AFVOA Newletters of Year 2004

Page 109 of 153 43. Undetected, thanks in large measure to the munificence of Lord Varuna, we beat a silent retreat to our boat and safely made our way back to “MOTHER”!! On board, to our surprise, we found all the officers awake and waiting for our return!! It was about 0330 hrs!! When we showed them our “Booty” they erupted in excitement!! The two oldest – Chief Engineer and Electrical Officer (both CDRS) were the most vociferous!! It was then that a sobering thought struck all of us - “The Indian Fleet was without a Flagship”!! Something unheard of in the annals of NAVAL History!! 44. Before daylight, our Training Officer queried INS MYSORE whether “she was flying the Flag”?!! One can well imagine the shivers that must have run down his spine of the Officer of the Day on board INS MYSORE!! Soon we saw a “Flag” being hauled up in next to no-time!! The Indian Fleet did have a Flagship after all!! Another signal emanated from BRAHMAPUTRA TO MYSORE regarding the “Booty” on board, and the “Bounty” needed for their return!! Nothing much – two bottles of champagne, a case of whiskey and a case of beer. Near lunch time, we saw a boat from MYSORE approaching our ship. With bated breaths we awaited its coming alongside. When we saw the cardboard cartons, we knew “We Did It’!! In return we solemnly handed back to our “clan members” of INS MYSORE, the Booty!! And then as they say - “Let the Celebrations Begin”!! And it was some celebration in the wardroom of INS BRAHMAPUTRA.!! 45. TAILPIECE. Its sad, but this tradition of “RAIDS” has died a natural death succumbing to changing times. With more alongside berths now available than yesteryears, ships hardly spend any time at anchorage. As to mooring to “buoys”, it’s now confined to the pages of the “SEAMANSHIP MANUAL”. It’s a “LOST ART”.SAD BUT TRUE. 46. Lastly, our former captain on board INS MYSORE, sent us a “personal signal”, congratulating us on our daring and initiative and ended it with a “BRAVO ZULU” to each one of us!! BRAVO ZULU in naval signalese is a “Sabash” from a senior to a junior, on a task “well executed”. Coming as it did from the Flag Captain sent us into the “Seventh Heaven of Ecstasy”!! Live Experience of Brig Kuldip Chhokar on his 32 nd birthday: 47. At the end of our Met leg at Poona, we had a small break, during which we all went home. I suppose, like you, I and Col NJ Singh, our course mate, had some extra money and decided to fly 1A from Poona to Bombay. NJ was to drop at Bombay and I was to catch the Frontier Mail to DELHI. We bought the air tickets at Poona and realized to our horror that the fares had gone up slightly, but enough to knock out our famous extra money. Any way, we went without showing our concern to each other. At Bombay, NJ left me and went to his cousin’s place, and I took a taxi to Bombay Central for my train journey. To my horror, after paying the taxi fare and exchanging my Form D, I had one rupee and some change left. When I asked somebody which platform the train goes from, I was told it goes from VT and not from Central. There wasn’t much time to think. So I quickly rushed out and got into a taxi to rush to VT. I kept staring at the taximeter, as it was rushing well past 10 rupees, thinking what to do. 48. At VT, I got out of the taxi and I do not recall the exact amount, but it was well past 10 rupees. On a hunch, I opened my suitcase and told the taxi driver that I did not have any money, and he could take whatever he liked from my suitcase. He cursed me, grumbled and selected my best trouser out of the lot (not that I had too many trousers like today’s young