A CONCERT AT CARNEGIE HALL

Though I have visited New York City many times, I had not attended a concert at the famous Carnegie Hall. It was always on my list but remained an omission till a few days ago.

I first came to know about this great venue for musical concerts more than 60 years ago when on board Khukri, we had a vinyl long playing disc, "Belafonte at Carnegie Hall", which was a recording of Harry Belafonte's live performance in 1959 at the famous Hall.  Belafonte sang many of his hit songs but the one that I shall always remember was "Matilda." A comic number, Belafonte added to the fun by extending it to nearly 13 minutes repeating again and again the catchy and humorous line, "Matilda, she take me money and run Venezuela". He got every section of the audience singing that line exhorting them with calls like "Everybody", "Sing out the chorus", "Once again now," "Women over forty", "Sing a little louder", "Sing a little softer", etc. etc. From then on, I wanted to see the venue where he sang the song.

During my present visit, I looked at the events at Carnegie Hall and was happy to find that the National Youth Orchestra (NYO) of the USA was performing there and the program included two pieces I am familiar with, Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" and Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade." That set up the much overdue visit to this Mecca of concert halls.

Carnegie Hall has three auditoriums with the main one named Stern Hall after the famous violinist, Isaac Stern. It has a seating capacity of 2804. The moment Akhila and I entered the auditorium, we were charmed by the elegance of its imposing 6-storey design. For the audience, the seating begins on the ground level called 'Parquet' with 1021 seats. Above that, there are four tiers with the top one, Balcony, reachable by 137 steps. Not to worry, there are elevators so you don't have to climb! The first and second tiers consist of sixty-five boxes and the third tier is the Dress Circle. All four tiers are artistically shaped in an arc of around 300 degrees extending from one corner above the stage all the way back to the rear of the auditorium ending above the other end of the stage.

Soon, the members of the Orchestra made their appearance. The NYO consists of young musicians ages 16-19 from across the USA. It was a delight to see the youngsters trooping in with their instruments looking every bit seasoned and confident. There was at least one member of Indian origin, Rishabh Das, a 16-year old violinist, now a resident of Philadelphia. 

The conductor was an adult, Marin Alsop, well-known and experienced. The program began with Barber's Symphony No. 1, something I was not familiar but found very listenable. And then Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue, for which they wheeled in the biggest piano I have ever seen, a Steinway. It was played by another old-hand, Jean-Yves Thibauder, reputed to be one of the world's finest pianists. The Rhapsody, composed exactly 100 years ago, is like a jazz piano concerto and is particularly popular in the USA because of its American background. No wonder the audience lapped up the gusty playing of Thibauder ably accompanied by the enthusiastic young Orchestra.

An interval and then came the piece I was eagerly looking forward to. "Scheherazade" is one of the early compositions I listened to when I first developed an ear for Western classical music. In the early 1960s, the naval authorities allowed us to buy LP discs through our canteen at discounted prices. My first order of three LPs included "Scheherazade. Of course its composer, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, is very famous but maybe what further attracted me to his works like this one, "Capriccio Espagnol' and "Flight of the Bumblebee", was the fact that he had for a while served in the Russian Navy. His older brother by 22 years was a reputed naval officer and explorer and Nikolai admired him. That explains Rimsky-Korsakov's love for the ocean which is reflected in many of his works particularly in "Scheherazade".

This brings me to a humorous, though perhaps unfair, story Vinnie Mama told me. It was said that in the Russian Navy, Rimsky-Korsakov was reputed to be a poor naval officer but a brilliant musician while in the musical circles, he was known as a poor musician but a great naval officer!

Rimsky-Korsakov based his symphonic suite "Scheherazade" on "Tales From The Arabian Nights" the storyteller of which was the legendary queen who married Sultan Shahryar of Persia. Deceived by his first wife, the Sultan used to bed a new virgin every night and in the morning, chop her head off to prevent her from being unfaithful. When the Sultan picked Scheherazade, she decided to engage him with a story but withheld the ending. Upon the Sultan asking her to complete the story, she said it was late and she would complete it the next night. That night she would complete the story and begin a new one, again keeping the end for the next night. 1000 stories later on the 1001st night, Scheherazade told the Sultan she had no more stories to tell. But by then he had fallen in love with her, spared her life and peacefully drifted off to sleep.

The story is told in musical arrangements with the growling trombone and woodwinds portraying the stern Sultan and a solo violin and harp providing a sensual theme for Scheherazade. The Sultan's theme with the addition of percussion is later used near the end to represent the heaving seas and Sinbad the sailor's shipwreck. Similarly, the two recurring themes, deep and ponderous for the Sultan and light and lyrical for Scheherazade, are interwoven throughout the suite to tell the tales.

All that was superbly performed by the competent teenage artistes mature beyond their years. And in conclusion, unlike most classical pieces which end in a frenzied crescendo, here a solo violinist casts a spell with the soft, dreamy and sensuous Scheherazade theme which would haunt one well into the night.

