APPOINTMENT IN NHQ - WHAT"S ITALY GOT TO DO WITH IT

 

After leaving Staff College, we made a short trip to Lucknow to attend the marriage of Mansi’s elder son, Sharad with Sushma. It was our first visit to the historical city but we didn’t get much time to go around, busy as we were with the wedding festivities and little Ruchir just eight months old!

I reported to Captain Pat Barron, Director Naval Signals (DNS) end December 1974. He was a real gentleman, mature and unassuming. I mention this as unfortunately Long Cs (Communications Specialists), generally had the reputation of being ‘Cutthroats’ in the Navy. A saying went that you should be very careful going near them as before you know, your neck would be severed and you would find your head in your hands! Being a Long C myself, I don’t quite agree as I met enough nice officers in this lot and certainly hope no one placed me in that category. But then there were others such as my first OIC in Signal School who might have justified the accusation.

Anyway, I was given the task of looking after Electronic Warfare (EW) and was happy with that allotment as EW was a nascent field then. We were at the stage of selecting and acquiring new EW equipment and there was much to learn and do. For immediate needs, we were looking at imports while finalizing specifications for equipment to be produced indigenously at the Defence Electronics Research Laboratories (DLRL), Hyderabad.

Meanwhile in June 1975, a state of emergency was declared in India and a large number of politicians and journalists were put in jail. An atmosphere of fear prevailed to the extent that if one of us said something even remotely critical of the government, he would be immediately hushed by the others. 

So I learnt to keep my mouth shut and kept myself busy with work and affairs at home. We were staying in one of the cabins converted from outhouses of Kota House and had a small bedroom, an even smaller sitting space in front which originally must have been a verandah, and a similar space at the rear to serve as a mini kitchen, and a bathroom. The food was from the Mess and cooking was confined to supplement the mess fare but more importantly, for Ruchir’s needs.  He was not yet walking on his own, so we got him a ‘walker’. He would spend hours on the walker running up and down as fast as he could crashing into one door to the other. 

Towards the latter half of the year, Capt Barron was transferred and Cmde Kewal Krishen Nayyar took over as DNS. He was an ambitious officer but I got along with him quite well. He would not get into nitty-gritty of things and leave one to do one’s job but not suffer fools. In order to instill self-confidence in us, whenever the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS), our overall boss, had a query, he would send the Deputy Director (DD) concerned to face the DCNS unless he felt the matter was important enough to warrant his presence in which case he would accompany the DD.

In December, we shifted from Kota House to the SP Marg Officers’ (now called Battle Honours’) Mess. We had a proper bedroom, an equal size sitting room, a dressing room, bathroom and balcony. Still small but a big improvement on our previous cabin as it was a newer construction and on 3rd floor, open and sunny. The balcony faced Taj Mansingh Hotel. Presently there is a Café Coffee Day (CCD) on the boundary wall of the Mess.  CCD has therefore become our favourite coffee haunt so that we can sit and gaze at our old cabin to get a nostalgic fix. 

Cmde Nayyar’s stint was short as he was transferred in just a few months to take over as Director Naval Plans (DNP). We began the year 1976 with the new DNS, Captain Kailash Zadu, a truly remarkable officer. He was intelligent, cool and calm who would not lose his equanimity no matter how big the problem. Another unique quality was the way he dealt with senior officers; he would talk to them on the PAX (NHQ intercom) starting perhaps with a ‘sir’ but the rest of the conversation would be as if he was talking to a chum!

Meanwhile, some EW equipment we had ordered from Italy was nearing completion and the firm invited our reps to its plant in Rome to carry out its final testing and acceptance. Two officers, were required to go, one each from the DNS and the Directorate of Electrical Engineering (DEE). I was selected to go from DNS and Cdr Anil Vyas from DEE. We were also required to attend sea trials of equipment from another firm and our total trip was to be of six weeks.

To say that I was thrilled would be an understatement. From my school days, I had heard so much about Italy through movies and songs that I was in love with the country. Italy had, in fact, caught the global eye with a stream of  glamorous actresses led by the explosive Anna Magnani (a Sindhi name?!), beautiful Silvana Magnano dancing into our hearts with the catchy theme song of ‘Anna’, ravishing Gina Lollobrigida and perhaps the most famous,  dynamic Sophia Loren. Leading the actors was the charming Marcello Mastroianni, Italy’s biggest star of those days. I didn’t agree but didn’t mind one bit when Kailash Kohli used to say I looked like him!

Apart from Italian film stars, a number of Hollywood movies had brought Italy into limelight. People of my vintage would recall “Roman Holiday” in which a journalist played by Cary Grant takes a princess played by Audrey Hepburn around Rome. “Three Coins in the Fountain” with its theme song sung by the inimitable Frank Sinatra made us aware that throwing a coin in the Trevi Fountain and making a wish would make it come true and ensure a return trip to Rome. Another beautiful film on my list is “Lovers Must Learn”, also known as “Rome Adventure”. Something which keeps haunting me from the movie is the scene in which Troy Donahue and Suzanne Pleshette go to a restaurant and as they settle down, Emilio Pericoli launches into one of the best songs of all times, ‘Al Di La’. Mesmerised and gazing in Troy’s eyes, Suzanne asks him,  “What does ‘al di la’ mean?” and he whispers, “  …it’s hard to explain, it means far far away, beyond the beyond, beyond this world…”.

Was it just acting or something more? Well, Suzanne and Troy fell in love and married two years later. If I were a girl though, I would have fallen in love with the handsome singer, Emilio Pericoli!

That brings us to songs with Italian flavour. Dean Martin with his Italian heritage gave us one hit after another singing “Volare”, “That’s Amore” and “An Evening in Roma”. Luciano Pavarotti sang his heart out with Neapolitan songs like “O Sole Mio” and “Torna a Sorriento” converted into pop by Elvis Presley in “It’s Now Or Never” and “Surrender”. 

I hope this adequately sums up my joy at being deputed to Italy for 6 whole weeks!

Anil Vyas and I arrived at Leonardo da Vinci airport of Rome on the afternoon of 18 January 1976 and were received by the Indian Embassy staff. We were taken to Hotel Universo near the main railway station, Centrale Roma Termini. We were tired and went to sleep. I woke up at 2.30 at night and wondered why? It was my first experience with jet lag and I realized it was 7 am in Delhi.

In the morning, we went to the Indian Embassy and were handed over a huge wad of notes as our foreign allowance. Our feeling of being rich was quickly punctured when we learnt that the exchange rate at that time was, if my memory serves me right, around 60 lire to a rupee. We were advised to open a bank account as Rome is pretty famous for pickpockets and the embassy staff told us that a few weeks earlier, a Cdr Shekhawat, (later Chief of the Naval Staff in the 1990s), had been shorn of his passport and wallet!

Our first task was to go for sea trials of a recently developed equipment. We were flown to Brindisi airport from where we drove to the port of Taranto, way down south in the arch of the foot of Italy. Early next morning, we embarked an Italian naval ship and sailed in the Gulf of Taranto. The trials lasted a few hours after which we returned to harbour. We were due to return to Rome by an evening flight, so I asked our liaison officer if we could have a quick lunch and drive around town for a while. He agreed and took us to a restaurant. He placed the order in Italian which we didn’t follow. Dishes after dishes followed with our host relishing them while we were looking at our watches to see how much time we would have for sightseeing. I reminded our friend that we had requested for a quick lunch. He replied, “Thees is quick lunch. Faster not passeeble in Italy.” In the event, we drove straight to the airport without seeing much of Taranto or Brindisi.

Back in Rome, we went to the headquarters of the firm which was producing the equipment we had ordered. They told us that there was a glitch in the production and while they would brief us about its operation and other details, the actual inspection would not be possible for some time. I spoke to NHQ and it was decided that we would spend the next week learning whatever we could and return to India instead of wasting our time.

Weekend came which we spent sightseeing in Rome. Our first stop had to be Trevi Fountain where we duly tossed coins to ensure that we did come back.  Then we went around Central Rome stopping over to see the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Piazza Navona, Pantheum and the Spanish Steps. Next day we went to the Vatican City and walked up St. Peter’s Square on to St. Peter’s Cathedral. As we entered the Cathedral and looked at Michelangelo’s La Pieta, the organ started playing. The sound seemed to come from heaven and I stood transfixed with my eyes closed listening to the organ. I had goose pimples all over! Finally, I had to pinch myself to return to earth and proceed to the Sistine Chapel and see Michelangelo’s amazing frescoes on the ceiling.  

