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’.

SETTLING DOWN IN VIZAG AFTER MARRIAGE

Akhila and I reached Vizag on 2nd April 1972, deliberately avoiding April Fool’s Day for our arrival. The naval camaraderie came to the fore with all my friends and their wives ready to do all that they could to help us settle down and make Akhila feel at home. Most importantly, Jack (JMS) Sodhi, who had gone to the USSR to fetch a submarine, left the keys of his Amzari Park flat for us so that we had a roof over our heads rightaway. The flat had two bedrooms one of which was locked with the Sodhis’ belongings, so we had just the one small bedroom which was cosy enough for the honeymooners.

Initially, our meals were all booked with friends’ invites but soon time came for Akhila to prepare lunch. As the Fleet office was quite close she asked me to come home during the break. We didn’t have gas and appropriate utensils but had among our wedding gifts an electric stove and a 5 litre pressure cooker. So Akhila put one katori of rice in the cooker and switched on the stove. She kept checking but the rice refused to be cooked as the heating was not enough.  By the time I arrived, the poor girl was in tears. Cooking was aborted and we went to the Mess for our lunch.

That evening we arranged for gas and bought smaller utensils so that a meal for two could be cooked fast. We thought of employing a cook but I was dissuaded by my friend Satish Bindra who, over a drink, advised, “Do not get a cook, let Akhila set her hand at cooking for a few months. Then you can hire a cook.” Advice valued and taken!

Anyway, Akhila was quite adept at cooking having done a lot of it at home in Bijnor. Coming from the same community, both of us were vegetarians and the food taste and recipes were the same, the only point of contention being her partiality for ‘ghiya’ and mine for ‘aloo’. So it was back to Jaipur food for me and little adjustment was required. Just once the memory of Trishul days and Roly Lewin’s influence tempted me to take home a large can of bacon from a ship’s canteen and I asked Akhila to give me a piece for breakfast daily. She did that for a couple of days and then declared that the bacon was over. I was a little surprised at how it had run out so fast. It was much later that she confessed that she used to give me one piece and throw out two! She also requested me not to bring any more such stuff and with good home food, I saw no reason why I should not comply with her wish.

We had also been presented a baking oven and Akhila said she would try her hand at making cookies which she had learnt at a confectionery course a few years earlier during a visit to Bangalore where her brother, Subhash Mehrish, also a naval officer, was serving as ADC to the Governor of Karnataka. The oven was placed on the dining room table and on completion of baking, Akhila lifted the lid and placed it on a chair. Immediately, we heard a loud thud made by the lid falling on the floor. As the lid was hot, it had burnt the cane seating on the chair and fell through the resultant hole. Recovering from the shock, Akhila was checking for damages to the lid whereas I was more concerned by what the MES would charge me for repairing the chair. The cookies, though, were delicious.

Once we had settled, I thought of getting Lucky, my Pomeranian, back from Vijay Prasada in Cochin.  We were very sad to learn that Lucky had succumbed to distemper some time ago. It was even more disconcerting because Lucky had been innoculated against the disease. But we were told these things happen.

On a weekend, Subodh Gupta and his wife Beenu who were staying in Waltair Uplands, suggested we come to their house early on Sunday morning and we would go out on a picnic somewhere. After preparations, we went to sleep on Saturday night. On getting up, we found our feet in ankle deep water which had flooded the flat and had the carpets floating. Apparently, water supply had stopped at night and the kitchen tap had been inadvertently left open. We had to abort the picnic plans and instead spent the Sunday clearing the water, drying the carpets and restoring order in the flat.

On another Sunday, Satish Bindra and Meena who had developed a good rapport with Akhila, proposed we spend the morning on a beach. After a pleasant outing, we headed back to the naval base at lunchtime. We were quite hungry and as we descended the Uplands hill on the way to the base, we saw a shack advertising ‘delicious’ food. We got out of our cars and sat down on the chairs provided. After some shouting from us, a bearer turned up. He gave us a menu and we eagerly made our choices. The bearer then informed us that food would take about an hour as ‘the cook has gone for lunch!’ We quickly got in our cars and rushed home to eat. 

