As is well known,  India had infamously lost 1-7.

I had two tickets for the Closing Ceremony and Ruchir and I rode to the new Nehru Stadium for the first time by the Ring Rail which had started running in time for the Games. The Stadium looked magnificent and the Ceremony was memorable with lovely dances, beautiful music especially composed for the event and brilliant fireworks. 

After which it was time to move to Bombay and take up my new appointment.

OUR FAMILY FAVOURITE SONGS OF YORE

 

Writing about Lata Mangeshkar, I recalled that Mataji, my Nani, used to hum ‘Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai’. But that was only from mid-60s. If I go back one moment in time, the song which she used to sing frequently in my childhood went: 

‘Jal jaane do, jal jaane do, jal jaane do is duniya ko, 

Jab jug mein sachcha pyar nahin, 

Aur sab matlab ke bande hain aur koi kisi ka yaar nahin.’

Mummy was very fond of Talat Mehmood and her top favourite was-

‘Ae dil mujhe aisi jagah le chal jehan koi na ho,

Apna paraya meherban-na, meherban koi na ho….

Ja kar kahin kho jaoon mein, neend aye aur so jaoon mein, neend aye aur so jaoon mein,

Duniya mujhe dhooden, magar mera nishaan koi na ho.’

Mummy was very fond of her afternoon siesta of two hours plus and therein hangs a tale. Pitaji, my Nana, used to tease her about the line ‘neend aye aur so jaoon mein’ for his own reasons. He Wasu very fond of Contract Bridge and had taught us all the basic fundamentals of the game. He would be anxious to start playing post-lunch after just a short power nap. Mummy was needed as the fourth to join grandpas and me but she would be locked up in her bedroom with Pitaji getting increasingly impatient. The game itself was comic. Pitaji would read a lot of books on Bridge and would be very knowledgable about Ely Culbertson convention and all and would apply the principles in his bidding with the others clueless about them. Mataji was completely off logic and could easily be egged on to bid 6 no-trumps with a couple of aces and little else in her hands. The fact that she would go six-down made her laugh but drove Pitaji up the wall!

Shashi Mama was not so much into singing as in dancing. In parties particularly on ships, it wouldn’t take long to have him swinging on his feet with lovely facial expressions and hand movements to the tune of ‘Balma ja ja ja, balma ja’ or ‘Sakiyan aaj mujhe neend nahin ayegi, suna hai teri mehfil mein rut jaga hai.’

Vinnie Mama was the singer of the family. His favourite was Pankaj Mullick and he knew all his songs. The ones I heard him sing most often were ‘Yeh kaun aaj aaya savere savere…. Kaha roop ne chand hai, chaudhvin ka, magar chand kaisa savere savere’ and ‘Aayi bahar aaj, aayi bahar aaa bahar aaj, ayi bahar bahaar,  gulshan mein liye, phoolon ike haar, bahar, aaj aayi bahar bahaar’.’

A poor warbler, I would at times attempt Pankaj’s 'Maine aaj piya piya aaa, honton ka pyala’ but mostly be content to join Vinnie Mama in ‘Sunday ke Sunday, aana meri jaan meri jaan, Sunday ke Sunday’ and ‘Gori gori, o baanki chhori, kabhi meri gali aaya karo’. 

And then, Vinnie Mama joined the Navy and sang, ‘In her hair, she wore a yellow ribbon…And if you ask, oh why the hell she wore it, she wore it for a sailor who is far far away.’

That was enough to lure me into becoming a sailor but the yellow ribbon….?!

LATA MANGESHKAR-MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE SONGS

 

Like millions of Indians and many foreigners particularly from our sub-continent, I was glued to the TV after hearing of Lata Mangeshkar’s passing away. One had a foreboding of it as she was 92 and had been seriously ill for some time. But in the end, such news always stuns one.