We found time to go to the well-known department store La Rinascente for some shopping and it was here that I first saw Lego sets which remain a craze with kids to this day. 

That Saturday evening, we decided to splurge and went for dinner at a popular restaurant with a band. Soon after, the singer began a superb song and though he sang in Italian, his vocalisation and movements conveyed the enormous passion of the song. We were told it was ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas’. It became my number one favourite in Rome and I would request it to be sung on all subsequent visits to a restaurant with a vocalist. You may be familiar with its English version ‘If You Go Away’ sung so well by Shirley Bassey. Two more songs enthralled me in Rome: ‘Il Mondo’ and ‘Grande, Grande, Grande’. The English version of the latter, ‘Never, Never, Never’ by Shirley Bassey may be more familiar to most.

Weekend over, the next few days were busy familiarizing with the equipment. Driving on the way to work, our liaison man would point to a studio with a large open area which was the location for Hollywood’s popular spaghetti westerns like “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and “A Few Dollars More” with Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef and the catchy music of Ennio Morricone.

At the end of the week, we took the flight back to Delhi. 

February passed by quickly. The firm informed us that the equipment was ready and in early March, Anil and I flew to Rome again. Thus the story of ensuring a return to Rome by throwing a coin in the Fountain was authenticated. 

Mondays to Fridays was work but we had the weekends all to ourselves.  As our breakfast was included in the room charges and the lunch was provided by the firm, we had only dinner to pay for. Delicious and inexpensive pizzas which we were eating for the first time were our usual fare. This left us with enough money to travel out of Rome. 

I planned our travel itinerary largely based on songs and on that weekend, we took the train to Naples (‘in Napoli where love is king …..That’s Amore’. From Naples we took a hydrofoil to Capri (‘Isle of Capri’). From Capri, another hydrofoil took us to Sorrento (‘Torna a Sorriento’). Then we caught a train to go back to Naples making a stopover at the ruins of Pompeii. The train ride overlooking the beautiful coastline and the Gulf of Naples was memorable and the sight of the active volcano Mount Vesuvius awesome. And then it was  ‘Buona sera, ….it’s time to say good night to Napoli’.

The following weekend, we visited Venice with its gondolas, St. Mark’s Square and Basilica and the Doge’ Palace. We went to the glass factory at Murano where we watched workers expertly shaping glass into complex figurines. We bought some that we could afford; they are expensive and exclusive.

On our final weekend, we did Florence and its landmark cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore with the famous Dome, Ufizi Gallery, Palazzo Pitti, Palazzo della Signoria distinguishing itself with Michelangelo’s David, and Ponte Vecchio spanning Arno river. From Florence to the Leaning Tower of Pisa and then the breathtaking train ride along the sea of Tuscan Archback to Civitavecchia and Rome.

We finished our work during the next week and finally it was time to sing ‘Arrividerci Roma’ but not before throwing another coin in the Trevi Fountain. Would the Fountain bless me again to return to Rome? A memorable six weeks but the irony was that in the world’s most romantic land, I had to go around without loving company!

Midway during our stay in Rome, I had got the good news of Akhila being in the family way with the baby due in October.

Back to work at NHQ pushing files and in time, we shifted to our allotted flat in SP Marg Officers’ Enclave just across the road. We had decided that we would go to Jaipur for the delivery and in early October I took leave and we went to Jaipur to my grandparents and Mummy. We had Akhila examined and the doctor said there were still a couple of weeks to go. I decided not to waste my leave and came back to Delhi. 

The next morning, I went to work and in the evening, walked across to my friend Subodh Gupta’s place and we indulged in a good amount of our favourite rum. I came back late happy and promptly went to sleep. Early in the morning, the phone rang. It was Pitaji who said, “Congratulations”. I asked what for? He said Akhila had delivered a baby girl the previous evening and that he had rung up at night but the phone was not answered. I was stunned as I had just come back a day and a half ago but apparently, Akhila started having labour pains suddenly and the baby arrived a fortnight in advance on what was also Karva Chauth. In fact, Akhila almost delivered in the car on the way to the hospital!

I went to DNS and requested leave which was immediately granted and went back to Jaipur that evening. Everyone was in fine spirits and we named our baby daughter Shumita.

We got back to Delhi after 45 days and I resumed work. Soon after, I got a call from the Director of Personnel informing me that I had been appointed to take command of “Katchall”, a Petya class patrol vessel constructed in the USSR. This was another surprise as I thought there were people senior to me still awaiting their turn to command a ship. I then learnt that many had refused to take up this appointment for a reason. Katchall was equipped with gas turbines which needed special rubber mountings. The original mountings had worn out and the ship needed new ones. There was delay in procuring them from the USSR and the Navy was offered some indigenous ones which were approved for trials. Thus a risk was involved which worried some. I did not consider getting out of the command as one, I didn’t know how to wriggle out of an appointment and two, I thought I should not miss the challenge of a command that was offered to me early.

Officers of my vintage had been brought up on UK built ships and were unfamiliar with Russian equipment. For this reason, the Navy had established a Petya Training School, Satavahana, in Vishakhapatnam which conducted a course for officers appointed for command. We contacted OiC Satavahana who launched into a long complaint about his fight with NHQ to get more staff. He showed no keenness to conduct a course for me. Capt Zadu, who had commanded Katchall earlier, told me to forget Satavahana and said he would tell me all that I required to know in 45 minutes.

He said the most unique items on the ship were its two active rudders called ‘Povrots’. He proceeded to explain how to operate them for the next half an hour. Then he ran through other equipment, gas turbines et al, for the next 10 minutes. Finally he said that the thing which bothered him most on the ship was the fact that it had only one W.C. for officers. So he devised his own method to make sure it was available to him whenever he wanted. There was an alarm bell in the Captain’s cabin for sounding ‘action stations’ all over the ship. When Capt Zadu wanted to go to the loo, he would press the bell and everyone would close up at his station letting the Captain free to sit as long as he wanted. On one occasion while he was on the pot at which he used to sit with the door unlocked, a junior officer opened the door. Without getting up or displaying any embarrassment,  the Captain yelled, “What the hell are you doing here? Why aren’t you at your station?” According to Capt Zadu, the frightened officer never visited the W.C. for the rest of his stay on board.

Capt Zadu also said that the Captain must have an individual characteristic by which his men could easily distinguish him. So for the one year he was in command, he did not have a haircut! Only a bold person like Capt Zadu could carry that off without being ticked off by his seniors.

Finally, it was time to go to Vizag. I was on joining time and had despatched my luggage and car by train. I had a Vespa scooter which I had held back for essential use. On 11 February 1977, President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed passed away. The next day, I needed to go to Connaught Place for some shopping but discovered all shops closed because of national mourning. I was driving slowly looking at the shops in the hope of finding an open one when suddenly a scooter rickshaw crossed my path from my right to take a link road to the left. The rickshaw’s rear wheel caught my front one and I went sprawling on the road. Fortunately I was wearing a helmet which was shattered but I had a deep gash on my head where the rim of the helmet had cut into my forehead which was bleeding heavily. I was completely shaken but managed to ask the rickshaw driver to take me to the MI Room on Dalhousie Road. After dropping me, the driver quickly disappeared. I rang up home and Akhila and the kids arrived soon while I was medically attended to. They were shaken to see my heavy bandage and blood-stained clothes but the helmet had saved my life.

We took it easy for the next few days while my wound healed. Luckily I had no other serious injury and we decided to stick to our programme which was for Akhila and the kids to go to Bijnor while I proceeded to Vizag to take over my ship and find a house to get the family over.

Tailpiece. Similarity with Marcello Mastroianni was a bit far-fetched but when I was young, people did say I resembled Dirk Bogarde. Also, I have often been told that I resemble Balraj Sahni. On a trip to New York, we went to a restaurant. The waiter attending on us was a Pakistani who told me he had taken a bet with the chef that I was related to Balraj Sahni. I was sad to disappoint him.

