AFOVA New Letter 2 of Year 2021

Section 7 – Panorama CV 2 No. 02 / 2021 Page 218 of 332 Magar. By now we had a new Commanding Officer. He was mightily upset that his ship was being saddled with this. The old crew were still on board and we briefed him that it’s a cake walk and nothing demeaning. On the D-day 220 buffalos (200+20 calves) landed up. Even before they commenced embarkation, our Chief Bosun’s mate confirmed that all of them were she buffalos. Before we set sail a ‘kilo of pure ghee’ was delivered to the C-in-C even without being asked. Magar buried her hatchet with this act. It was a smooth sailing to Port Blair. The ship with two rudders now had 200 ‘udders’ in her tank space. During those 3 days passage to Port Blair it was fresh milk galore on board. There was ‘udder madness’ in the tank space because of milking twice a day. All the three meals had all possible dishes containing milk products. Even at Port Blair fresh milk was given to the BVY (Base Victualing Yard) for distribution to the local units. A bonanza then. The ship was flowing with milk and kindness. Milk was served even in the Ward Room bar. During the passage one each male and female calves were born and one buffalo died. They were named Magara and Magari. Like Dog Tags, a small brass tally etched with their names was tied around their necks. Birth and death were duly recorded in the ship’s log. The first and the last time I recorded such an event in my sea service. All of them were eventually disembarked at Campbell Bay. This time, the ship did not beach because of the hull state. The ship anchored close to the beaching area with the ramp down. The local Administration used pontoons to transfer the buffaloes ashore. The ESM recipients were more than happy and so were the studs. The ship didn’t stay for too long at Campbell Bay. After disembarkation one Officer quipped “CO can now consider himself half Noah; the previous Noah transported the males”. During our return trip the ship’s ward room mess secretary indulged himself in getting ‘malished in butter’ because of its abundance. Nearly two decades later, I was posted to A&N as Fortress Ops and Plans Officer. During my visit to Campbell Bay interacted with the elderly ESMs and they fondly remembered the Yeoman Service that Magar rendered two decades before. Confirmed that Magara and Magari’s progenies were still around. About The Author Capt (IN) N. Vijayasarathy (Retd) is Specialised in Anti-Submarine Warfare). He has served on IN Ships Delhi, Cauvery, Kavaratti, Magar, Kesari, Kadmatt, Chapal, Anjadip, Malvan, Rana and Agray. He is an alumnus of Sainik School Amaravathinagar, National Defence Academy, DSSC Wellington. He retired in 2010 and is settled at JVV, Madambakkam, Chennai