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Beer & BiryaniN. ShankarSundayMusings
Sunday Musings
Beer & Biryani
By
Narayanan Shankar
(a.k.a. Capt N Shankar)
Copyright @ 2020 by Narayanan Shankar
All rights reserved.
No part of the Sunday Musings “Beer & Biryani” series of publications of which this is the 1st (First) shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means electronic, mechanical, audio, visual, photocopying or otherwise, without the permission of the copyright owner.
Published & Distributed by : Narayanan Shankar (Singapore)
For Permission requests contact: Shankar@Vinsight.Group
Purchasers may order their copies via above email address.
---------------------------------------------
The e-books are a compilation of articles written and circulated by the author over a period. They are based on the life & times of the cohort of Training Ship Rajendra 1974-75-76. They are part fact, part fiction and part anecdotal based on fading memories from events over a span of over 4 decades.
Sunday Musings
Beer & Biryani
By
Narayanan Shankar
(a.k.a. Capt N Shankar)
Copyright @ 2020 by Narayanan Shankar
All rights reserved.
No part of the Sunday Musings “Beer & Biryani” series of publications of which this is the 1st (First) shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means electronic, mechanical, audio, visual, photocopying or otherwise, without the permission of the copyright owner.
Published & Distributed by : Narayanan Shankar (Singapore)
For Permission requests contact: Shankar@Vinsight.Group
Purchasers may order their copies via above email address.
---------------------------------------------
The e-books are a compilation of articles written and circulated by the author over a period. They are based on the life & times of the cohort of Training Ship Rajendra 1974-75-76. They are part fact, part fiction and part anecdotal based on fading memories from events over a span of over 4 decades.
On my honour, I promise that I will do my best, To do my duty to God and my country, To help other people at all times, To place the ship before my Top, and the Top before myself.
The Rajendra Promise
Training Ship RajendraClick above Link
"Keeper of Records"
Ashis Das
Shiv Halbe
The "PitaMaha"
"Reunion Man"
Ajith Peiris
Arun Dua the "Don" & D Bhatnagar a.k.a "Bhutto the Bard"
This 1st e-book is dedicated to
The Stalwarts on this page for their immense contribution in bringing & keeping the flock together
Ravi Ghai & Sudarshan Gupta
The Admins
"The Archivist"
D.K.Mehta
"Joke a Minute"
K S Bagga
Anoop Kumar
"The Mustachioed Accountant"
Innocence to "The Indian Cadet"
..... took Two years for one-half and just One for the rest ...
The bonds were forged then on a ship of steel and we began our voyages across seas and oceans - going where the ships and sails took us ...Forty Glorious Years Later ....
Over the intervening years, we loved & won (or lost), worked hard, married or stayed single, raised families, moved or stayed in one city, met formally or informally ....
7th July 2016Sunday MusingsMuch water down the Ganga from the monsoonsMuch damage from terror in many placesMuch talk on media based on breaking news.... But on TSR 74-74-76Much happiness onBirths, Birthdays, Verses and 'Versaries...----So on this glorious Sunday look at the mirror, wife,neighbour, pet, the next living being you meet andsmile 😃---If they ask you why...Say because you are going to the 2017 Reunion 😀
7th Aug 2016Sunday Musings---My friend Bhutto encourages us to seek "intellectual,artistic, emotional and spiritual growth"As my intellect has limited growth possibilities - I have tried the rest ....----"All roads lead to Rome" is an age old phrase...it wasthe train for me via Milan and Florence.Lot of art, culture, paintings and sculptures to take in- Leanardo da Vinci (Last Supper) MichaelAngelo(David and Sistine Chapel) and scores of lessermortals..---This Friendship Sunday I proceed to Vatican City, StPeter's Basilica to pray at the seat of the CatholicChurch for the well being of my TSR 76 friends andtheir families ..With luck the Pope will shower his blessings from thebalcony!----Bye for now++++++++++
Pope Francis
Devendra Bhatnagar
a.k.a Bhutto the Bard
St Peter's Square
14th Aug 2016Sunday Musings---Tale of Two citiesOne symbolized by a MerlionOther synonymous with a MermaidThe Merlion spewing water into the seaThe Mermaid languidly seated on a rockThe Lion spews waterThe Maid looks sadAnd forlornThe Merlion has witnessed a fairy tale growth of acityThe Mermaid has spawned many a fairy taleOne of the Cubs got Gold yesterdayThe other is made of Bronze---Lion and Maid connected by "Mer"- the sea;Just like us---------Bye for now
Mermaid,
Copenhagen
Joseph Schooling
Singapore's 1st Olympic
Gold Medallist
Merlion, Singapore
28th Aug 2016Sunday Musings-------A word, a nickname, a phrase at times shapes ourthoughts, actions and indeed life---As you know my English Teachers' prophecy was thatI would be 'a beggar in a bus stand' if the youthfulantics continued. But he also loved the language hetaught ..introducing us plebes to poetry ..I have carried through my last 40 odd years thefollowing lines, rightly or wrongly, from "TheWasteland" by T.S.Elliot. Extract from "The love songof J Alfred Prufrock"No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;Am an attendant lord, one that will doTo swell a progress, start a scene or two,Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,Deferential, glad to be of use,Politic, cautious, and meticulous;Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—Almost, at times, the Fool.-----Once I read these lines I knew they were "me".---Happy weekend with *Beer & Biryani*---
Kind Courtesy: Richard Shane, dear friend and ex-colleague, who would often quote this poem
Richard Shane
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4th September 2016Sunday Musings
2 milestones this past week, 30 years of marriageand 6 years of entrepreneurship on 31st Aug 2016.On reflection, at the threshold, both were similar;uncharted waters, excitement, trepidation,passion, apprehension, confidence, confusion,leaving the care-free behind, all in equal measure.Now a sense of tranquility; neither much canchange, nor does it matter, if it does. Spent the dayat peace - except when my little left tootsie toedecided to violently kiss the leg of the favouritechair - and did a li' dance in painful celebration;A gentle reminder that the journeys weren’talways tranquil.