By summer, ships had completed their refits and maintenance and were ready to  sail. The first time the Fleet was scheduled to spend a few nights out, we decided that rather than stay alone, Akhila would go to Calcutta to visit her sister where the latter’s husband, then Col RC Sharma, an eye specialist, was posted. After the sea trip, I got back home while Akhila took the night train to reach Vizag the next forenoon. During the night, a fierce cyclone hit the coast and in the morning when I inquired about the train’s arrival, the railway authorities said they were out of touch with the train and had no idea about its location and arrival time. I spent 12 hours of tremendous anxiety and Akhila had a torrid time in the train with howling winds and rain, zero visibility, and no food, water and information. It was an enormous relief when the train eventually arrived late in the evening. We then decided that there would be no such trips for Akhila just because I had to spend a few nights out at sea.

Socially, there was a lot of informality those days and we used to drop in each others’ house without prior notice. One day, we walked in a friend’s house with me still in uniform. Our friend’s son informed us that his parents were not at home and he would tell them that we had come. I asked him if he knew my name and he said, “Ravi Sharma.” Happy that I was popular, I asked him how he remembered me. He said, “I can read your name tally.” Smart kid!

Movies were our main source of entertainment. Rajesh Khanna was on top with Aradhana, Kati Patang and Anand which also brought to the fore Amitabh Bachchan. Jaya Bhaduri was lovable in Guddi, Uphaar and Piya Ka Ghar. Kishore Kumar’s songs were immensely popular. My friend Doc NP Mukherjee told us that he saw Kati Patang every evening while it was running in the base cinema just to listen to ‘Yeh Jo Mohabbat hai” and ‘Yeh Shaam Mastani’.

There was one picture hall in town, Jagdamba, which we visited frequently. It also had a small restaurant in the complex where we would dine after a movie until the night we were served an ice cream with a cockroach embedded in a scoop. 

Days were passing in a predictable manner. I was nearing a year as Fleet Communication Officer and the most obvious move was for me to go for the 1973 Staff College course. The list came out and my name was missing! While most of my colleagues had been selected, there were some unlikely names. I recall a rare remark made by Capt KK Nayyar, perhaps exclusive to him, which makes me laugh even now. On being told of a particular name, he said, “How is his name there? He is….. off the rake.” For non-naval readers, a rake, similar to the garden tool, is a device with which to assess the accuracy of gunfire. A wild shot would be completely ‘off the rake’!

To pour salt on the wound, my two colleagues on the staff, Bikash Ghosh, the Torpedo Anti-submarine Officer and Mohan Chandy, the Gunnery Officer, were selected to undergo staff courses abroad, Bikash in USSR and Mohan in UK, whereas I was not even in the local Wellington list. I could only conjecture that the 1970 lukewarm report of OIC Signal School was responsible for my omission. I was angry and deeply hurt and saw Admiral Sarma and told him I wanted to make a representation. He told me to go ahead and he would back me up. The representation was sent to NHQ and that was the last I heard of it.

Jack Sodhi was now due to come back and I was still on waiting list for accommodation. We decided that I would take my remaining leave and Akhila would remain in Jaipur till some accommodation was available. Meanwhile, I got a letter from Mummy that my Mansi and Masarji wanted to come to Vizag with their elder daughter Manjula, and Mummy would accompany them. Masarji, who was in the Army, had been posted in Vizag in early 40s when Manjula as an infant had been very sick. They had made a ‘sankalp’ that if she regained good health they would come to Vizag to pay obeisance to Lord Simhachalam at Vizag’s most revered temple. We were now in a quandary- for such an auspicious task, we did not want to say no to them but we had no accommodation! 

One evening, Akhila was sitting on the lawns of the Mess looking quite morose while waiting for me when Commodore MS Grewal, Chief of Staff (COS), came over and started talking to her. He noticed that she looked glum and preoccupied and said, “My girl, is something bothering you?” Innocently, Akhila poured her heart out and told Cmde Grewal of our dilemma. The latter said, “No problem, we are going on leave and you can have my house for a month.” 

When I met Akhila, she was bubbling with joy and told me what had happened. I could not believe my ears and thought the COS must be joking. How could a junior Lt Cdr stay in an earmarked, independent house of the COS? But on meeting Cmde Grewal, the offer was repeated and my hesitancy brushed aside. 

Unbelievably, we moved from our 1-bedroom abode to a two-storey independent house with front and rear lawns. Cmde Grewal’s staff was also at our disposal and we were able to host Masarji and family very comfortably. 

On completion of their visit, I took leave and we headed to Jaipur. While I returned to Vizag, Akhila stayed back till we were allotted a rented flat in Waltair Uplands in January 1973.

Shortly after we moved in, Akhila had a miscarriage and had to be hospitalized. While all of us were anxious and worried, Pitaji saw the bright side and remarked, “Chalo, koi baat nahin. Inke bacche toh hongay!”

