TO BOMBAY AS FLEET OPERATIONS OFFICER

After a number of appointments from 1961 to 1969 on ships based in Bombay, I had left the city for Cochin in December ’69. I was then away for a good 13 years before returning to Bombay in December ’82 as the Fleet Operations Officer (FOO), Western fleet. An important professional and responsible job, the only thing I didn’t like about it was that people called you ‘FOO’, winking that ‘L’ was silent!

Shumita had just started schooling in nursery but Ruchir had to complete his term, so initially I moved on my own. Admiral Nayyar had already taken over as the Fleet Commander and we were soon sailing for exercises. For flagship, we alternated between the new Rajput commanded by Capt SW (Shreeni) Lakhkar and Vindhyagiri, commanded by Capt NN (Baby) Anand. Adm Nayyar and I got on well together and I fondly remember our walks up and down on the wings of the Bridge of our flagship whenever there was a lull between exercise serials.

Akhila and I wanted the kids to settle in their Bombay Schools as early as possible but there was a mismatch with Delhi finishing the academic year in March and Bombay in February. Akhila managed to persuade the Principal of Delhi Public School to give Ruchir an early promotion and the family shifted to Bombay mid-January. After a short stay in the MES Inspection Bungalow, we moved to our allotted accommodation in Gemini in the Navy Nagar, Colaba. 

End-February, the Fleet sailed on a cruise to Muscat, Bahrain and Dubai. It was an enjoyable visit and we were looked after well in all three ports. I had been to Bahrain and Dubai before but Muscat was new to me. Cdr YN Sharma, who had joined us as the NHQ representative, and I explored the outskirts of the city in a car organized for us with an Indian chauffeur who played Bollywood songs throughout our ride. Now whenever I hear the song “Jehan Teri Yeh Nazar Hai” from ‘Kaalia’, the vision of our drive in Muscat countryside flashes in my mind. 

While in Dubai, we got the news that our government had allowed the import of colour TVs. I immediately went and bought a Hitachi TV. On return to India, some people advised me not to declare it to the Customs but I insisted on doing so. The Customs did not accept my cash memo and levied a heavy duty which I paid. I then went to my friend, Cdr Halim Talibuddin, who was working with the Customs on deputation. He directed me to the Commissioner (Appeals), Mr. Joglekar, who ordered that I should be charged as per my cash memo and the excess amount refunded. A good amount of money was recovered and my stand on declaring the TV vindicated.

End-March, Adm Nayyar was transferred to Cochin as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command (FOCinC South) but no relief appointed. That meant I was virtually heading the Fleet planning all sailings and exercises! For actual sailings, there was the SOPA (Senior Officer Present Afloat) taking charge but it was made clear that he would exercise no control over the Fleet Staff and would conduct exercises using his ship’s staff. Mostly, Capt Baby Anand, CO Vindhyagiri, was the SOPA and we appreciated each other’s position well. One good thing about sailing with him was the high quality of food made possible by the fact that the fruits and vegetables were fresh from his farm on the outskirts of Bombay.

Upto that time, Replenishment At Sea (RAS), i.e. transfer of fuel, stores and personnel, was confined to a maximum of three ships with the supply ship engaging the two receiving ships on either side. Adm Tahiliani, FOCinC West, discussed with me the possibility of involving 5 ships simultaneously. For the next sailing, the Admiral embarked on board Vindhyagiri and brought along Mr Julio Ribeiro, Commissioner Police, Bombay. We successfully carried out RAS with 5 ships for the first time and a helo from Vindhyagiri took photos one of which adorns a wall in my living room in Jaipur. Subsequently, Fleet Commanders have gone ahead with increasing the number of ships to 9.

Some political unrest was stirring in Mauritius and the Fleet was sailed to Goa to be in readiness if required. As there was no Fleet Commander, VAdm Mookerjee, Vice Chief of Naval Staff, flew down to Goa to take charge of the Fleet. Fortunately, the situation stabilised soon and the Fleet returned to Bombay. 