CAPSIZING OF INS BRAHMAPUTRA

On 21 July, a fire broke out on the Indian Naval Ship, "Brahmaputra", a 3850-tonne missile frigate, while undergoing a refit in the Naval Dockyard at Mumbai. After a long fight, the fire was brought under control but the ship listed to its port side and finally toppled over to lie on its side against the jetty causing much damage to herself. The Navy is hopeful of righting the ship but it will take time, effort and money to salvage the ship and make it operational. 

A Board of Inquiry (BoI) headed by a Rear Admiral has been ordered to look into the incident, find out the causes, affix blame and recommend steps to avoid such incidents in the future. Simultaneously, the Chief of the Naval Staff has set up a special task force to review safety, security and standard operating procedures of Indian Navy.

The incident is a strange one; fires occur and are fought, brought under control quickly or get out of hand to cause much damage and destruction. However, in this case, the fire was doused but so much water was poured into the ship that it caused its listing and capsizing. The matter needs a thorough examination which the BoI would do. 

Subsequently, the Navy shall take corrective steps and punish the guilty.

But the media and armchair critics, with only a layman's knowledge of ships and the Navy and scant information of the incident, are already busy pre-judging the issue, bringing out supposed errors and incompetence, and laying blames on all and sundry from top to bottom of naval personnel. 

Some said Navy should not be losing ships in peacetime. Apart from the false premise of insinuating that too many accidents are happening, it is also like saying that an IAF aircraft should not crash in peacetime. Incidents can be due to age, malfunction or human error. The cause needs to be investigated and corrective and, if required, disciplinary action taken whether in war or in peace. 

The cost of salvaging and repairing the ship will be worked out. Loss of lives, however, is priceless and sadly the ship lost a sailor. We can console ourselves with that number but cannot replace the life lost.  

The present incident is serious and deserves close scrutiny and strict action. That is why we should wait for facts and authentic information to emerge rather than wildly passing judgement and pointing fingers which would only detract from the seriousness of the incident. There should be no fear of a cover-up as the matter is in public knowledge and cannot be hidden. Nor would the Navy wish to do that as it would be aware that sharing its findings and action taken would be in its own interest as the public would know that the Navy has nothing to hide and means business.

This brings to mind an incident which occurred 63 years ago when I had just been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. I was posted on board the frigate "Gomati" and the ship was due for a refit. The naval dockyard had its hands full with other ships and Gomati had to await her turn lying alongside idly. One day in July 1961, our Captain happened to be in the Command Headquarters when a distress message was received from a merchant vessel, "Maharashmi". For some reason which I can't recall, the ship had lost power and was lying helpless at anchor off Port Albert Victor in Gujarat, a few hours of sailing from Bombay.

Eager to be of use rather than inactive alongside, the Captain volunteered to sail to tow Maharashmi back to Bombay. He returned to Gomati a very happy man and ordered the ship to get ready to sail. 

We reached Port Albert Victor in the evening, located Maharashmi, communicated to her that we would take her in tow early morning, and anchored nearby. Our XO (second-in-command) went on the usual night rounds and discovered that there was a hole in the shipside causing water to leak in one of the aft magazines (ammunition compartment). Immediate action was taken to try and seal the leak and pump out water which, however, continued to leak in. After much effort and deliberation, it was decided that we should head back to Bombay independently before the situation worsened. We informed Maharashmi of our decision and set sail to Bombay.

Water continued to pour in faster than we could pump out and the stern of the ship kept going deeper into the sea. Along with stormy monsoon weather and rough seas, this affected the ship's speed which kept slowing down. The ship's staff worked constantly to keep patching up some new leaks and pumping out water. We managed to reach Bombay safely late into the next night with the seawater almost reaching our quarterdeck. We were immediately docked, the water pumped out and the leaks patched up. 

What if Gomati had sunk? ( There would have been casualties- I know there was at least one non-swimmer on board!) Would the ship's staff have been blamed for not knowing what to do in case of a leak? Should the Captain have foreseen that perhaps the ship had a weak hull and would develop leaks and not volunteered to take on the noble task of going to the aid of a stricken ship? Should the Headquarters have foreseen this and not allowed the ship to sail? 

Incidentally, it was finally decided that due to the heavy schedule of Naval Dockyard, Bombay, Gomati would undergo the refit at Garden Reach, Calcutta. After detailed examination, the ship was declared fit and we sailed from Bombay all the way to Calcutta stopping at Cochin, going around Sri Lanka and the choppy Gulf of Mannar on to Madras, and finally reaching our destination without any incident.

P.S. Admiral Chand would recall the Maharashmi incident; as a Lieutenant, he was the Navigating Officer (NO) on Gomati. 

I was the NO on the Bombay-Calcutta trip.