But the cake goes to this incident. We were having coffee at a Starbucks’ in New York when a lady came and asked me if I was an actor from Hollywood. I, of course, denied and said I was not an actor and was from India. She looked at me and said, “But you look like Robert de Niro!”

I am now old and resemble no one, not even myself!

REMEMBERING MUMMY AT 100

 

Today 03 February is Mummy’s birthday. Mummy was born in 1921 in the historical town of Bayana in the erstwhile state of Bharatpur, now a district in Rajasthan. She was the eldest child of her parents who we called Pitaji and Mataji. Pitaji in turn was the eldest child of his parents. Mummy was named Bimla.

After completing M.A. in Economics and Ll.B. , Pitaji started practice as a lawyer in Muttra (now Mathura). Pitaji was very serious about education for his children, girl or boy, but there was no High School for girls in Muttra. So, as a special case, Mummy was permitted to join Kishori Raman College for boys. Mummy became the first girl in our community of Suryadwaj Brahmins to become a Matriculate in 1935. A match for her had already been fixed and immediately after her Matric exams, she was married to Kailash Nath Sharma, also from our community in Alwar.

On 15th September 1938, Mummy delivered a boy that is me, in Muttra at my grandparents’ house. I too was the eldest child of my generation in our community. My parents were then in Delhi and soon after, shifted to Alwar where my father took over as Manager, Government Press. Everything was proceeding smoothly till November 1942 when my father fell ill with typhoid. After a prolonged illness, he passed away on Diwali night at 1.30 am.

The shock that the family went through is vividly described in a couple of letters from Pitaji to Masarji  which my cousin Sharad discovered at his parents’ house in Lucknow a few years ago. Those letters are so moving that one cannot even imagine what the affected people would have gone through at that time. So I am just going to skip it now.

With the future looking completely dark for Mummy, Pitaji took an extraordinarily bold step for a 21-year old widow at that time. Within a month and a half of what happened, he took Mummy to Banares (now Varanasi) Hindu University for her to resume her studies. It took Mummy quite some time to settle down and she took some desperate steps like swallowing glass pieces a couple of times. But college provided the right diversion and eventually she was able to concentrate on her studies. She also made friends with a fellow student, Savitri Sharma, who had suffered a similar tragedy and was left with a little daughter. Their friendship developed into a lifelong one and would play a big part in Shumita marrying Gaurav Deveshwar, Savitriji’s grandnephew, 65 years later.

Mummy completed her B.A. from Benares and then shifted to Allahabad where her two younger brothers were studying, for her M.A. while I was taken care of by Pitaji and Mataji in Bharatpur. On completion of M.A., Mummy came back to Bharatpur and found employment as a teacher in a girls’ school. Thus started her very successful career in education. A few years later, she distinguished herself as Headmistress Maharaja’s Girls’ Higher Secondary School Jaipur, a post she held for 17 years in the 1950s-60s. As a result, she became a popular figure in Jaipur and is still well remembered there. Her services were recognised by her getting the President’s National Teachers’ Award.

She went on to become Inspectress Girls’ Schools and Deputy Director of Education and finally retired as Director of Sanskrit Education, Rajasthan.

Mummy kept herself fit by playing Badminton and sprinting. She won many gold medals in her age group in 100 metres at the national veterans level. In fact, she was selected to represent India at the Helsinki Veterans Olympics in 1990s, I forget the exact year, but due to some exigency, could not go. She was also very active in Boy Scouts and Girl Guides and went to Teheran to take part in an International Rally in 1979 when Capt Madan Saxena was the Naval Attaché there.

Mummy was very fond of travelling and had been all over India. She had also stayed with us in Singapore for almost a year. She was very keen on going to Europe and as I was working, Akhila, who had toured Europe with me in 1987, felt confident of repeating the tour with Mummy. Extensive arrangements were made and they went on an exciting trip to UK, France, Switzerland and Germany in 1991. On the tour, many people asked them if they were mother and daughter. They were quite surprised on being told, no, we are mother-in-law and daughter-in-law!

Then in 1997, Mansi took her to the US and Canada and Mummy’s foreign travel portfolio was complete. Hosting them graciously were my cousin Navin and his wife, Pamela.

Two court cases concerning Pitaji’s house in Jaipur kept her busy in the 1980s and ‘90s. She fought the cases single-handedly and it was due to her immense courage and indomitable spirit that both cases were won. She used to spend a lot of time with us and Ruchir and Shumita were very attached to her and she to them, but as soon as she would learn of the next court date, she would rush to Jaipur to be physically present.

Confident of winning in court, Mummy had already built her own house in the portion willed to her by Pitaji and lived there till the end. We tried to persuade her to live with us but she loved her independence and company in Jaipur and felt hemmed in by apartments that we had in Noida and Delhi. We too loved going to Jaipur often and spend as much time as we could with her.

Although she had a driver, his absence did not deter her from driving the car herself despite failing eyesight. She would attend a function if considered necessary with or without the driver. On one occasion Ruchir went to Jaipur to see a one-day international. Mummy decided to accompany him and drove the car herself. She did not see a rope barrier and went through it. A cop came upto her and on seeing Mummy, said, “Mataji, aapko abhi bhi match dekhne ka shawk hai?” Mummy angrily replied, “Aur kya, tum chahte ho ghar mein hee baithe rahen?” The cop smiled and politely waved her off!

And so it went on till the end. In December 2010, we had come back to Delhi after spending a month with her. On 16th  evening, we got a call from her maid that she had fallen in the bathroom and was not speaking. We flew to Jaipur early the next morning and though she was conscious and recognized us, we were advised by my friend, Dr. Suresh Pareek, a neighbour who had attended to her the previous evening, that we should take her to the hospital. We did that and after a few days, they put her in ICU. There she was distinctly uncomfortable and the doctors said there was nothing they could do. After consultations with doctors, we decided to bring her home on 21st December.  Immediately, she gained consciousness, recognized us and said a few words. We hoped for a miracle but on the morning of Christmas Day, 25 December, she breathed her last, just over a month short of her 90th birthday for which plans were being made eagerly.

Mummy, you would have been 100 today. As we celebrate the day today, we want you to know that our love for you will never die, we love to go to Jaipur, stay in your house which, but for some furniture, is the same as you left it, and remember you all the time. 

You can rest in peace.

 

MEMORIES OF CRICKET IN JAIPUR

 

The lockdown may have eased but the government advice of ‘Stay Home’ for 65+ remains. This provides plenty of time for an old fogey to dig into archives and refresh old memories. With the cricketing season on and India acquitting valiantly to save the Sydney test against Australia, I found a piece I had written 25 years ago which I thought deserved a revival.

On 04 March 1996, I happened to be in Jaipur when West Indies was playing Australia in a World Cup group match. A dear friend and fellow member of St Xavier’s Cricket team in our schooldays, Yadu Sahai, and I went to watch the match. Yadu was then the Director City Palace Museum and very knowledgable on the history of Jaipur. During the match, he educated me a lot on the Cricket aspect of it.

The first record of a Cricket match in Jaipur dates back to 01 March 1821, well before the city became ‘pink’. A match was played at what was then Maji Ka Bagh, where now stands Sujan Raj Mahal Palace Hotel. The teams included Capt J Stewart, the resident British doctor, British officers and various ADCs. “A few native khidmatgars were posted in the deep to retrieve the ball”. High tea after the match was provided by Mrs Stewart on the Sahen Ka Chabutra, opposite the ancient baradari which the Maharaja had converted into a bedroom.

Cricket remained confined to the ‘gora sahibs’ till the great famine of 1867 when the sport-loving Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II embarked on a massive relief programme with Major Swinton Jacob, Chief Engineer of Jeypore (the British spelling of the name of the city) Public Works Department.

This gave birth to the famous Ram Niwas Gardens which included cricket and football fields, croquet grounds and a gymnasium. A Jeypore Cricket Club, one of the oldest in India, was founded in 1873 and a clubhouse-cum-pavilion built in 1875, the walls of which were adorned with records of notable performances by local boys. 

