January was a harsh month; two dear friends went to their heavenly abode. Some memories.
1955-58. Melvyn Charles Kendall, affectionately known as Mel or Mel Charles, and I are naval cadets in NDA. He is in 'I' (Item) Squadron and I in 'F' (Fox) for first term and then in 'K' (King) for the rest. For the first two years, we hardly meet being in different squadrons and academic classes but in fifth and sixth terms, our interaction increases with the introduction of subjects for naval cadets.
July 1958. We board the cadet training ship, Tir. I am among the very seasick and Mel among the less. So to make fun of the seasick, he coins a phrase he repeatedly shouts whenever a seasick guy scrambles to throw up over the guardrails, "Hol-tol-tol, hol-tol-tol.' Between sickness and anger, the guy forgets he is on the windward side and ends up puking all over himself!
We move on to Mysore as Midshipmen. We are being shown around the various compartments of the ship by a senior sailor. Mel is in the rear with one of the two Nigerians training with us. In the Engine Room, the Nigerian in his not very clear accent asks Mel, "Vath room is this?" Mel replies, "This is not bathroom." Nigerian, "No no, vath room is this." Mel, "I told you this is not bathroom." Nigerian, "I know this is not vathroom. Vaath room is this?" Mel, "And I keep telling you this is not baathroom." They almost come to blows but we had strong men like BB Singh and James Gill who kept them at bay. But Mel did not enlighten the Nigerian with what room it was!
The ship's concert is on and Midshipmen have to perform. Mel Kendall, Roy Chow, Ashok Sinha, Magoo Nehra and I form a group I christen as "The Five Off-Keys" and sing the hit song of those days, "Tom Dooley" made popular by "The Kingston Trio".
On 01 January 1960, we are commissioned as officers and promoted to the rank of Sub Lieutenant. We serve on different ships and then are appointed as Divisional Officers in the NDA. We stay in the Officers' Mess and get together on most evenings for a drink and singsong session with other bachelors.
To different ships again and then we undergo specialisation, Mel in 'Torpedo and Anti-Submarine' and I in 'Communications'. In 1970, we are both posted in Cochin. Most of our coursemates have got married while three of us, Mel, Ashok and I are still surviving as bachelors, stay in nearby cabins and run into each other all the time. One afternoon I walk into Mel's cabin and find him in an unusally foul mood. When queried, he says another friend had borrowed his nailcutter and broken it into two. "Man, he cut his toenails with my nailcutter. Can you believe it, cutting toenails with a nailcutter?" I hummed and hawed and made a hurried exit. I have always been cutting my toenails with a nailcutter, apparently a sin in Mel's books!
Another rule from Mel - never eat seafood in months which don't have the letter 'r' in them. I am a vegetarian but pass the advice on to whoever I can.
Soon Mel meets Philomena whose family lives in a town near Cochin- Alwaye? A marriage is fixed and Mel deserts bachelorhood.
While I move East to Vishakhapatnam, Mel leaves the Navy, moves to Bangalore and we lose touch. I too get married and in 1978, am on the Directing Staff in Wellington, Coonoor. One evening, the doorbell rings and I am delighted to see a grinning Mel. Philomena has a property in Ooty which they frequently visit and on finding out that I am in Wellington, decides to give us a surprise. From then on, we exchange a number of visits till I get transferred, leave the Navy and find a job in New Delhi.
In 1992, I am at office when I receive a call and the man on the line says he is from the Central Bureau of Investigation looking into bribing charges against our Company. I am a bit confused while he goes on saying things which I have no knowledge of. Finally, he bursts into laughter and reveals he is Mel. We meet and talk about old times till he goes back to Bangalore.
We speak to each other off and on and in 2017, Akhila and I go to Bangalore and ring up Mel. He says he is in Ooty with Philomena who has had a stroke. So we are disappointed that we are not able to meet them. Sometime later, on return to Delhi, we are told of Philomena's passing away.
And then on 8 January this year, we get a message from Kaustav, late Roy Chow's son, that Mel had a fall and has passed away. He also forwards a touching poem written by Mel's sons, Chris and Jeffrey, as a tribute to Mel with each verse beginning with letters, MELVYN CHARL KENDAL.
Zoom back to January 1956. I have been shifted to 'K' and the 15th Course joins, two naval cadets of which, Vijay Malhotra and Lalit Talwar, are in my Division. We cross paths off and on.
Fast forward to September 1967. Viji (that's how he is generally called by most though a few address him as 'Mallu') Malhotra and I are in Cochin together for our Long 'C' (Communications) course. Rita, his wife, is in Delhi expecting their first child, so Viji is staying in a cabin across the road from mine. We hit it off well and spend a lot of time together at studies as well as at leisure.
One afternoon, I walk into his cabin and find him fiddling with a whisky bottle. It is too early for a drink and he is not very fond of alcohol so I ask him what he is up to. He says he suspects his bearer of drinking his whisky and replacing it with water to maintain the previous level. So he is sticking a hair in the bottle top and if that disappears, he would know that the bearer is guilty.
The next day he tells me that the bearer fell in the trap and admitted his guilt. From then on, I have always called him 'Bond'. In any case, he always introduces himself as "Malhotra, Vijay Malhotra", in true James Bond style.
Midway through the Course, Rita gives birth to Nikhil and they come to Cochin. Viji moves to a house where I am always welcome. Rita accepts me like a family member.
On successful completion of our Course, we are off to Bombay, Viji to join Khukri and I, Trishul. Viji has a Standard Vanguard so he decides to fly Rita and Nikhil while he and I drive his car to Bombay.
After our seatime, Viji is transferred to NHQ Delhi and I to Signal School Cochin. Whenever I go to Delhi on duty or leave, I stay with Viji and Rita in their Defence Colony home. Viji has acquired an Akai music system and my favourite way of spending time is to turn it on and listen to Santana's "Evil Ways" booming from the big hi-fi speakers.
While in Delhi, Rita and Viji win the All-India Wills' "Made for Each Other" contest.
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