I then received a message from my cousin Anjula if I would be creating a blog on Lataji’s songs. My first reaction was no as I felt unequal to the task. How could I make a selection out of the huge number of songs sung by a legend? Some estimates are that she sang over 30000-50000 songs in 36 Indian and a few foreign languages. But then I took cover behind the word ‘favourite’ and felt, yes, I could do it. Favourite is a personal word and one can always take shelter behind it for accusations of omission. The seed was planted and with some prodding and encouragement by Akhila, here is the fruit.

Two choices required no thinking as they were being flashed on the TV screen repeatedly by all channels; the supremely patriotic “Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon, zara aankh mein bharlo pani, jo shaheed hue hain unki, zara yaad karo qurbani” (O my countrymen, fill up your eyes with tears, remember those martyrs who have committed the ultimate sacrifice of their lives). This song was sung by her during the Republic Day celebrations in 1963 just after the ’62 Indo-China War, at the National Stadium, New Delhi, in the presence of the President, Dr S Radhakrishnan, and the PM, Jawaharlal Nehru, and had the latter in tears.

The second one is what first put the spotlight on Lata- the literally haunting number in the 1949 film “Mahal,” ‘Ayega aanewala, ayega, ayega’. Singing on the screen was the beautiful Madhubala in the role of a ghost swinging on a 'jhoola' on the lawns of a mansion. I was a 10-year old kid when I watched the movie in Udaipur and was frightened for many sleepless nights but I loved the song. I bought the 78 rpm record which had the slow introduction on one side and the melodic main song on the reverse, and played it again and again.

1949 was a good year for Lata as even before “Mahal,” she had hits from Raj Kapoor’s movie “Barsaat”. I find at least five songs equally listenable; the title song, ‘Barsaat mein, humse mile tum sanam, tum se mile hum’, ‘Hawa mein udta jaye, mera lal dupatta malmal ka’, ‘Jiya beqarar hai, aayi bahar hai’, ‘Mujhe kisi se pyar ho gaya’ and ‘Meri aankhon mein bas gaya koi re, mujhe neend na aye’.

Next year she teamed up with Amirbai Karnataki to back up for Nalini Jaywant in the girl’s part in the very catchy song ‘Gori gori, o banki chhori, kabhi meri gali aya karo’, in the film, ‘Samadhi’. Even today, the number is a must in all our parties for singing and dancing.

In the movie, “Sazaa”, she sang a number one can get lost in and wish to remain lost, ‘Tum na jane kis jehan mein kho gaye’. Then came two ‘bachpan’ numbers, the first with Shamshad Begum in “Deedar”,‘O bachpan ke din bhula na dena, aaj hanse kal rula na dena’, and the other a solo from “Baiju Bawra”, ‘Bachpan ki muhabbat ko, dil se na juda karna, jab yaad meri aaye, milne ki dua karna’.

Lata followed up with some semi-classical numbers such as ‘Yeh zindagi usi ki hai, jo kisi ka hogaya’ in “Anarkali” and in ‘Pyar kiya toh darna kya’ in “Mughal-E-Azam”. Then in “Anpadh”, she sang  the beautiful ‘Aap ki nazron ne samjha pyar ke kaabil mujhe.’

Another haunting number came in “Bees Saal Baad”, ‘Kahin deep jale kahin dil’.  Back to reality in “Guide” with ‘Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai’, a song Mataji, my Nani, was fond of singing. Then came another semi-classical with the sound of dancing ghungroos, ‘Chalte chalte’ from “Pakeezah”. And in 1981 in “Silsila”, she wondered for Rekha, ‘Yeh kahan aa gaye hum, yun hi saath chalte chalte’, with Amitabh Bachchan reciting his lines expressing his own dilemma.

Two of Akhila’s favourites which she sings a lot are ‘Rahe na rahe hum’ from “Mamta” and the very emotional one from “Ghar”, ‘Aajkal paon zameenpar nahin padte mere, bolo dekha hai kabhi, tumne mujhe udte hue?’ which for some reason has me moved every time, welling up tears in my eyes.

Lata sang, ‘Tum mujhe bhula na paoge.’  How true!