Cricket equipment was imported from Henry S. King and Co., 65 Sornhill and 45 Pall Mall, London, and consisted of ‘Patent or Single re-percussive cane handle bats which would not jar the hand or break in the handle, has a beautiful spring and will drive the ball much farther than any other bat made, superior cricket stumps, tubular India rubber gloves and leg guards, stuffed with the best cotton for the batsmen, wicket-keeping gauntlets made from the very best white buckskin and yellow doe leather, and best match balls for a mere seven and a half shillings’.

The first international team to come to Jaipur was the Silver Jubilee Overseas Cricket team (SJOC) on a tour to India on the invitation of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) celebrating its silver jubilee. The persistent efforts of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II, who was then the Rajpramukh of Rajasthan, resulted in Jaipur being included in the itinerary. The match was played on the lush polo ground of the Jaipur Club with the greenest grass I have ever seen. On a visit to Jaipur just a few years later after I had joined the NDA, I went on a search to feast my eyes on the verdant grass only to find that it had given way to a concrete, unimaginative housing colony! 

The SJOC was drawn from Commonwealth countries and included famous players like Frank Worrell, Sonny Ramadhin and Roy Marshall from West Indies, Sam Loxton from Australia and Peter Loader and Reg Simpson from England. Our team was named Rajpramukh XI and had a few Maharajas and members of royal families but more importantly, some of our cricket idols like Vijay Hazare, Vinoo Mankad and Polly Umrigar. 

Imagine our surprise when due to the influence of our well-connected cricket coach, Father Mackessack, the three great Indians came to our school ground for practice and even asked us to bowl to them. It was a delight to see from close quarters the cover drives of Hazare and the legside glances of Umrigar. For once we didn’t mind chasing balls all the way to the boundary or, when invited to bat, getting bowled by the vicious spin of Mankad. But the icing on the cake was provided by our very own pacer Shamsher Khan clean bowling Mankad!

On the appointed day, Yadu Sahai, Krishen Bhargava and I went to watch the match. Security was negligible at that time when compared to the fortress-like atmosphere of present times and there were just a few policemen stopping us from getting close to the players. However, we observed that photograhers were being allowed to do their job. A strategy was planned to overcome this hurdle. Rummaging through junk in his attic at home, Krishen found and brought a camera branded Donald Duck, one generation after the first pin-hole one! On the second day as the players went to and from the pavilion, Krishen, holding aloft his camera, charged to photograph the players while Yadu and I slipped past to get their autographs. Needless to say, the camera would have yielded no photos even if it had a film!

Right upto late 1960s, Jaipur had no proper cricket stadium. A lot of matches including Ranji Trophy ones were played at the Maharaja’s College grounds just a stone’s throw from our home. The Rajasthan team of the 60s was very strong and repeatedly reached the Ranji finals where, sadly, it could not conquer the mighty Bombay. If I was in Jaipur during a match, I would walk up to the College and watch Rajasthan greats like Hanumant Singh, Salim Durrani, Raj Singh Dungarpur and Kailash Gattani. Even Vinoo Mankad, Vijay Manjrekar and Subhash Gupte played for Rajasthan off and on.  

On one occasion, I was on leave when Bombay was playing a Ranji Trophy match with Rajasthan in Jaipur. A schoolmate, an ardent fan and a proficient cricketer himself, Vinode Pareek, who was then working for Indian Oil in Bombay, was also in town. He was friendly with a number of Bombay players and invited them for a drink in the staff quarters at St. Xavier’s. He was kind enough to think of me too and I cherish the memory of splitting beer with Farokh Engineer and other Bombay players. 

It was again Maharaja Sawai Man Singh who decided to correct the deficiency of a cricket stadium in Jaipur. He donated land opposite the Rambagh Palace and got Pandit Nehru to lay the foundation stone for a stadium in 1963. Finally Jaipur had a cricketing venue of modern design with the picturesque Moti Dungri fort keeping a watchful eye over it from one end. Since then, the stadium has regularly hosted international fixtures including World Cup One Day Internationals and Day and Night T-2Os. Perhaps the most famous match was the February 1987 Test between India and Pakistan with the latter’s President General Zia-Ul-Haq flying to Jaipur to watch it. 

To the credit of the administrators, improvements and additions have been constantly made to keep the stadium updated. For the March 1996 ODI, two giant scoreboards were installed just in time.

The match was keenly contested. Ricky Ponting scored a century but impressive fast bowling by Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh kept Australia in check. A cool, calm and well-paced partnership between Richie Richardson and Brian Lara helped the Windies to a comfortable win and kept them going in the World Cup.

That match was played exactly 175 years after the first recorded match in Jaipur.

Now it is 200 years!

I remember:

Playing solo cricket at the age of 8-9 in our Bharatpur house courtyard by bouncing a tennis ball on a wall and batting on the rebound.

In a match between two neighbourhood teams, Seniors v/s Juniors, Vinode Pareek, Captain of the Seniors, struck a ball with full force. Fielding at deep mid-on for the Juniors, I saw the ball flying low to the boundary and instinctively extended my hand towards the ball. Amazingly, the ball stuck to my palm and Vinode was out. We had got their star player and went on to win the match. The hand hurt a lot though and I can still feel the sting even as I write this! 

In an intra-school match at St. Xavier’s, I was captaining one side. I had the pretense of being a batsman and seldom bowled. On a hunch, I opened the bowling for my side. I must have surprised the batsmen for I got two wickets in the maiden over. I knew I should not push my luck and brought on the regular bowlers. The opposing side never recovered from the early shock and lost the match.

Our School team was invited by officials of a cement factory in Lakheri, a small town between Kota and Sawai Madhopur. Batting at number five, the first ball I faced was a flighted one and I charged down the pitch and missed it completely. As I turned to regain the crease, the wicket-keeper whipped off the bails. The Umpire, who in such matches was usually from the batting side, started raising his finger but quickly brought his hand down dismissing the appeal. I regained my composure and went on to score useful runs and we won the match. The Lakheri side muttered complaints during the lunch that followed but as Diego Maradona said, it was the ‘hand of God’, or perhaps ‘the moving finger’ in this case, that prevailed.

In the NDA, I often indulged in book cricket during boring academic classes. I was never caught as to the teacher, it would appear as if I was making copious notes.

Not being a bowler or an extraordinary batsman, I started keeping wickets in order to secure my place in a team. While doing the Gunnery Course as Sub Lts, I was performing that task when with my right thumb sticking out of a torn glove. I was hit by a ball and fractured my thumb. I felt I was not in a position to continue and consulted our Course Officer who agreed. I had to come back to Cochin next year to do it with the 16th Course but at that time, it gave me wicked pleasure to see my coursemates running around parading and sweating while I sat in the classroom reading a novel and relaxing!

Shortly after that, for about 25 years I played no cricket apart from occasionally joining Ruchir and Shumita and some neighbours’ kids on the lawns of Chatsworth Court, our house in Singapore. In 1987, a match was scheduled between Commonwealth diplomats and a Singapore XI at the Singapore Cricket Club. Despite the long hiatus and my nearing 50 years, I volunteered to keep wickets for the diplomats' side. I would have thought twice if I had known that our side would consist of a few pace bowlers of English County standard. But it was too late and I had to face the music or more appropriately, the fast swinging red sphere. In the event, I did not fare too badly. The Tiger beer that followed never tasted sweeter.

SALUBRIOUS WELLINGTON

The joining instructions for the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) Course began by welcoming the students to the ‘salubrious’ climate of Wellington. It was the first time I came across this word and did not know its meaning. Being lazy to consult a dictionary (those being pre-cellphone days!), I just took it to mean something good and left it at that. As I write this post, I decided to look up my Webster’s New World College Dictionary which says it means ‘promoting health or welfare, healthful, wholesome, salutary, etc.’ I gladly endorse that Wellington is all that and more.

The final major course we had to undergo during our Sub Lts’ training in 1960 was the War Course. It introduced us to Service Writing and ended with a study of a major naval battle during the World War II followed by a presentation. Our Course was divided into three syndicates led by the brightest in the Course, Premvir Das, Vishnu Bhagwat and Ranjit Rai. I was part of Ranjit’s syndicate. Our syndicate had to study the Battle of Cape Matapan. I hit upon an idea to end our presentation with a skit in which Admirals Cunningham and Iachino of the Royal Navy and the Italian Navy respectively meet at a bar in Naples and reflect on the Battle. At the end, Admiral Iachino shouts for the missing barmaid, “Rosita, ROSITA, ROSEE-TAA, where are you?” From behind the bar rises Rosita, the profusely hairy and bearded Baksheesh Singh, “Si?” This brought the house down and earned me a first division in addition to the three leaders of the syndicates.

