I
INS Krishna
After my first day at sea in July 1980 on board warship Krishna , my morale was low and I had to push myself to accept the reality . There was no going back but there was a lingering suspicion that this life was not for me and I was not naturally cut out for it. But I continued as It was to give me employment and a respectable status. Going back would also bring disrepute and life long stigma.
Soon the time arrived for our second phase of ‘Sea
Training’ . This was to be a sortie of few days and my anxiousness grew.
Fortunately the sea was calmer this time and I did enjoy the beauty of sunrise
and sunset and the many moods of the mighty Sun
from sea which is a unique sight.
We cadets were attached to various departments on board and I was sent to the
engineering department , among the toughest
. After the initial acquaintance of the various equipment and
responsibilities I was attached to a senior sailor who sent me down with a
junior sailor to ‘clean the bilges’ .
Bilges are the bottom most part of the ship and require cleaning of waste oil
accumulated therein . It was proverbial starting from the bottommost ! I followed the sailor down the various ladders
and decks to the bottom most of the ship , the movement up and down the ladder was
to be negotiated with utmost care and
caution and yet quickly, a slight slip may result in grievous injury and one may be boarded out on medical grounds
or be life long nursing an injured back! I was cautioned by many and therefore
was careful, the steel railings have to be held firmly . He then asked help to remove the iron cover . The
waste oil was then removed with a mug in a bucket and taken up. After a few
rounds I was dizzy and sick on account of the foul smell and gave up and lied down on the
deck As I was lying down in half sea
sick state I saw the engineering officer enter his cabin . His name was Lt Cdr
Rizvi and he was wearing a white overall , I had learnt from my senior that he was from
St Joseph's College Allahabad. I gathered strength and approached him
hesitatingly " sir are you from SJC Allahabad; I too am an ex SJC! "Yes Yes " He replied with a
pleasant smile , to my relief, ‘which year you passed out’? ‘Sit sit’ he
gestured me to sit in the chair opposite his. As I sat down he offered me a
cigarette! 'Four Square' ! It was a
popular and much touted brand during our
college days then and available in
ship's canteen.it broke the ice uplifted my morale, we talked about the school and the city culture which we had left
behind.
In the evening I was attached to the seamen department
at ' Boat deck'. This crew was ever
ready with life jackets half inflated to mount the ship's boat and lower it at
sea in case of emergency, such as ' Man overboard ' . Suddenly there was an
announcement on main broadcast informing that CRAA ( close range anti aircraft
) firing was to commence . We cadets huddled together to witness the action
from a distance . A ‘star shell’ ( an illuminated targe) was fired from the ship’s
main gun and the anti aircraft gun was to fire on the target assuming it to be
an aircraft . It was announced ‘Target starboard 30 engage’ ( 30 degrees to the right of the ship)
. The crew of the gun which was ready with helmet and gloves and well covered with
‘ anti flash gear’ immediately commenced
firing and we were immensely excited and
delighted to see the target slowly descending and gunshots hitting around it .
It was an old proven world war II gun ‘40/60 Bofors ’ steady and time tested . The shells were falling all around and crew
were keeping an eye on each but not picking as they were too hot , but were to
be collected later and accounted. When
the target went down the announced was made’ check.. check.. check ‘ and
immediately the firing was stopped . The crew was mustered and the Gunnery
officer expressed his happiness with their performance and promptness. They
were marched to the Commanding Officer Cdr Johri who also expressed
appreciation.
Later as I was
talking to the sailors and listening to their experiences, I saw some light and
screen on the quarter deck and on closer look I realised that a movie in 16mm
projector was being screened for off duty
watch personnel . This revelation was quite comforting. Later I learnt that as
part of entertainment on board ships carried films borrowed from a dedicated
department ashore and that in the film distribution business ' Defence' was
also a territory and these films were available in the border area for our Army
troops as well.
The next day
evening we were to return and I looked forward to it. I was now deputed as a
‘Look out’ on the Bridge wing. Bridge is the enclosed compartment on the top of
the ship with glasses on three sides to have a good view . The CO ( Commanding
Officer) sits there and it is the Command position from where the ship is
controlled . With binocular in hand I was observing the activities inside the
bridge more than looking out. The CO was bearded and sitting on his chair , it was the only
chair and marked for him , talking sometimes to the Navigating officer and OOW
( Officer of the Watch) there was a latent power and calmness in his
demeanour.
Soon the time arrived for our ship to enter harbour
and some of us cadets were directed to the Foxle ( front of the ship) to assist
the crew . The anchor was being made ready in case anchoring was required and
loud announcements were being made to all parts of the ship. It started
drizzling as it happens in Kochi and we wore our rain coats and peak cap and
made to fall- in. As the ship entered the Kochi channel the evening lights of
the city falling on water made a beautiful picture . When the ship neared the jetty the Commanding
officer was directing all actions and the second in command ( XO ) was making
all announcements . A smart young sailor threw a thin nylon rope with monkey
fist ashore and as it reached the jetty the thick ropes were tied to it and
sent ashore to be secured to the bollard . We then had to pull the rope to
assist the ship move along side . Similar action was being repeated on quarter
deck . With a few tense moments the ship was secured alongside .
Soon the announcement ‘Secure - Secure , Liberty men
fall -in’ was heard and men gleefully ran in to get
ready go ashore. We too were happy to
return to shore after yet another ‘Testing Sortie’. Later, this announcement of
‘Liberty Men fall-in’ was the sweetest sound for which I used to wait!
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