  

 

MY WALK ON SONGS THROUGH CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK

Thousands of people go to the Central Park in New York every day: walkers, runners, strollers, cyclers, picnickers, sightseers, lovers and all. Add one more whenever I am in New York, me. 

Ruchir's apartment being just across the road on the south-west corner of the Park makes it ideal for my evening walk. And I have another reason to do so: the many attractions in the Park make me recall some lovely songs which I hum as I walk by.

What better way to start than entering the Park from 72 W. Street and immediately sight the lovely circular 'Imagine Mosaic' created by masons in Naples as a memorial to The Beatles' John Lennon who was shot dead by a crazy man just 100 yards away. 'Imagine', as everyone knows, was Lennon's most popular song  wistfully dreaming of 'One World'-

"Imagine there's no countries, it isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too....

Imagine all the people, sharing all the world,

You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one."

Imagine Mosaic is part of the 2.5 acre 'Strawberry Fields' which was given that name from The Beatles' number "Strawberry Fields Forever". Walking through the trees and shrubs with beautiful flowers, I hum-

"Let me take you down 'cause I'm going to strawberry fields'

Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about

Strawberry fields forever."

I reach a road, turn left, and soon hear joyful sounds of children enjoying themselves in 'Diana Ross Playground.' Diana Ross and The Supremes were big hits in 1960s and the song I remember, though admittedly not quite matching the mood of the Playground, is "You Keep Me Hanging On", perhaps because it was also sung by my favorite, Tom Jones. "Set me free, why don't you babe, get out of my life, why don't you babe, 'cause you don't really love me, you just keep me hangin' on"!

I reverse direction and on my left is 'Shakespeare Garden' which brings to mind the troubadour singing "What is Youth" in Franco Zeferelli's classic "Romeo and Juliet". And then the 'Cherry Hill Fountain' appears leading to the 'Cherry Park' where Cherry trees blossom in the spring. It is time to recall the 'King of Mambo', Perez Prado and his "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White - 'when your true lover  comes your way'"- with the exceptional undulating trumpet of Billy Regis. 

From Cherry Park and past Bethesda Fountain thronging with visitors playing music and dancing, I reach Conservatory Water and a bronze sculpture depicting characters from the Lewis Carroll classic "Alice in Wonderland". Nearby is a statue of Hans Christian Andersen with his hat by his side and reading his story "The Ugly Duckling" to, who else, a duckling! I remember the movie with Danny Kaye playing the main part and singing "I'm Hans Christian Andersen" and "Thumbelina-'What's the difference if you're very small, when your heart is full of love, you're nine feet tall.'"

Time to turn South and head for 'The Mall'. Though it is also called a 'Literary Walk', The Mall has a musical beginning from this end. On the right is a bust of Beethoven and I think of a light, short piece "Fur Elise" or, in a more serious mood, "Ode To Joy" which is the highlight of his 9th Symphony. 

Right opposite is 'Naumburg Bandshell' which provides the stage for concerts throughout the year. It has also featured in many movies, notably in the sweet "Breakfast At Tiffany's". And so I launch into-

"Moon River, wider than a mile, I'm crossing you in style someday....

Two drifters off to see the world, there's such a lovely world to see,

We're after the same rainbow's end, waiting 'round the bend....

Moon river and me."

At the end of The Mall is a statue of the Scottish poet, Robert Burns. Whether familiar with his poems or not, all of us know his famous work “Auld Lang Syne" which we unfailingly sing to bring in every new year.

Across the road and at the southern end of the Park, there is 'Wollman Rink', a popular venue for ice skating in winter and currently, in summer, for a new game I see for the first time, 'Pickleball', which seems akin to Tennis on a smaller and Table-Tennis on a larger scale. But I will always remember the Rink for its featuring in the heart-rending movie, "Love Story". The scene showed the two young lovers having fun in the ice rink with Francis Lai's 'Skating Theme' playing in the background. And if you think of "Love Story", would you be able to resist humming its beautiful theme, "Where Do I Begin"?

A turnaround to the interior of the Park brings me to the kids' favorite, 'Carousel', with beautifully painted handmade horses. I recall the Broadway musical of the same name with the unforgettable song "If I Loved You" and the emotional theme, ‘The Carousel Waltz’, which, like a carousel, goes round and round and up and down in my head.. 

A little further up, in the "Sheep Meadow" is the "Nell Singer Lilac Walk" which is a narrow path through a small grove of lilac trees with varieties from all over the world. At the height of its popularity in mid-1950s, there were many nice versions of the song "When the White Lilacs Bloom Again" and the best for me was by Lawrence Welk And His Sparkling Strings which invoked visions of bubbly champagne while admiring the lilacs.

It's been quite a walk and near the exit is "Tavern On The Green". I sit down and order a drink thinking of Mary Hopkin and her nostalgic "Those Were The Days":

"Once upon a time there was a tavern, where we used to raise a glass or two,

Remember how we laughed away the hours, think of all the great things we would do.

Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end, we'd sing and dance forever and a day

We'd live the life we choose, we'd fight and never lose, for we were young and sure to have our way...

Just tonight I stood before the tavern, nothing seemed the way it used to be,

In the glass I saw a strange reflection, was that lonely woman really me?"

And finally, a really old song which had its origin in 1883, "There's A Tavern In The Town "- 

"....where my true love sits him down, sits him down,

 And drinks his wine as merry as can be, and never, never thinks of me.

Fare thee well for I must leave thee, do not let this parting grieve thee

And remember that the best of friends must part, must part.

Adieu, adieu kind friends adieu, adieu, adieu,

I can no longer stay with you, stay with you

I will hang my harp on a weeping willow tree,

And may the world go well with thee."

ZURICH 2.0

A second trip to Zurich wasn't really on the cards; it just worked out that way. 

Akhila and I had ticked off Zurich on our list of travel destinations after a visit, albeit a short one, in 1987. Then this year, Shiven qualified for a 3-week Creative Writing course in Columbia University, New York, and Shumita made plans to visit US with her two boys. She wanted us to come and Ruchir insisted that we should also be in New York with them. He said he would book us by Swissair via Zurich and that tempted us to take a  break there. Ruchir, who loves Switzerland and has made a number of business trips there, has a good friend, Natasha, in Zurich and organised a car driven by Mahu-ud-Din, originally from Pakistan, for our stay.

Mahu-ud-Din met us at the airport on our arrival on a Sunday morning and drove us to our hotel, Mandarin Oriental, centrally located near the south-west bank of Limmat river which starts from Lake Zurich on the southern side of the city and flows northwards. That afternoon, Natasha met us and took us on a short walking tour by the bank of Limmat. It reminded us of our '87 visit when we had roamed around the same area and seen the (same?!) white swans swimming in Limmat. Our tour ended with a climb up to the hilltop park, Lindenhof, from where we could get a panoramic view of the old town of Altstadt, the 12th century twin-towered Grossmunster Church and the Limmat River. On that Sunday afternoon, Lindenhof was crowded as it is a favourite meeting point of people particularly chess players who flock to play the game in the serene surroundings.

We walked back to the hotel and as it was early enough, Natasha said we could do some out-of-town sightseeing that evening. So Mahu-ud-Din drove the three of us to the famous Rhine Falls, just over an hour away from Zurich. The Falls are the most powerful waterfalls in Europe with a height of 75 feet and width 490 feet near the border with Germany. The river flow is spectacular from a viewing platform accessed from the Laufen Castle which also houses a restaurant where we sat down to have a much needed Cappuccino.

On the way back, we took a detour to visit the ancient village, Stein am Rhine. Unfortunately, it started raining and became dark, so we headed back to Zurich and I made a mental note to visit the village on a later date if we had the time.

Natasha's Swiss husband, Adrian, joined us on our return to Zurich and they took us out to a lavish all-vegetarian buffet dinner which had the largest number of vegetarian dishes I have ever seen. Incidentally, Natasha has a Swiss mother and an Indian father and I was reminded of one Group Captain Sabhaney who did the NDC course in 1966 when I was there. The Group Captain had a Swiss wife and I wondered if there was any connection but there wasn't.

It had been raining a lot but we woke up in the morning to a fairly clear day. Mahu-ud-Din suggested we go to Engelberg for a cable car trip up Mount Titlis. We reached Engelberg in just over an hour and got into the cable car which took us to Trubsee, Stand and finally the summit of Klein Titlis above the glacier at an altitude of 10000 feet. We got out of the enclosed area where it was freezing cold at -5 degrees C. Fortunately, Mahu-ud-Din had lent me a jacket and Akhila had prudently rented one at a shop while buying the tickets. We then got into a rotating cable car, the first in the world, for a fascinating panoramic view of the peaks, glaciers and valleys. Back at the cable car station, we got into an illuminated glacier cave, actually inside a glacier, which was a unique but a shivering and slippery experience!

Outside the station there is a lifesize cardboard cutout of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol from their popular old movie "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge". This was Yash Chopra's favourite film shooting site and there is a shop selling souvenirs from his films. In fact, the place seems to have been taken over by Indians with restaurants and cafes serving Indian fare and many visitors from homeland.

We too had a bite there and then got into the cable car for the trip back. We took a break at Trubsee for a walk along the tranquil lake before returning to Engleberg.

Lucerne was not too far out of the way so I requested Mahu-ud-Din to take a little detour. We drove around the town looking at some traditional frescoed buildings and came to the big 'Welcome' gate opposite the train station. We walked to the Lucerne lake and the wooden Chapel Bridge dating back to the 14th century repeating what we had done in 1987. Once again, we were greeted by many graceful and friendly swans swimming in the lake.  