I was told that the War Course was a mini-DSSC Course and there would be plenty of such presentations in Wellington. From then on, I was looking forward to DSSC and was really glad when my name was finally included in the 1974 list. Also, as mentioned while writing about my childhood, I had imagined studying in Wellington University; well, if not New Zealand, the Nilgiris would do admirably!

Ours was the 30th Staff College Course and the locker no. allotted to me was 333. As 3, 6 and 9 are supposed to be my lucky numbers, I took my course and locker numbers to be welcome, auspicious signs.

Earlier, I was told that Wellington was short of housing for students and that many, particularly those with small families, would have to share accommodation. This was a cause for worry as Akhila was expecting and sharing accommodation would be undesirable. Providentially, my going late for the Course brought an unexpected benefit as accommodation was provided in accordance with seniority and being the senior most naval officer of our Course, I was allotted perhaps the best residence, Flat no. 73/3 Wellington Hall, which had been recently constructed. These flats were in blocks of four, one each on the ground and first floors with a staircase in between. They had three bedrooms each with a glass passage leading from the staircase to the drawing/dining room. As they were on the edge of a hill, the bedroom and drawing room balconies opened out to a spectacular view looking down the Coonoor valley with its tea gardens and the Ootacamund- Mettupalayam toy train. My first floor neighbour was an American Army Officer, Major Mehle who had three cute daughters aged 7, 5 and 2. On the ground floor were two air force officers, one each from Australia and India.

The Course got underway keeping us busy with tasks which had strict timelines. Soon it was March and we played Holi on Saturday the 9th. We had requested Mummy to come to Wellington to be with us before Akhila’s delivery date and on Sunday 10th we went to Coimbatore to pick her up. On Monday 11th which incidentally is our wedding anniversary, we were given the task of writing an ‘appreciation’, the first of many at the DSSC. For this exercise, one is given a warlike problem which has to be solved taking into account the given friendly and enemy forces. The key is to decide on an aim, consider various possible courses of action and finally arrive at the best course to achieve the aim. With numerous possibilities, this takes a lot of discussion and the task is complex to say the least. 

The appreciation was titled ‘The Nuclear Scientist’ and was centred around a character named Dr. Bara Bomb. We had to submit our solutions by 1 p.m. on Wednesday 13th and our wedding anniversary celebrations had to be put off till after that. 

By 12th night I had finished most of the task and went to sleep at midnight leaving the Best Course of Action and Outline Plan to be written in the morning. I got up at 6 a.m. to complete my solution. Shortly after, Akhila came to me and said her abdomen was paining. I told her to take a painkiller and go back to sleep. Soon Mummy came and said we had to take Akhila to the hospital. I protested that my solution was not yet complete but Mummy said to hell with it, we needed to go immediately.

Reluctantly, I got up, gathered my incomplete work and the three of us proceeded to the Army Hospital. Akhila was taken in for medical examination while I got back to my Outline Plan in the Waiting Room. After a while, the doctor came and said the delivery could take place in a day or two but it was preferable to admit Akhila right away. Mummy and I headed back home where I completed my exercise and just managed to submit it in the nick of time. I was very tired and Mummy was fond of her siesta, so we decided to have an afternoon nap.

At 5 p.m. we went to the Hospital and after parking my car, we started walking to the Ward. An Army colleague met us on the way and offered his heartiest congratulations. I asked him what for and he said, “Don’t you know, your wife has delivered a baby boy”. Mummy and I ran to the Ward where they had just brought Akhila and the newly born infant out of the delivery room. The delivery had taken place at 5.17 p.m.!

We were full of joy, the natural delivery had been easy and without pain and thanks to God, all was well. As decided by Mummy and Akhila earlier, the boy was named Ruchir although many of my coursemates continued to call him Bara Bomb for a long time!

Comments of my Directing Staff, Cdr PK Gupta (later Cmde), on my appreciation stated that it was logically discussed and well argued but the Plan seemed to have been written in a hurry!

A lot of people visited us to see little Ruchir but the most precious gift was brought by the sweet little Mehle girls, Ruchir’s first toy, a rubber cowboy, which continues to adorn the top shelf of his wardrobe till today. 

After a party to celebrate Ruchir’s arrival, it was back to work and the Course proceeded smoothly. Of note was the assignment of Public Speaking where each student had to give a talk of 10 minutes on a subject of his choosing. I decided to speak on the ‘Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam’. The talk went off very well and at the end of it the Chief Instructor (Navy), Cmde JG ‘Podgy’ Nadkarni, (later Admiral and Chief of the Naval Staff) said that although it was not the norm but he would make an exception and asked the audience to show their appreciation by clapping.

In spare time, there was golf to play on the scenic Wellington course. No other naval student played golf but I was invited By Cdrs Gupta and Claude Almeida to join them which I readily did. At times Cmde Nadkarni, who had just started playing, made the fourth. He used to jokingly (?) complain that when a General played, his partners would look the other way and allow him to transgress all rules and applaud but the naval guys were not so considerate and would permit no liberties to be taken on account of seniority!

We were into the horse racing season and on weekends there were Wellington Gymkhana races with DSSC officers taking part. This was followed by Ooty races and as Akhila was very fond of betting, we went up whenever we could. On the first of these, as we were walking to the track, a friend met us and advised us to put our money on a horse called Gigi. We put 10 bucks on her at 7 to 1. Gigi won a thriller and we earned Rs.70 which was blown up immediately in the Ooty bazaar. This encouraged Akhila to pursue her love of betting and I reckon she lost a lot of money. However, she assures me that on balance she was not too much in the red!

In June we got a short mid-term break and drove down to Bangalore where Akhila’s elder brother, Lieut Subhash Mehrish affectionately called Bhaiyya, was ADC to the Governor. Here too the racing season was on and we attended quite a few races.

Back to DSSC and the pace of work picked up. With Akhila busy looking after Ruchir, time just flew by and we hurtled towards the end of the Course. We were visited by the Director of Personnel from NHQ who gave me the good news of my earning the coveted ‘brass hat’ with promotion to the rank of Commander and my appointment to NHQ as Deputy Director Naval Signals.

I am not aware of the present practice but in my time at the DSSC, students were graded at the end but the gradings were not disclosed.  The CI(Navy) held individual interviews to tell each student how he had performed. His summing up to me went something like this, “I am amazed that you were not being selected for the Course. You have not only topped the Course but were on top in each tutorial. God knows how NHQ functions. I am glad I have never been posted there.”

Well, to make up for that deficiency, ‘Podgy’ Nadkarni served at the NHQ as Chief of Personnel, Vice Chief of Naval Staff and Chief of Naval Staff. I wonder though whether he brought about any worthwhile changes or was content with the status quo to go with the flow!

REVISITING MY LOVELY OLD JAIPUR

 

 

 

Jaipur has always been my first love but due to various reasons, we had to settle down in Delhi after my retirement from the Navy. Akhila loves Jaipur too and with Mummy there, we escaped to Jaipur as often as we could to get away from the hustle and bustle of Delhi. Mummy passed away in 2010 and I inherited her house. Initially there was a thought to break up the house and build a more modern one. But then, I decided to let the house remain as Mummy left it as it gives us a feeling that she is still there. We now go there almost every other month; in fact, I try to plan the trips towards the end of a month and beginning of the next one so that I can say that we are in Jaipur every month!

 

Enter the Corona factor and the lockdowns and we could not make a trip for 7 long months. I was itching to go and finally when we drove down last month, I felt like a tourist all over again revisiting the familiar sights full of sweet memories.