End-April, after a gap of over a month, we had a proper FOCWF with the appointment of Vice Admiral IJS Khurana. 

In July, Admiral Dawson, CNS, scheduled a major exercise with all available ships and a submarine participating. CNS’s intention was to test the efficiency of ships in detecting and holding contact of a submarine in heavy monsoon conditions. The weather really turned rough with the result that ships were finding it difficult to maintain course and speed and a large number of personnel were seasick. In the chaotic situation, I remembered a joke told to me by Babuji, my father-in-law: a musical show was underway with some really atrocious fare by the performers. A tough, fearsome guy mounted the stage brandishing a sword. The performers started to scamper away but the swordsman ordered them to sit down and carry on with the show. He shouted, “Go on, you keep singing and playing, I have no quarrel with you. I am looking for the guy who scheduled this performance.”

I repeated the joke to the Naval Adviser to CNS and added, “Don’t blame the ships, let them carry on whatever they are doing. Let’s look for the guy who scheduled this exercise.” This was probably conveyed to the CNS as he appeared to look askance at me whenever he saw me after that. 

Adm Khurana and I were getting used to working with each other when I was suddenly appointed CO Trishul bringing an end to my 10-month term as FOO.

ROLLY LEWIN AS I KNEW HIM

 

Navy Foundation message routinely said, “Deeply regret to inform the demise of Commodore Roland Derek Lewin…” For those of us who knew him well, it was sad and disturbing though ‘Rolly’ as he was popularly known, had been keeping unwell for five years and more since he suffered a stroke.

Rolly was a year senior to me being from 12th NDA Course to my 14th. Since we were from different squadrons, I didn’t know him then. Our acquaintance came about when we were posted as Divisional Officers in the NDA in 1964-65. Rolly had just got married and I was a bachelor but the naval community was small and close and we stuck together at social functions and wherever else. 

I really got to know him well when we became shipmates on Trishul in 67-68. We had just completed our respective specialisations and Rolly was appointed as the Navigation Officer and I as the Communications Officer of the frigate Trishul. We spent most of the day together on the ship’s bridge and got along with each other splendidly. Rolly had a good appetite and the Wardroom steward was instructed to bring cheese and ham sandwiches and cocktail sausages with coffee up to the bridge every hour. I am a vegetarian but have to confess that Rolly corrupted me to savour chopped ham and a piece of sausage now and then!

With Bunny Suri followed by Jayanto Roy Chowdhry as the Gunner and Gulu Kumar the Torpedo and Anti-Submarine expert, we combined to form a well-knit, proficient operational team which never let the ship or the Captain down.

Rolly and I shared a love for music and in spare time, had songs like “Hey Jude” and “Black Is Black” blasting at full volume. Staid people like the Electrical Officer and President Wardroom Committee, opted to stay out of the Wardroom and have meals in their cabins at least one deck away!

Following Trishul, Rolly and I were together at Cochin in ND and Signal Schools respectively as Chief Instructors. For exercises, we were often called upon to assist CO Venduruthy on his operational staff. I have elsewhere described how an exercise went hilariously wrong. Briefly, two units of the Cochin force which were to rendezvous in a position designated as RR (Romeo Romeo), could never meet throughout the exercise due to an encoding error in transmitting the RR coordinates. This resulted in the Bombay fleet carrying out their task of attacking Cochin successfully with the defending ships wasting their time desperately searching for Romeo Romeo. The morning after the debrief where the mystery of the elusive RR was solved, Commodore Malia, CO Venduruthy, Rolly and I were at a Basketball match. Cmde Malia came to the two of us and said, “You know, the rendezvous incident reminded me of Shakespeare’s play ‘Julius Kaiser’ where Juliet goes around searching for her lover muttering ‘Romeo Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?’” All of us burst out laughing for a long time. Later, we discovered that Cmde Malia was an MA in English, so his remarks were probably not out of ignorance but deliberate to make us laugh.