In March, Admiral Sarma was transferred and all staff members took turns hosting farewell meals for him and Mrs Sarma. We first thought of organizing a dinner in the Mess as we were not very confident that we would be able to cope up at home with a VIP guest and several others. But we decided to bite the bullet and hosted a lunch at home that went off well with everyone appreciative of Akhila’s ‘Kadhi chawal’ and her signature ‘gobhi aloo’. There was no ‘ghiya’ though!

We were now all eagerly awaiting Rear Admiral Ronnie Pereira’s arrival as the Fleet Commander.

 

MY MARRIAGE STORY

 From the time I reached Vizag end-October 1971 and joined the Eastern Fleet Staff to the end of the war and minesweeping operations in Chittagong, the pace of life was hectic and days passed by in a flash. Back in Vizag early January 1972, the first few days were busy settling down in our new office, writing reports on the Fleet operations and working on mundane matters such as formulating the Eastern Fleet Standing Orders. Towards the end of the month, it was all done and one felt like taking a break and getting away from it all. There was to be no sailing for quite a while as most ships were under refit after the war. So I took a month’s leave and went to Jaipur.

Pitaji, Mataji (my Nana, Nani) and Mummy were anxiously awaiting my arrival and were very happy to see me. They wanted to know all about the operations and we spent a week or so talking about them. Around 10th February, Pitaji’s youngest brother Sushil Chacha’s second son Jagat, who was much younger than me, was getting married and all of us drove to Kota to attend the wedding. While Pitaji, Mataji and Mummy were busy meeting relatives and with the wedding ceremonies, I was at a loose end not knowing too many people. For some reason, perhaps brought on by the war, I was feeling very lonely. I started wondering where I was headed having reached the age of 33 ½! All my school friends, coursemates and relatives had got married and settled, the world was passing me by and here I was perhaps the last man standing! The feeling kept haunting me and I didn’t know what to do about it.

Back in Jaipur, Mummy mentioned that she had to go to Delhi to attend another wedding. Mummy’s very close friend from her Benares College days, Savitri Aunty, had invited her for the wedding of her niece, Bharti, with a certain Yogesh Deveshwar. (That's another story, 35 years later!). Mummy asked me to come along and I happily agreed as that would keep me busy. I would also get to meet Shashi Mama (Cdr PK Sharma) who after the war was posted in Delhi and we would be staying with him.

To attend the wedding, we went in the evening to Ishwar Nagar adjoining the Friends’ Colony. The Jaimala ceremony began and the bride slowly made her way to the stage. Looking around, I saw a very pretty girl standing tiptoe to get an unobstructed view of the ceremony. Her looks attracted me and I kept watching her. Shashi Mama appeared at my side and asked me where I was looking. I hesitated but then he pointedly asked me if I was looking at ‘that girl’. Caught, I had to say yes.

Shashi Mama, “Do you like her?”

Me, “Yes.”

Shashi Mama, “Do you recognize her?”

Me, “No.”

Shashi Mama, “ Well, she is Binno.”

I was stunned. The ground slipped under me. I needed to sit down but couldn’t move. Shashi Mama helped me to a chair.

Let’s start from the very beginning, a very good place to start.

In 1940, Kailash Nath Sharma and Kishen Chand Mehrish were studying in Agra University and staying in a hostel. Being members of a small Suryadhwaj Brahmin community and having common relatives, they became close friends. Both were married with Kailashji having a 2-year old son that is me, and Kishenji having a daughter and a son. When they got together after the summer vacation, Kishenji (Babuji) told Kailashji (Daddy) that the former’s wife was in the family way. Daddy said to him, “If you have a girl, we’ll get her married to Ravi.” But a boy arrived and the plan fell through. A year later, Daddy passed away.

In 1948, Pitaji and Mataji met Babuji and Amma (Babuji’s wife) at the wedding of Amma’s brother in Bharatpur. They saw an infant girl in Amma’s arms. Perhaps Mummy had told them about the 1940 idea for they immediately told Babuji to keep the girl for their grandson, me!

In 1961, I went on leave to Delhi where Pitaji was posted. Mummy asked Babuji to come to Delhi with his family. They came to Pitaji’s house on 1 Teenmurti Lane and had tea with us. Akhila (Binno) then was a lanky girl who had barely entered her teens and was in School. When they left, Mummy asked me how I liked her. I said she is fine but too young and should continue her education.