 

About 40 kms. short of Jaipur is the town of Achrol with a fort on a hill. Jaipur is a favourite movie location but Achrol had its share of fame with a number of scenes in the miniseries ‘Far Pavilions’ shot in and around the fort. However, Achrol is famous or infamous for something else. The story goes that if you are travelling by road and passing through Achrol, do not take its name or you are going to have a mishap. Long ago, my Mansi and Masarji had a car breakdown near Achrol. Thereafter, the story has been confirmed by many others including Capt RN Singh, Pranab Roy and a close family friend, Tej Narain Bhaisahib. All of them have had some incident or the other ranging from a puncture to a serious accident. So if you ever drive to Jaipur, be warned!

 

Six kms. short of Jaipur, we come to Amber which was the residence of Rajput Maharajas from the 10^th century to 1727. The majestic fort was built on top of the older structures in the 1600s by Maharaja Man Singh who had 12 Queens. So he had 12 rooms built for them each connected by a staircase to his quarters but the staircases were for his use only and the Queens were not allowed to use them! Later, Maharaja Jai Singh II expanded the fort and also built the Jaigarh fort visible to the left of the Amber fort at a slightly higher elevation. The two forts are connected by an underground escape passage if a need arose. Jaigarh fort houses a huge cannon which was built within the fort precincts and was in its time the world’s largest cannon on wheels.

 

Just after passing Amber centre making our way up the narrow road manoeuvring through elephants giving tourists rides, we see a ‘mazar’, holy shrine of a saint, at which a friend told us to toss a coin for good luck and we have been doing that religiously from the car.

 

We now pass through a gate which is at a height where one can pause a bit to get a bird’s eye view of the sprawling city. A little further down the road, a right turn would take you to Jaigarh and Nahargarh forts. The latter is on the highest hill near Jaipur and gives a towering view of the city. ‘Nahar’ means lion, so Nahargarh stands for ‘abode of lions’ though another story says that the name is after a Nahar Singh Bhoma whose spirit haunted the place and obstructed the construction of the fort till a temple was built on the premises to pacify the spirit. Nahargarh was built by Maharaja Jai Singh in 1734 and extensively used later by Maharaja Madho Singh to house dozens of concubines, far from the palace in Jaipur to escape the vigil of his official Ranis.

 

An interesting tale about Maharaja Madho Singh is that despite being very virile and potent and having his share of official wives and countless concubines, he left no male heir. This was because he was warned by his astrologer that if he produced a legal son, Madho Singh would die within six months. So while many boys and girls were fathered, they were all illegal and only one daughter was borne by an official Rani.

 

Continuing to Jaipur, on our left is the Kanak Vrindavan Mandir surrounded by abundant greenery. Then comes Man Sagar Lake at the centre of which is Jal Mahal, a small palace. In the evenings, locals flock to the lakeside reminding one of Bombay’s Marine Drive!

 

We pass through Zorawar Singh Gate also known as Dhruv Pole(Gate) and make our entry into the old City. Maharaja Jai Singh II was a renowned mathematician and astrologer and became a famous ruler. He had the City designed by the chief architect, Vidyadhar Bhattacharya. With its wide roads and perpendicular sidelanes, Jaipur is considered to have been the only planned city of India till Le Corbusier designed Chandigarh in the 1950s. Maharaja Jai Singh shifted the capital to the City in 1727 and the City dutifully took its name from him.

 

Later, the Maharaja went to the court of Aurangzeb and the King was so impressed by the Maharaja that he gave him the title of ‘Sawai’ saying that he was one and a quarter times any man. All the Jaipur Maharajas took the title of Sawai from then.

 

In 1876, Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s consort, visited Jaipur and the City was painted pink to welcome him. The City has been kept pink and has been known as the ‘Pink City’ ever since.

 

Driving on, we turn right at Moti Katla Bazar and at the right corner in front of us is ‘Kale Munh’ (black faced) Hanuman mandir where you pray and whisper your wish in the ear of a priest and it will be granted. The road takes a left turn and on the right the boundary of the huge City Palace complex begins. If one were to go in, the first big building inside is Jaipur’s most famous temple, Govind Devji’s Mandir. The temple faces the City Palace from the balcony of which the Maharaja could do darshan of the deity with a telescope.

 

The City Palace to which Sawai Jai Singh II shifted his residence now has a museum and both the Palace and the museum are a must on a tourist’s agenda. For a long time in 1980s, a schoolmate and close friend, the late Yadu Sahai was the curator at the museum and occasionally took me to the Palace for a cup of coffee with Brigadier Sawai Bhawani Singh. Incidentally, Yadu’s father, Dr. Durga Sahai, was the personal physician of Sawai Man Singh, Sawai Bhawani Singh’s father.

Just outside the museum is another famous site, Jantar Mantar, the world famous observatory built by Sawai Jai Singh in 1734. It has 19 architectural astronomical instruments including the world’s largest sundial.

 

We continue our drive on the main road and come to Hawa Mahal, the iconic monument of Jaipur which is now a global symbol for the City. The magnificent structure was built in 1799 by Sawai Pratap Singh and has 365 windows with elaborate latticework, home to the Maharaja’s Ranis and concubines who could look out of the windows without being seen themselves.

 

We come to Badi Chaupar with Ramganj Bazar to the left and Tripolia Bazar to the right. We go straight on to Johari Bazar and immediately on the right is Purohitji Ka Katla, Akhila’s favourite shopping place for saris and other textiles open to hard bargaining! Then on the left is Haldion Ka Rasta where the renowned jeweller of old, Bhuramal Rajmal Surana had his haveli which was his home, shop and workplace for his artisans. He had four sons all of whom studied at St. Xavier’s and his second son, Vimal, was my classfellow. The corresponding street on the other side is Gopalji Ka Rasta which was a favourite with Mataji and Pitaji (my Nani and Nana) for delicious ‘kalakand’ and other sweets. Just outside the street is the office and shop of Durlabhjis known for their gemstone work. The well-known Rashmi Durlabhji was one year senior to me at Xavier’s and a good friend. Alas, he is no more.

 

Johari Bazar by itself can meet most of your typical Jaipur shopping requirements including kundan style jewellery, gemstones, Sanganeri and tie and dye saris, other textiles and Mojari shoes. At the centre of the Bazar is Laxmi Mishthan Bhandar to meet your chat, meal and sweet requirements including the delectable honeycomb like ‘ghevar’.

 

Towards the end of the Bazar are two Hanumanji temples facing each other, one on either side. We leave the Bazar at Sanganeri Gate and come to a T-crossing. Agra Road is to the left which can take you to two popular sites on either side of the road, Sisodia Rani Palace and garden built by Sawai Jai Singh II for his Maharani, and Vidhyadar gardens, built by the famous architect. A little beyond is the road to Galtaji known for its natural springs and a temple dedicated to the Sun god.

 

In front of Sanganeri Gate crossing is a building which was Pitaji’s High Court back in the 50s when we first came to Jaipur. Red Cross and a women’s hospital occupy it now. We turn right and have the Ram Niwas garden on our left. At the next crossing, we turn right to re-enter the old City through the New Gate and come to Chaura Rasta. To the right is a movie hall named Golcha. In my school days, it was called Prem Prakash and along with another movie hall, Man Prakash, was where we flocked to see English movies which were shown just once a week on Sunday mornings.

 

In early 1950s, an uncle of mine, Sarvesh Mamaji, opened a restaurant named Paradise opposite Prem Prakash. It didn’t last long as Sarvesh Mamaji gave too many free treats to friends and relatives including me!

 

Further up, there are shops known for the famous Jaipur razai (quilts). On the opposite side at this end of Gopalji Ka Rasta, there is a popular ‘gazak’ and ‘revri’ shop.

 

Facing us at the end of the road is Tripolia Gate which is normally closed and open only on specific occasions. A major one is probably the most famous festival of Jaipur, Gangaur, in honour of Gaura (Parvatiji), celebrated on Teej in March/April every year. Thousands of visitors, foreign and Indian, throng to the  the area to watch the large procession which starts from the City Palace, out through Tripolia Gate on to Tripolia Bazar and goes around nearly half the old city ending at Talkatora which is at the back of Govindji’s Mandir. The procession includes elephants, old palanquins, chariots and folk artistes singing and dancing away. A few years back, Akhila and I went to see the procession and ended up following it all the way to the end, quite a walk!