Having got our money's worth, happy but exhausted, we headed back to Zurich. 

The next day, Natasha advised us to go to Liechtenstein, again about an hour's drive from Zurich. Sound advice as it satisfied my ego of a self-styled traveller ticking off a new country. Officially named Principality of Liechtenstein, the country is the fourth smallest in Europe after the Vatican City, Monaco and San Marino, and the sixth smallest, after Nauru and Tuvalu, of all recognized countries in the world. It is just 25 kms long and 160 sq. kms. in area with a population of 39790. It is also the smallest country in the world to share a border with two countries, Switzerland and Austria. Boasting of the highest GDP per person in the world when adjusted for purchasing power parity, it is no wonder that its citizens are quite content with their independence and the tiny size of their country.

We visited its capital Vaduz which has as its landmark a medieval castle on top of a mountain peak overlooking the city. The head of state, Prince of Liechtenstein. resides here. With its origin dating back to the 12th century, it was expanded in the 17th century and underwent a major restoration in the early 20th century. We also saw the beautiful St. Florin Cathedral and the Planken municipality before bidding goodbye to Liechtenstein. In three hours including a break for lunch, we probably covered more than half of the country!

On the way back, we had decided to see the Lindt chocolate factory in Zurich but, en route, Mahu-ud-Din first took us to another famous one, Laderach. We did a quick round, tasting and buying before landing up at Lindt. It was a fascinating tour starting at a big chocolate fountain in the main hall. More tasting and buying and our tour was complete.

I don't think I had ever visited a chocolate factory till December 2022. Since then, in the last 1 1/2 years, we have done four: two small ones in Puducherry and Munnar, and now the giants, Lindt and Laderach. 

On the final day of our stay, we took the toy train, reminiscent of Simla and Darjeeling, for a 20-minute ride to Uetilberg mountain, which is the highest point in Zurich 451 metres above the city. To get to the top from the railway station, it is a 68 m. climb but worth the effort for a spectacular panoramic view of the whole of Zurich and its lake. To take in the scenery at leisure, there is enough seating all around and a hotel and restaurant for refreshments.

We were finished with Uetilberg early in the afternoon so I seized the opportunity to fulfill my desire to go back to Stein am Rhein and am glad we did. The small village, all of 6 sq kms with more than 75% of land used for agricultural purposes and forestry, lies by the banks of River Rhine.  The main street is like a fairyland with beautifully painted buildings dating back to the 12th century. No vehicles are permitted on the street and the river bank and the frescoes adorning the facade of the buildings are cute and lovable. The river bank is lined up with restaurants and cafes filled with tourists. And, of course, the white swans are here too!

Reluctantly, we left the village and drove back to Zurich. With the late summer sunset, there was time enough for a farewell stroll on the streets seeing the 853 A.D. Fraumunster Church distinguished by its green clocktower and famous for stained-glass windows by Marc Chagall added in 1970, the imposing Zurich Opera House, the high-end shopping street Bahnhofstrasse, and more swans in the Limmat.

Next morning, Mahu-ud-Din took us to the airport for our flight to Miami. He had been good company for the last 4 days keeping us entertained during the long drives with stories of his own adventurous life, three wives though not at the same time, and his views on the political situation in Pakistan. Right till he saw us off checking in at the airport, he was insistent that we stop over in Zurich on our way back to India with him making all arrangements. 

There surely is a lot more to Zurich than had met our eye at first sight.

LES SAVEURS DE LA FRANCE (THE FLAVOURS OF FRANCE)

Geography in school taught me that there was a country called France. Then I studied European history in which France played a major role. Two famous quotes from my history book are still fresh in my mind. Louis XV famously declared, "Apres moi, le deluge." Yes, I give a damn what happens after I'm gone!

The other one is probably even more famous- Marie Antoinette, the queen of France during the French Revolution, when apprised of the fact that the peasants had no bread to eat, is supposed to have said, "Let them eat cake." Nobody is certain whether she actually said so or not, but the words have been attributed to her to highlight the ignorance of the royalty of the hardships faced by ordinary French citizens of those times.

In the National Defence Academy, I studied French in my final year. I remember Mr. Paul, our teacher, acquainting us with the finer nuances of the language such as every noun having a gender and that the last consonant of a word is not pronounced unless the next word begins with a vowel in which case the consonant is conjoined with the vowel- 'Voulez vous?' 'Mais oui!' After the NDA, I lost touch with the language but can recognise some words and phrases to make sense of a written piece. I am glad that Shumita achieved a high level in French by studying at the Alliance Francaise in Delhi and can be my translator when required.

The radio introduced me to French songs. Among the earliest I remember are "La Mer" by Charles Tenet composed in 1943 during a train journey in South of France and Edith Piaf's "La Vie En Rose" written in 1945 to alleviate the mood of the French during World War II.