After Cochin, we went our separate ways but were again brought together for about a month on the team at NHQ looking into the Mysore mutiny. I was married by then and we were put up in Kotah House along with the Lewins. That allowed Akhila and Marcia to spend time with and get to know each other.

There would be a long gap before we could meet again. I was on the East Coast while Rolly was more on the West. Then I went to Singapore and our next and last meeting was in March 1988 when I came on leave to Delhi. Rolly was Director Naval Operations (DNO). I visited him in his office in the War Room sitting with his feet on the table without shoes and with stockings rolled down. I asked him what if the Deputy Chief or some other senior officer walked in. Rolly said, “When they superseded me, I declared that I would put my feet on the table and that is just what I am doing.” We talked about the good old days for a while before I came away,

Soon after, both of us retired and he settled down in Bangalore and I in Delhi. In 2017, Akhila and I went to Coorg and spent a couple of days in Bangalore. I spoke on phone to Rolly who sounded low and told me he was not keeping well as he had recently had a stroke. Time and space did not permit me to visit him. Now I wish I had walked that extra mile.

Looking at Rolly’s appointments, I see that he commanded two frontline ships, Sindhudurg and Udaygiri, he was Fleet Operations Officer Western Fleet, DNO, Chief Instructor (Navy) at Staff College, Wellington, and had graduated from the National Defence College, New Delhi. So why was he overlooked for flag rank? Unfortunately, Navy does not provide answers. 

Rolly was an intelligent, honest, bold and upright officer. Wish there were more like him.

  

TWO SONGS TO PONDER OVER

 

Oh for the songs of ‘50s and early ‘60s when life was simple and so were the songs. Before The Rolling Stones burst on the scene with "Let's Spend The Night Together", the advent of drug culture and protests over the Vietnam War, all in the second half of '60s, songs were just pure expressions of love from the songwriters and the singers, straight from the heart. There was a song for everything from falling in love, holding hands, a kiss, misunderstandings, heartbreaks, to wanting to make up. 

Bing Crosby professed "True Love". The song has a special resonance with me as it brings to mind the lengthy arguments I used to have with my coursemate and shipmate on Betwa in 1967, Bobby Bhandoola. "True Love" for me meant platonic love and I would argue in its favour while Bobby maintained that it did not exist!

Other notable songs of that genre had Elvis Presley wishing to be his love’s “Teddy Bear”, Herb Alpert declaring “This Guy’s In Love With You”, The Beatles simply wanting to “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”, ‘Satchmo’ Armstrong asking for “A Kiss To Build A Dream On” and Tom Jones leaving it to his love to do as she pleased with “Help Yourself.” 

As love progresses, so do problems. When going away for a while, Perry Como cautioned “Don’t Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes”, Dean Martin said, “Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder, For Somebody Else”, Pat Boone sang “I Almost Lost My Mind” at the possibility of losing his love and The Equals pleaded “Baby Come Back.” The point of no return reached in Frankie Sinatra or Eddie Fisher's "I'm Walking Behind You" 'on your wedding day'.

So that that stage is not reached, two songs sound the warning bell. The first is about hurting the one you love through hasty and thoughtless words which is something most of us could be guilty of at sometime or the other. Ponder over the words of The Mills Brothers' bittersweet song from way back 1948:-

“You always hurt the one you love

The one you shouldn’t hurt at all

You always take the sweetest rose

And crush it till the petals fall.

You always break the kindest heart

With a hasty word you can’t recall, so

If I broke your heart last night

It’s because I love you most of all.”

For good effect, sung thrice!

In similar vein, Neil Young sang-

"The saddest words of tongue and pen

Are these four words, 'It might have been'.

We had big dreams, We made big plans,

How could they slip, Right through our hands.

Instead of tearing our romance to pieces,

Why don't we try to right what we've done wrong.

It's not too late, To set things straight,

Let's never say, 'It might have been'."