Interestingly, my TSR counterpart and fellowentrepreneur, IPS Malhotra also celebrated hiswedding anniversary this week. Wise men orfools…. Is not for us to decide…. for life is to begrateful for all that it has bestowed;Stay healthy and happy. 😀
Bye for now;
*Beer & Biryani*
2982
Shankar N
3082
Malhotra IPS
25th Sept 2016Sunday Musings--------"Tune maari entriyaan reDil mein baji ghantiyaan reTang tang tang…" goes a Bollywood ditty---Keeping with the theme a 'controversial' question to allthose keyboard warriors beating the war drum on thisforum;I see that many of you have a son or daughter of the agewhere they can enlist in defence of the country they callhome;How many do it??(A big salute here to Tarun AroraThere may be othersA big salute to them as well)--The rest would do well to have a wee chat at home withtheir Missus and the child; and then talk about wantingothers' children to go to war on their behalf ..----It is a philosophical question and I remain apolitical....
Like your favourite ..... "Beer & Biryani"
Tarun Arora
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5th March 2017 Sunday Musings "Ooty & 7 days later"It's a week since we left Ooty; We came from afar(Rajesh Verma 15000 km) and near Raman (257km), belonged to many faiths, castes (thinkNamboodri) , 6 or more different passports, frommountains/plains/islands, for most it was areunion after 40+ years and for some spouses thevery 1st meeting; unsure, apprehensive borderingon doubt;What brought us together was TSR; an unlikelybunch - picture housewives, writers, artist,designer, scientist, bureaucrat with balding pate,portly, 60 going on 16 men with a unique brand ofhumour;Yet we embraced, bonded, sang, drank, dined,danced, laughed, cried, mocked, mimicked,screamed, shouted, shared and as it came to anend hugged and wanted it to go on and madepromises to return;---
The Bold & the Beautiful in different places & poses
A Perfect Pose,
A make-believe Story and
Unbelievable Dance Moves
Farideh & Bahram (Baron) Naghdi
Kairali & Ravi Narayanan
Poonam & Anoop Kumar
Ajit & Anu Balaram
Apple & Ravinder Ghai
C C Kacchvimath
& Urmila
Anjali & Dhiren Bhatia
... Reunion Romance in ...
...The "Queen of the Hills" ....
Sailaja & Prasad Rebala
Meena/Kannan-Bahram/Freida
From Sailaja Rebala
Was that a dream?No. Yet when one reads TSR main WApp groupposts it does seem so; so a request for all thosespouting divisive propaganda for one side or theother - come feel the love of a TSR Reunion; if youstill don't change - may be you never belonged tobegin with;----Leave you with a song from Arun Dua's amazingcollectionhttps://m.youtube.com/watch?hl=en-GB&gl=SG&v=HBgKPyi1aXA---Beer, Biryani, Bed and Bouquets Beckon;I can't wait....Brickbats??? You know who needs them 😂----What do the attendees say....Ravinder Ghai; Nice way of bringing tears early in the morning.Anil Jain; Well said and well depicted by the attached songMrs Anuradha Balaram; Thank you for expressing our collectivefeelings.
Ajit Balaram, Ravinder
Ghai, N Shankar
Shiv Halbe, Anju Jain, Anu Balaram, Sailaja Rebala, Kairali Ravinarayanan, Anil Jain
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9th March 2017Sunday Musings----"A week is a long time in politics" Harold Wilson in 1964;50+ years on it still holds true - each week throws up newwinners and losers.But what of us?Many celebrated the colours of life, some wondered if theyhad more time than others who were presumably workingand were possibly racing against the clock. Women weresent a video on how to spend time soaped and soaking in abathtub with glass of red wine.Men were very secretly pleased - the women finally hadlearnt "The Art of Living".Dance recital by the Bard's daughter - the timelessness ofculture!The coming week is Navroz; the New Year of one of theworld's oldest cultures;Let us wish our Iranian family - specially the Behramfamily A Very Happy Nowruz!----Beer & Biryani are taking a break ...Sabzi-polo-mahi and Haft-seen this week - right Behram?.....