Originally a French hit, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and all well-known singers of those days, recorded their own version of the sweet, chic number, "Mademoiselle de Paris", aptly describing a French maiden-

"She's so chic and adorable

No one thinks it deplorable

When men all turn around just to see

Mademoiselle de Paree.

Ooh la la, oui oui oui

She's the spirit of spring in Paree."

Another French song, "Les Feuilles Morte" was popularised by Nat King Cole as "Autumn Leaves." Over the years, I have been enjoying Michel Legrand's compositions such as the sweet "I Love Paris", the haunting "I Will Wait For You" from "The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg" and "Windmills Of Your Mind", the theme from "The Thomas Crown Affair." Then there are Francis Lai's enchanting themes from "Un Homme Et Une Femme" and "Love Story", and Paul Mauriat's brilliant instrumental rendition of "L'amour Est Bleu."

I read some French fiction, translated into English, of course, but it gave me an insight into French history as well as their way of life and customs including the dreaded guillotine! I loved Alexandre Dumas' classics "The Three Musketeers", "The Count Of Monte Cristo" and "The Black Tulip". Victor Hugo was another favourite with "Les Miserables" and "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame." Jules Verne, 'father of science fiction', was ahead of his time with "Around The World In 80 Days" and "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea." "Cyrano de Bergerac" by Edmond Rostand was a heart-rending romance of a man in love but too shy to reveal his identity to his lover because of his extraordinarily long nose.

Movies and musical plays based on these books have been big hits too. 

Two Francoises grabbed my attention in late 1950s-'60s.  The first was an 18-year old author, Francoise Sagan, who made waves with her first book, "Bonjour Tristesse". The book was controversial but a gripping portrait of a coming-of-age girl aged 17 and her complex relationship with her father. It made Sagan famous and she followed it up with other popular books including "A Certain Smile" which was adapted into a film starring Rossano Brazzi and Christine Carere, an actress little known outside France. The story was of a teenage girl falling for a much older man. The theme song by Johnny Mathis went to the top of all music charts and was a personal favourite of mine.

The second Francoise was a young singer, Francoise Hardy. I was on Trishul when we visited Kuwait. We were invited to a party hosted by some young Palestinians who had a huge collection of music. There I heard Hardy for the first time and was enchanted by her voice. She also sang in English and I bought an LP with the unforgettable song "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" that keeps constantly reverberating in my ears.

In 1963, my ship Khukri visited Pondicherry. A visit to the French Quarter gave some idea of life in a French city. It was also my first introduction to the famous French bread, the long 'baguette'!

Still, it was only through movies that I could see France. "The Last Time I Saw Paris" starring two budding actors in Elizabeth Taylor and Roger Moore along with Van Jonson was a heart-rending tragedy with the haunting theme song sung by Odette. Another hit movie was the musical, "An American In Paris" with six Oscars to its credit including Best Picture. Gene Kelly was super with his tap dancing ably accompanied by Leslie Caron. A few years later came "Gigi", another superb musical winning the Best Picture award and 8 other Oscars. Its cast was mainly French with Leslie Caron, Louis Jourdan and the one and only Maurice Chevalier. Who can forget his lovely song, "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Any More"?

Meanwhile two young stars were earning enormous popularity in France and beyond. Alain Delon with his striking good looks was winning female hearts. For men, there was Brigitte Bardot, the ultimate oomph girl. In "Doctor At Sea", she was brilliant, charming Dirk Bogarde with"Je Ne Sais Pas", 'there are many things I don't know but I do know this, that I love you love you love you, je ne sais.'

My first visit to France took place in 1982. I had been sent by NHQ to the Italian Naval Exhibition in Genoa, Italy. Our stay included a weekend and a local Indian friend offered to take me on a car drive to Cote d'Azur, the French Riviera. So we travelled through Monte Carlo and Nice to Cannes and St. Tropez and looked to spend the night there. It was the peak of summer and we could not find a hotel with a vacant room and kept driving on to Toulon and Marseilles. Still no luck, so we turned back and went inland a bit and soon found two rooms. 

The next day, it was a drive back with a few hours on the beaches of St. Tropez, Cannes and Monte Carlo. The drive along the sea coast was beautiful and reminded me of the car scenes in Alfred Hitchcock's "To Catch A Thief" with the difference that the car in the movie had Cary Grant and Grace Kelly with a love interest whereas we were just two males, simply friends! I made a mental note to correct that in the future. 

A visit to Paris materialised only in 1987. I was posted in Singapore as the Defence Attache and Akhila and I embarked on a trip to UK and Europe. Our 3-day stay in Paris was hectic as we wanted to cover all the famous tourist spots, Eiffel Tower and River Seine, Arc de Triomphe, a walk up and down Champs Elysees looking at famous designer shops such as Chanel, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Prada and many more, Louvre Museum with the sculpture 'Venus de Milo', and perhaps the most famous painting in the world, Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa', Notre-Dame Cathedral, Moulin Rouge, and Versailles Palace and Garden. Phew!!!

