ON BOARD INSV SUDARSHINI IN NEW YORK

Old and tired of long flights, Akhila and I had no plans to go to the USA this year. Then Shumita decided to go to NYC with her boys in their summer vacation and asked us to come too. At first, we declined but they along with Ruchir kept persuading us and finally we had to surrender! And so we flew from Delhi to NYC via Rome end-May planning our return after 4th of July which is Akhila's birthday. 

We have been aware since 1974 that 4 July is USA's Independence Day. That year I was doing my Staff  College course and we had as our neighbours a Major Mehle, US Army, his wife and three petite daughters. They invited us to a party on 4 July and that is how we came to know the importance of the day to Americans. We were all delighted that on that day, we were going to have a double celebration.

What we didn't know was that this year was the 250th anniversary of American independence. We learnt that only on arrival in New York as also that the celebrations were going to be on a big scale. Going through the long list of events slated for about a month, what caught my eye was the "Sail 4th 250" schedule which included an International Naval Review and a Parade of Sail. It occurred to me that Indian Navy might be sending a ship. I got in touch with my friends in NHQ who confirmed that INSV (Indian Navy Sailing Vessel) Sudarshini was on its way to New York to take part in the celebrations and gave me contact details of Cdr Ravikanth, Commanding Officer of the vessel.

Cdr Ravikanth messaged me to say that they were going to be in New York 04-08 July berthed at Brooklyn Pier 1 and invited us to visit the ship. So on 5th afternoon, after the ship had finished her official commitment of participation in the Review and Parade of Sail, Akhila, Ruchir and I went on board for a memorable visit being the first time we were visiting a vessel of this kind and that too in foreign shores!

A smart cadet took us on a round of the vessel. Sudarshini is a sail training ship built by Goa Shipyard for our Navy and commissioned on 27 January 2012. She is a three-masted barque with the mainmast 113 feet high thus earning the right to be called a 'tall ship.' With a length of 54 metres (177 feet), she is fitted with 20 sails supplemented by two engines for sailing in unfavourable wind conditions. She has a crew of 5 officers and 31 sailors and can remain at sea for over 20 days at a time. Her prime purpose is to train naval and coast guard cadets in sailing, seamanship and navigation as also retracing routes used by ancient mariners reliving maritime history and legacy. 

Sudarshini has been a great ambassador for Indian Navy right from the word go. In her very first year, she visited 13 ports in 9 ASEAN countries and embarked foreign cadets from the latter. Till 2025, she had covered 140000 nautical miles equivalent of 260000 kms. This year, she departed Cochin (I still love the old name for Kochi) on 20 January for Lokayan 26, a 10-month long transoceanic sail expedition across 18 ports and 13 countries covering 22000 nautical miles. Before arriving in the USA, she had taken part in the French tall ship marine festival of Escale a Sete 2026.

Apart from New York, the ship participated in Sail 250 events in Norfolk, Baltimore and Boston in the USA. She was among 60 tall ships from 26 countries that took part in the festivities. As I write this, I learn that the ship has started on its return journey to India by first heading to Ponta Delgado, Azores, Portugal.

In 1986, as the Defence Adviser in Singapore, it was my pleasure and privilege to host Trishna, the first Indian sail boat to circumnavigate the oceans. 40 years later, it was with a sense of pride and much delight that I stepped on board a ‘tall’ Indian Naval sail ship in foreign waters halfway across the world from India.

May fair winds always be with Sudarshini.

CENTURION WENGER'S AND OTHER CP HAUNTS

Recently, there have been a number of articles on Wenger's, perhaps the oldest confectionery in Delhi, celebrating its 100th anniversary. I have myself been frequenting it since early 1950s and it is definitely my number 1 as far as confectioneries go. Anytime I go to Connaught Place, I indulge in its Lemon Tart, and for birthdays and anniversaries, it is my go-to place for a Black Forest Cake and Cheese Straws. 

Karan Thapar in his recent Hindustan Times column "The delight Wenger's has been for Delhi for 100 years", traces the history of the confectionery and then goes on to write about his other old favourite shops in Connaught Place some of which no longer exist. And that triggered my memory of my own old haunts in days of yore.

A shop I shall never forget was "Marques and Co." which for ages had been a market leader in selling musical instruments. My association with it again goes back to the early '50s when I was studying in St. Xavier's School in Jaipur. I had become a regular listener of Radio Ceylon and its Western music but the only source of my own records was Vinnie Mama's annual visits home on leave from the Navy. Then Rajendra 'Sunny' Sahai, two years my senior and elder brother of my dear friend Yadu, went to Delhi to study in St. Stephen's and informed me that Marques in Connaught Place sold English records. From then on till I myself joined the Navy, whenever I went to Delhi which was quite often,  I would make a beeline to the shop and come out with an armload of 78 rpm records and Marques' Annual Songbook so that I could sing songs like "Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes" correctly to someone, if required!

In 2001, after we moved to our present abode in New Delhi, Shumita wanted a piano. So off we went to Marques and Co. and selected a Yamaha. Marques Sr., the founder of the shop was no more and the shop was being run by his son who could play a number of instruments and had been a part of many bands. He readily offered to teach Shumita to play the piano. For many months till Shumita acquired the necessary skill and confidence, he came to our house regularly and we would gossip about songs, singers and bands of old times. Some years back, Marques Jr. passed away too and I learnt that with no one to run it, the shop also had to pull down its shutters. Sad!

The other haunt of mine was the The Cellar, a nightclub and discotheque with throbbing and pulsating music and psychedelic lights. Many an evenings I spent there including one in 1973 with Akhila on her birthday, 4th of July. Both of us have a vivid memory of a very pregnant foreign young lady, perhaps an American, jiving and twisting as if she were Jayne Mansfield in "The Girl Can't Help It"! Pity, The Cellar too ceased to exist quite sometime ago.

But Wenger's continues its journey into a second century and may it live long. Akhila and I visited it last evening and crowds were thronging it resulting in many items having been sold out. We met the modest and self-effacing former manager, Charanjeet Singh, who still spends a lot of time in the shop. We were glad to see that the shop is keeping pace with the times. For, while preserving the quality of its trademark products like cakes, tarts and cookies, it also stocks Macarons, Burger Pizza, and special breads like the Italian Foccacia.

As for us, we stuck to the good old Lemon Tart and Cheese Straws.