 

Presently, we turn left onto Tripolia Bazar with myriad shops and on the right see a monument built in 1750, ‘Swarga Suli’ meaning heaven piercing minaret, towering over the shops. We come to Chhoti Chaupar where to the left is Kishenpole Bazar. On the opposite side of the Bazar, just off the Choupar is Maharaja’s Girls’ School founded by Sawai Ram Singh in 1866. Mummy was the Headmistress of the School for 17 years in the 1950s and 60s.

 

We continue straight into Chandpole Bazar and exit the old City out the gate with the same name as the Bazar. We turn left on to Station Road and pass the Central Bus Stand and Polo Victory, our third choice of movie halls of old. The entrance of the hall was decorated with many paintings of Polo tournaments.

 

Just before the Station at which I started and ended countless train journeys, there is a big crossing and on the left is a gate which leads to a complex called Khasa Kothi. On arrival in Jaipur in 1950, Pitaji was first put up here in the State Guest House before he was allotted his own house. We spent the summer of that year here. Those days, there was a dust storm every evening and we could see it approaching minutes before it struck. Some days, there would be a ‘peeli aandhi’ (yellow storm) while on others it would be ‘kaali’ (black) depending on the colour of dust.

 

Turning sharp left, we come to the popular Mirza Ismail Road named after the Dewan of Jaipur in the 1940s whose contribution in modernising the city was invaluable. Stylish shops and eating places abound on both sides and we travel quite a bit to a well-known crossing called Paanch Batti before coming to Niro’s which in Jaipur is one of the oldest modern restaurants functioning since 1949. It was our favourite haunt known for its slurpy ice cream sundaes with exotic names such as Honeymoon Special and Knickerbocker Glory. During a recent visit, I asked the manager if they still served them and he promptly brought a tall glass of each!

 

Opposite Niro’s, there is a lassiwala who people flock to in hundreds in summer to cool down with his various brands of lassi.

 

We continue and come to Ajmeri Gate which is the other end of Kishenpole Bazar. Further down is a crossing and a police station under a clocktower with a non-working clock! Next to the police station was the old Man Prakash now replaced by a mall. The next crossing brings us back to the New Gate but this time we turn right into the gate of Ram Niwas Garden and face the splendid Albert Hall built by Sawai Ram Singh in honour of Prince Albert’s visit in 1876. It houses a museum of archaeological and handicraft items. At night it is brilliantly lit by lights changing colors every few seconds. There is also a zoo in the Garden from which in my school days I used to hear the roars of lions every night.

 

We continue straight down the long Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg till we see the Moti Dungri fort resembling a Scottish castle atop a hill. The Fort overlooks the famous Ganesh temple with an icon of Lord Ganesh over 500 years old. Next to it is the much newer Birla temple which was completed in 1985.

 

A right here leads to the Rambagh Circle and the Rambagh Palace, only it is no more a palace but a hotel. Rambagh is another palace built by Sawai Ram Singh and was a royal guesthouse and hunting lodge till Sawai Man Singh II made it his residence from 1925 to 1957. The complex also has a French style bungalow called Lily Pool which was known for Maharani Gayatri Devi’s lavish parties particularly on Sharad Poornimas. There are tennis courts also where I first saw Maharani Gayatri Devi in 1952 looking resplendent in sparkling white shirt and slacks.

 

The hotel has a Polo Bar decorated with Polo sticks, balls, trophies and paintings. Yadu and I spent many evenings enjoying a glass of beer and snacks there.

 

Further down the road are the Rajasthan Polo Club and the Rambagh Golf Club, both venues of important tournaments.

 

A right turn at the circle and we pass the High Court and the Secratariat and come to the Statue Circle which was without a statue in my school days. There was some controversy about what statue to put there but now it has one of Sawai Jai Singh II holding a large astronomical document. The Statue Circle was the chief walking location in the past till the Central Park was developed inside the Rambagh complex. Pitaji used to come to the Statue Circle regularly for his morning constitutional and I accompanied him whenever I could. It remains a tourist attraction and many still prefer to walk there.

 

We continue straight on Bhagwan Das Road and come to my alma mater, St. Xavier’s. Started in 1943 as St. Mary’s by a group of priests, Sir Mirza Ismail gave the School its present name and site in 1945 and handed over its running to the Catholic Society of Jesus. The exceptionally devoted Fathers of my time specially my first Principal, Mann, and class teachers Mackessack and Pinto, are all up in heaven but the School has kept up its good name. The imposing multi-coloured stone building to which we shifted in 1952 is itself a sight to behold.

 

We carry on and reach Paanch Batti and repeat the stretch past Niro’s upto the police station where we turn right on Sawai Ram Singh Road and pass the famous Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’ School. This School was the brainchild of the Sawai Man Singh II who named it after his favourite Maharani. It was the first public school for girls in Rajputana, later Rajasthan. It started in 1943 with 24 girls and had a Scottish lady, Miss Lillian G. Lutter as its founder principal. Under Miss Lutter the School developed to become one of the finest educational institutions in India and the lady acquired an iconic image. She was the principal for a remarkable 37 years.

 

Up ahead are two Colleges facing each other, Maharaja and Maharani Colleges, the former for boys and the latter for girls. Maharaja College is another ancient institution founded by Sawai Ram Singh II in 1844. Maharani came into being exactly 100 years later in 1944.

 

Just before the Colleges we turn right onto Ashok Marg and then left on Mahavir Marg. We reac a circle where we turn left on Hospital Road so named because it leads to the Sawai Man Singh Hospital.

 

And so we have come on the street where we lived when Pitaji was serving as the High Court Judge in Jaipur. Our first house was No. 4 for a year and then the larger No. 3 double storey house for 4 ½ years. When we came to Jaipur, No. 3 was occupied by Dr. Katre, Chief Medical Officer, whose son later became the Chief of Air Staff. We moved in after Dr. Katre retired.

 

No. 3 had a long driveway on which my friends and I used to play Cricket. All of us were studying in St. Xavier’s and included the brothers Vinode and Pramode Pareek, Krishen Bhargava, Vinod Jain and Ashok Sarin, all staying on Hospital Road, and Suresh Pareek and Yadu Sahai from the neighborhood. While most of us were in government houses and had to move out, the Pareek brothers’ father, Dr. Prabhu Dayal, had built his own house on Hospital Road and his eldest son, Dr. Satya Narain, continues to stay there with his family and two unmarried sisters who run a children’s school. I remember the telephone no. of the Pareeks which in 1950s had just three digits, 312. Four digits have been prefixed now but the last three, 312, remain!

 

Ashok Sarin joined the Air Force but unfortunately died in an air crash shortly after. Dr. Sarda, an eminent eye specialist also had his own house there; his son, also an eye specialist, married Admiral Paintal’s daughter who we meet every year at the Jaipur Literature Festival.

 

A small lane halfway down connects Hospital Road to Vivekanand Marg where Pitaji built his own house and named it ‘Ananda’. Opposite was Dr. Shravan Lal Purohit, father of Suresh Pareek. Dr. Shravan Lal became our family doctor and Suresh took over after the old man passed away. Suresh runs a dispensary in Chandpole Bazar and his treatment is a combination of allopathy, homeopathy and ayurved. He answers our call no matter what the time and, of course, there is no question of any fee!

 

Further down Vivekanand Marg was the house of Dr. PK Sethi of the 'Jaipur Foot' fame.

 

We leave Vivekanand Marg on Sawai Ram Singh Marg and turn left and left again on Shivaji Marg. Facing us is the gate of Diggi Palace, home of Jaipur Literature Festival. There is a naval connection here as well as the Palace’s owner is Ram Pratap Singh, son-in-law of Capt RN Singh. Just before Diggi Palace, we turn left and facing us at the end of the road is the house which Mummy built and I inherited.

 

We are home.

 

Lucky me!

 

P.S. Time to blow a little of my trumpet; if I don’t blow it, who will!

 

In our Senior Cambridge English Language exam, we had to write an essay and had a choice of topics which were fairly common. But there was one that seemed out of the ordinary, viz., ‘A foreign guest is visiting you. Describe how you will show him your city in three days’. I picked this one up and wrote my essay. On comparing notes after the exam, I discovered that nobody else had chosen this subject. I felt I had gone into uncharted waters and wondered how I would fare. I need not have worried; I was the only one to get an ‘A’.