The promised corrective action during the earlier trip to the French Riviera was executed with Ruchir organising a trip for Akhila and me in 2018. We spent four days based in Monte Carlo and going around Nice, Cannes and St. Tropez along with some smaller towns like Antibes, inland villages and vineyards.

Vive la France and hopefully, au revoir.

Tailpiece or pieces: During our stay in Paris, our host accompanied us for shopping. On return to his small car, we found two big limousines, one in front and one at the back, with almost no space for our host to manoeuvre his car out. Unperturbed, he started the car, put full wheel on one side and reversed till he hit the rear car. Then he put the wheel on the other side and drove forward hitting the front vehicle. He repeated these manoeuvres 4-5 times till he managed to eke his car out of the parking. Content, he drove on quite unconcerned at the damage and the hanging tailpiece of the car ahead.

 

Was that a typical French way of muscling out of tight spots? Maybe or maybe not. Our host was an Indian!

 

GOLDEN OLDIES FOR GROWING OLDIES

I love The Beatles and Paul McCartney's "Yesterday" is one of my top favourites. I am in good company; the song had been voted as the Best Song of the 20th century in a 1999 BBC Radio2 poll of music experts and listeners and number one Pop Song of all time by MTV and Rolling Stone magazine in 2000.

One particular line from the song plays a lot in my mind these days: 'I'm not half the man I used to be.' Of course, in the song it is used in a different context but I find it an apt description of the aged me. Where is the man who was bold, full of optimism and energy, always seeking adventure and on the go? I look in the mirror and see a reflection of a haggard, gray-haired and balding man with wrinkles, puffy eyes and white eyebrows- yes, half the man at best even with lengthening nose and ears!

One thought leads to another and I started remembering songs about old age and times. I harked back to my school days and songs Father Mackessack taught us in his after school singing class. One was of 1860 vintage by the famous composer Stephen Foster with a stirring version by Paul Robeson in 1930s, "Old Black Joe" -

"Gone are the days when my heart was young and gay,

Gone are the friends from the cotton fields away,

Gone from the earth to a better land, I know,

I hear their gentle voices calling, Old Black Joe.

I'm coming, I'm coming, for my head is bending low,

I hear their gentle voices calling, Old Black Joe."

Another treasure from Foster/Mackessack was "Old Folks At Home". For the singer "all de world am sad and dreary ebry where I roam...all up and down de whole creation sadly I roam, still longing for de old plantation, and for de old folks at home." Similar to The Beach Boys in "Sloop John B" who sang, "I feel so broke up, I wanna go home." Well, for me, home is Jaipur and that's where I wanna go though most old folks are no longer at home and have gone to a 'better place'.

A song that touchingly described melancholy and consolation over lost youth was "When You And I Were Young, Maggie". It owed its origin to a 1864 poem and had many versions including one by Bing Crosby and his son Gary. Some bittersweet lyrics-

"Oh they say that I'm feeble with age Maggie, my steps are much slower than then

My face is a well written page Maggie, and time all along was the pen.

Oh they say we have outlived our time Maggie, as dated as songs that we've sung

But to me you're as fair as you were Maggie, when you and I were young."

Time marches on relentlessly and we are busy with our lives till one day we suddenly look back and wonder how fast it has flown by. "Sunrise Sunset" from the popular musical "Fiddler on the Roof" captures this beautifully:-

"Is this the little girl I carried?

Is this the little boy at play?

I don't remember growing older, when did they?

When did she get to be a beauty?

When did he get to be so tall?

Wasn't it yesterday when they were so small?

Sunrise, sunset, swiftly flow the days

Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers, blossoming even as we gaze,

Sunrise, sunset, swiftly fly the years

One season following another, laden with happiness and tears.

What words of wisdom can I give them, how can I help to ease their way?

Now they must learn from one another, day by day."

Well, I must accept my ageing happily and look at the brighter side of getting old. Remember Maurice Chevalier in "Gigi" observing the lovestruck, bewitched and bewildered character played by Louis Jourdan? Chevalier sings contentedly, "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore"-

"Poor boy, poor boy, downhearted and depressed and in a spin,

Poor boy, poor boy, oh, youth can really do a fellow in,

How lovely to sit here in the shade with none of the woes of man and maid,

I'm glad that I'm not young anymore."

Frank Sinatra though, advises one to remain "Young At Heart" regardless of age-

"And if you should survive to a hundred and five

Look at all you'll derive out of being alive

And here is the best part, you've had a head start,

If you are among the very young at heart."

And, I must be content and happy to have lived my life "My Way" as sang good old Frank Sinatra in his signature song-

"I've lived a life that's full, I've travelled each and every highway,

And more, much more than this, I did it my way.

Regrets, I've had a few, but again too few to mention....