I got busy in the Navy with different appointments and transfers and whenever Mummy spoke about marriage, I said I was not ready. But both my folks and Akhila’s kept in touch and had mentally decided on the match. I, however, had my doubts about how Akhila, brought up in the orthodox and conservative background of Bijnor, would adapt to the liberal environment of the Navy. My folks kept applying pressure on me to marry which had an adverse effect on me. The stronger the pressure, the more I rebelled and opposed the match. In time, Mummy also appeared to have given up the idea and stopped writing in her letters or talking about it when we met. By February 1972, as far as I was concerned, the matter was closed.

Imagine my shock when Shashi Mama told me that the girl I was looking at was Akhila! Shashi Mama narrated what had happened. Mummy had quietly planned the whole thing. She wrote to Babuji that we were going to attend a wedding in Delhi and asked them to come having taken Savitri Aunty into confidence and obtained an invitation for them. At first, Amma was reluctant as she saw no point in meeting us with no signs of my having changed my mind. Babuji, however, persuaded her to give it one final shot and confirmed to Mummy that they would be there.

Akhila was not told anything about all this and was just tempted with the chance of a trip to Delhi. Once there, Babuji asked her to accompany them to a wedding reception. She was quite upset as she said she had not come prepared for such a formal occasion. She had, however, brought a newly purchased silk sari to get a matching blouse stitched. She was taken to Janpath to buy a shawl which would cover the unmatching blouse! And that is how she appeared that evening, 17 February 1972, watching the Jaimala ceremony and me in turn watching her! 

Shashi Mama then asked me if he should take the matter further. I was hesitant and wondered what would be Akhila’s reaction after all my naysaying over the years. The shoe was now on the other foot and would she accept me or turn me down? Shashi Mama said if I was convinced, he would talk to Babuji and Amma and tell them ‘Ravi is willin’.’ With some trepidation, I asked him to go ahead.

Shashi Mama spoke to them and they said they would talk to Akhila at night. The next morning, 18th February, Babuji rang up to say they had managed to get Akhila to say yes. Shashi Mama invited them for lunch during which the engagement was firmed up. Mummy, Mamiji and I went to Connaught Place to buy a ring which was duly slipped by me on Akhila’s finger on our return. Roughly, the wedding was planned for summer. 

I asked if Akhila and I could go out the next day. And so we had our one and only date before marriage and went to see a movie called ‘April Fool’! Shashi Mama organized an engagement party that evening at the SP Marg Mess. It was well attended headed by Admiral Chatterji who gave his fatherly approval of my choice!

The following day, Babuji and family went back to Bijnor and I to Vizag. I told  Admiral Sarma, my boss, and the fleet staff about my engagement and they were all very happy for me. Back in my cabin, I thought that now that our minds have been made up, why wait till the summer. I spoke to the Admiral the next morning and asked him if I could go back and get married as the fleet was not likely to be active for quite some time yet. He readily said yes, I could take another month off.

I spoke to Pitaji and Mummy and asked them to arrange the wedding as soon as possible. They in turn got in touch with Babuji. Initially, there was resistance from Amma and Akhila who said they would need time for preparations. Babuji overcame that with one sentence, “For something that I have waited for so many years, I am not going to wait a day more than necessary.” The family Pandit was consulted who said the only auspicious date was 11 March which was agreed upon by both families.

On 7th March I flew to Delhi where my wedding outfit was completed with the addition of a suit stitched urgently and another purchased readymade. The wedding took place in Bijnor on the due date and all close relatives from both sides were able to attend despite the short notice with just one exception. Shashi Mama who had done so much spadework leading to the engagement was unable to come to Bijnor as his younger daughter developed fever.

We returned to Delhi on 12th March and proceeded to Jaipur and Ajmer, where Mummy was posted, for receptions. Akhila and I were back in Vizag early April.

Thus the script of our marriage story which was first thought of in 1940 remained a concept for 32 years but then took just 3 weeks to be written from engagement to marriage!

P.S. My apprehensions about Akhila settling down in the naval environment proved to be unfounded. She not only adjusted rapidly but knew instinctively what to get involved in and what to stay away from. 

P.P.S. We must end on a light note. Viji Malhotra, one of the few friends who attended the wedding, has this story over which we have laughed many a time. On its way back to Delhi, the ‘baraat’ bus made a short stop at Hapur. Most of the male members rushed to stand against the nearest wall. This offended Vinnie (Cmde VK Sharma) Mama’s sense of decency causing him to shake his head and, sitting in the bus, disparagingly remark, “Verry bad”.