 

Today after 66 years, I have gone around in just an hour. Hope you enjoyed the drive!

 

 

THREE LEGENDS I ADORED- An Actor, A Singer and A Golfer

 

The news of Sean Connery’s passing away yesterday came as a bolt from the blue. Wasn’t he meant to be always there, an immortal?

It transported me back to my young days in the '60s when in 1962, I saw a movie called “Dr No”. That introduced us to James Bond, a character popular to the day 58 years hence. Sean Connery was the original Bond and generally considered the best although he passed on the baton in 1967 after 4 more Bond films. He did return twice though, the last time in "Never Say Never Again" in 1983. He didn’t want to be typecast but his delightful way of introducing himself- Bond, James Bond, and his unique martini- Shaken, not Stirred, would become trade marks in all subsequent films. While he may not have been directly responsible,  the opening of the movies with the view of James Bond through the barrel of a gun accompanied by the delightful Bond theme would continue to be identified with him, the original Bond. So would the Bond girls beginning with the bikini clad Ursula Andress emerging from the sea in “Dr No”.

Sean Connery, it was “No Time to Die”.

Nostalgia brought two other favourites to mind. Sean lived to be 90 but these two died young.

The first is the unforgettable singer, ‘Gentleman’ Jim Reeves. His smooth deep voice was remarkable and his simple lyrics touched one’s heart. He was extremely popular in the early 60s and you could not resist singing along with him on the radio. I particularly remember Kharakvasla evenings when Bogey Borgonah, Honky Mukhuty, Sudhir Isaacs and I would croon his songs almost every evening with a drink. His greatest hit was “He’ll Have to Go” with a stanza to recall, ‘With your sweet lips a little closer to the phone, Let’s pretend that we’re together all alone, I’ll tell the man to turn the jukebox way down low, And you can tell your friend that well, He’ll have to go’.

Then one evening in July 1964, we heard the news that he had died in his private plane crash at the age of 40. We were stunned and shed a lot of tears for him.

Seve Bellesteros is my all-time favourite golfer. Before him, golf was considered a staid game dominated by the stiff upper lip middle-aged British and Americans. Seve brought passion and visible emotion into the game. I happened to be at home in Jaipur tuning into the BBC commentary of the 1976 British Open when at the age of 19, he gave a run for the money to the eventual winner Johnny Miller and finished runner-up tied with Jack Nicklaus. The commentators were full of praise for this fresh talent and his style of play and that got me excited too. He immediately became my golf idol and I kept track of his career from thereon. In 1979 he finally won his first British Open becoming its youngest winner in the 20th century. In 1980 he won the Masters becoming at 23 the youngest champion of the event, a record beaten by Tiger Woods only 17 years later. He went on to win one more Masters and 2 more British Open the last of which was in 1988 watched anxiously by me live on TV in Singapore. He broke the monopoly of the British and Americans in golf and popularized the game immensely in Europe with the latter winning the Ryder Cup for the first time and a total of 5 times with him as a member and then Captain of the European team. Spaniards were thrilled to host the first Ryder Cup in Continental Europe at Valderrama, Spain, in 1997 and with Seve as the Captain, beat the Americans comfortably.

Seve developed back pain towards the end of his career and the consequent loss of form depressed him a great deal leading to a divorce. Then in 2008, he fainted at Madrid airport and was diagnosed with a brain tumour which was removed and he appeared to be on the mend. But he developed brain cancer and sadly passed away in 2011 at the age of 54. A sad end to a brilliant man. 

I have a photograph with Seve’s wax statue at Madame Tussaud’s, London - a prize possession.

Thank you, Sean, Gentleman Jim and Seve for providing so much pleasure in my life. My memories of you are eternal.

Vizag II

 

Rear Admiral Ronnie Pereira assumed command of the Eastern Fleet on 02 April 1972; perhaps he too was wary of April Fool’s Day! The staff had changed with only me continuing as FCO from RAdm Sarma's days. Cdr PP Sivamani was from the old staff too but he had been elevated from Navigation to Fleet Operations Officer (FOO). Cdr Basudev Mukherjee was the new navigator (FNO), Lt Cdr VK Ramchandani, Torpedo and Anti-submarine officer (FTASO) and good old coursemate Lt Cdr JK Roy Chowdhry, the gunner (FGO). On the personal staff, Satish Bindra had given way to Cdr AV Bharath as the Secretary and Lt PK Vijayan was the new Flag Lt.

A few sailings were enough for us to get to know the new Admiral who was easy to serve under provided you were honest and straightforward. He liked people to be brief and direct and hated long diatribes. I remember one meeting where a commanding officer was holding forth for a considerable time on some trivial issue. Suddenly we heard a tap-tap-tap and the Admiral shouted, "Come in". There was silence while all eyes went to the door but there was no one there. Smilingly the Admiral declared that the knocking sound must have been his tapping the filter- tipped cigarette on the table! The meeting came to an end on a happy note.

A relatively free period in the summer saw me taking some leave and Akhila and I proceeded to Jaipur. En route we made a brief stop in Delhi where I met Shashi Mama who was posted in NHQ. He told me that he had run into the Deputy Director Of Personnel (DDOP) at a party recently and had inquired about the state of my representation on non-selection for Staff College. The terse and haughty reply was, "Tell Sharma to forget about Staff College". Indeed, my name was not included in the 1974 list.

A few days into the leave, I received a telegram to proceed immediately to New Delhi and report to the Director Naval Intelligence (DNI). On arrival, I found that two other officers, Lt Cdrs Roly Lewin and MS Narayanan had been similarly summoned. We were met by the Deputy DNI, Cdr HD Madhok, head of the counter-intelligence section, who told us that there had been a mini mutiny on board the cruiser Mysore and a number of sailors had been arrested. Our task was to interrogate them and find the ringleaders and the cause of mutiny. We were briefed on the art of interrogation and proceeded to carry out our assignment for the next few weeks.

On completion, it was back to Vizag and the Eastern Fleet. Meanwhile, Cmde Grewal, Chief of Staff Eastern Naval Command, had been promoted to Rear Admiral and posted to NHQ as the Assistant Chief of Personnel. Shortly afterwards we received a signal that I had been selected for the 1974 Staff College course!

My morale was at a new high! I had got what I considered my just desserts and I was serving under a fine Admiral. With an uplifted mood, the sailings became fun and exciting. In harbour, there was golf on weekends with the Admiral driving the staff car himself (he refused to disturb his driver's weekends) and insisting on picking me up from my flat in Naval Park. Mrs Pereira was quite fond of Akhila and asked her to enter the upcoming Wills Made For Each Other contest with me. Akhila politely declined as neither of us was keen to draw any undue attention.

To top it all, we were delighted to learn that Akhila was carrying a baby due for March 1974. In short, as the song in the popular musical Oklahoma went, “Everything‘s goin’ my way”.

Movies were always welcome and we saw quite a few with Roy Chow and his wife Shiela. I particularly recall 'Bobby' during which Chow and I loudly joined in singing "Chabhi kho jaye" much to the embarrassment of the wives trying to shush us up!

There were other light moments like the debrief of an exercise where the Western Fleet ships sneaked in to attack Vizag harbour with the Eastern Fleet still out searching for them on the high seas. That brought forth Capt KK Nayyar's quote he attributed to Lord Fisher, First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy in early 1900s, "Far..ng around the ocean is neither good strategy nor good tactics". Admiralty's records have been searched but the quote is yet to be found!

Then there was the time when the FNO made the error of leading the Fleet to approaches of Bheemunipatnam instead of Vishakhapatnam. The Admiral took it sportingly; after all, the error had been made earlier, the most talked about being when Cdr Dawson, later CNS, made the same error as an FNO!

Too soon we were at the end of the year and it was time to pack up and move to Wellington. In my final meeting with Admiral Pereira, he tossed my confidential report (ACR) across the table to me saying, “Hope this gets you your brass hat!” 

Thank you, Ronnie P.

P.S. Some may not be aware of the significance of ‘brass hat’. In the Navy, promotions up to the rank of Lt Cdr are by time. Commander is the first rank which is by selection where about half the officers are superseded. Those who are promoted are distinguished by an arc of brass leaves on the peaks of their caps. Hence the coveted ‘brass hat’.