I've loved, I've laughed and cried, I've had my fill, my share of losing,

And now as tears subside, I find it all so amusing,

To think I did all that, and may I say not in a shy way,

I did it my way."

SAILOR SONGS

 "In her hair, she wore a yellow ribbon,

She wore it in the springtime and the merry month of May,

Hey, hey, and if you asked her why the hell she wore it,

She wore it for a sailor who is far, far away."

These lines have been going around in my head for some days now. Maybe because it is the month of May which, however, is not very merry in India though real summer heat has still to set in Delhi this year. But the song brings on nostalgia with sweet memories for me.

It was in late 1940s during his first leave after joining the Navy that I heard Vinnie Mama sing this shanty and learnt it from him. I didn't know nor inquired about the significance of the girl wearing a 'yellow ribbon' and took it that it was her or her sailor's favourite colour. But now that we have internet and the know-all Dr./Prof. Google, I thought of checking and discovered that it is believed that the tradition had its origins in the US Civil War when a yellow ribbon in a woman's hair indicated that she was "taken" by a man who was absent due to service in the US Army Cavalry.

There is another popular shanty, "Ship Ahoy", which is an English music hall song dating back to 1908. Its chorus goes-

"All the nice girls love a sailor, all the nice girls love a tar,

For there's something about a sailor, well, you know what sailors are,

Bright and breezy, free and easy, he's the ladies' pride and joy,

Falls in love with Kate and Jane, then he's off to sea again!"

I have an issue with the last line; it echoes the saying which much maligns a sailor by stating that he has a girl in every port. Having been a sailor, I know that's not true. Let alone every port, I didn't have a girl in any, not even in my home port. If at all I had a girl, she was in a town far inland though a river runs through it. Actually, a sailor pines to quickly get done with the sailing and return home hoping his girl is waiting for him and that absence has made her heart grow fonder for him and not somebody else! Remember the 1956 Eddie Fisher song-

"Cindy, Oh Cindy, Cindy don't let me down'

Write me a letter soon and I"ll be homeward bound.... 

I know my Cindy is waiting, as I walk the decks alone,

Her loving arms reach out to me, soon I"ll be heading home,

Then my sailing days will be over, and no more will I roam...."

At times the sailor falls in love with a girl in a visiting port but, heartbroken, has to leave her. Listen to Harry Belafonte in "Jamaican Farewell":

"But I'm sad to say I'm on my way, won't be back for many a day,

My heart is down my head is turning around,

I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town."

If the sailor can't go back, he wishes that somehow the girl is brought to him as in an old Scottish shanty-

"My Bonnie lies over the ocean, my Bonnie lies over the sea.

My Bonnie lies over the ocean, oh, bring back my Bonnie to me.

Bring back, bring back, bring back my Bonnie to me, to me...."

Or better still, bring her back along with himself as many Indian naval officers who went for training to UK in the early days did though sometimes the unsuspecting parents were shocked out of their wits to get a cable out of the blue saying "Coming home with Dorothy!"

I must confess one sin most sailors are guilty of and that is their fondness for a drink, particularly Rum. In his famous novel "Treasure Island", Robert Louis Stevenson invented a song, "Dead Man's Chest", for his pirate characters and wrote the chorus: 

"Fifteen men on the dead man's chest.

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

Drink and the devil had done for the rest,

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum."

The chorus with added lyrics has been used in many songs in subsequent plays, TV serials and movies and the phrase "Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum" is universally popular. 

Traditionally in the British Navy, a 'tot' of rum was given to sailors as a morale booster and reward for hard work as also a medicine with the rum mixed with lime juice to keep scurvy at bay. One drink leads to another particularly for a lonely sailor far away from his home and girl. So we have the shanty, "Drunken Sailor":

"What shall we do with a drunken sailor, what shall we do with a drunken sailor,

What shall we do with a drunken sailor early in the morning?

Shave his belly with a rusty razor....

Put him in a long boat till he's sober....

Stick him in a scupper with a hosepipe bottom...."

And naughtily or nautically'

"Put him in the bed with the captain's daughter....

Early in the morning!"

Fondness for drink could get sailors, young and old, in trouble. The Beach Boys described it in "Sloop John B"-

"We come on the sloop John B, my grandfather and me,

Around Nassau town we did roam,

Drinking all night, got into a fight,

Well, I feel so broke up, I wanna go home."

Yes, all said and done, a sailor's life is a lonely one with him looking forward to return home to his loved ones. He eagerly awaits the words "Anchors Aweigh" as in the marching song we were first introduced to in our NDA days:

"Anchors aweigh, my boys, anchors aweigh,

Farewell to foreign shores, we sail at break of day-ay-ay-ay,

Through our last night ashore, drink to the foam,

Until we meet once more.

Here's wishing you a happy voyage home."

And now that we have girl sailors, they'll sing similar tunes and know that ‘a girl in every port’ is as much a myth as would be ‘a boy in every port.’