Photo Courtesy:
The Persian Pot
Bahram Naghdi;Absolutely right,,, & thank for your very observant and poignantpoint of view.We Persian (presently called IRANIAN) have always celebrated thestart of the spring and mark it as our New Year called Norouz.Again you are right we have sabzi polo mahi which is rice & herbs( as we call it sabji in Hindi) served with fish.Surely on Monday I'll have sabzi polo mahi and will drink to myold FRIENDS good health.Bless u all & happy spring to you guys & gals alike.
Bahram "Baron"
Naghdi
Baron & me outside his favourite Pub
9th April 2017Sunday MusingsSinking ship, grounded politician, beaching hull, leapingteenager, gassing army, mowing truck, fired missiles…falling off a chair bumping head and bruising shoulder…..why the darkness…“Tamaso ma Jyotirgamaya” (“from darkness lead me tolight) - I recalled the school prayer…There were escape routes… many a herbal concoction,watching a yogic centurion perform, suggestive dancers toimprove vision, a nudge to visit the pro-bono doctors oncall and if all this restored mental & physical health - atreatise on dealing with longevity.There is hope yet, as our own brood builds on their legacy(however flawed)- a car wash to save water by a prodigalson of a still sailing mariner, a danseuse performing toaccolades as art runs in her veins and a young teacherpasses on the values she learnt on the knees of her sagelydad…Ageless Jimmy notches a step in the ladder named afterhim…Sanjay Khopkar reading Prabhat’s tricks to keep up….Do I see Cakes and Candlelights……? Yes, the place and the heart is lit…......as Beer and Biryani await…
Sanjay Khopkar
Prabhat Sharma
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16th April 2017Sunday Musings; Foot, Feat & FeastFor most they show up at the very end .You are dangled by it and there is a cry;It is a ‘girl’ or a ‘boy’, as other body parts arechecked, ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’.Brain, mind and heart take over; step up or down,move fast or slow, go here, there and everywhere;stand, run or rest; Ordered up on paths and trailsknown and unknown.Slow-footed left behind, sure-footed trudge along,the fleet-footed nabbed.Foot & Mouth an infection, Foot in the mouth isbad news; ‘My Foot’;Feet are tied to remain small & dainty;Filling large shoes an aspiration, flat feet adisqualification.Big foot is a mystery; Elephant’s foot an affliction
Yet there they were, in the news, on front page; Afeat in itself;Being washed, by Pope & Priests, no less; It happens on Good Friday, each year; God Bless; You followed orders, stumbling at the start butunfailingly, I longingly await the day when I canput you up .....With the promise that you will finally lead whenmy time is up;Many A New Year celebrated today; Sinhala, Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil, Malayali, Thai, among others; Unity in Diversity showcased, here in TSR.Happy Easter; Ronnie, Joseph and Noby… what’s cooking for lunch?...Beer & Biryani....
Noby Rego & Ronnie D'Souza
Joseph William
14th May 2017There is something lacking this Sunday. I woke upearlier than usual in anticipation too. After twocups of coffee over the past five hours, I have atfrequent intervals picked up the phone and goneon this site but not espied what has come to definea good Sunday morning lately -The Sunday Musing from Shankar.The wife informs me that guests are coming homeand chicken biryani is in the pot. I have refilled thebeer chiller though my guest only drinks nimbupaani. But I drink and will drink to our health.The aroma from the kitchen is exquisite but theday may end like a flat beer unless I read theSunday Musings.
.....He deserves a Chilled Beer ...
turn to the next page Sir!
14th May 2017Sunday Musings (late edition)The Givers amongst us ....-----Thoughts turn to the list of Gurus in this forum.What makes them so special and why the rest of us turn to themfor knowledge, solace, comfort and laughs.My humble take is they are all Givers...and let us see why ....1. Aptly named 'Blessing'From Bhang to beauties to a burial you can count on him to bethere...no matter what2. His name comes even before 'Ram' in Gandhi's famous Bhajan;from arthritis to preventing mass suicide of birds he finds cures.He will be around long after we are gone as he has found the'elixir' to life3. Round of frame, spins the floor with danseuses, spiritedlyspiritual; Exudes contagious happiness whether in Mumbai, NewOrleans or Nairobi4. Verses cascade from his pen, leaving us enthralled. What a joyit would be to hear him recite it ....---To the 6 Ethics of Life allow me to add a 7th to the Fab Four--Give so we the wretched can Receive and be Blessed, healthy,happy and learn to enjoy what life has to offer---A shot of whiskey and some namkeen please 😃
L to R: Arun Dua Yashpal Raghav Sudarshan Gupta Devendra Bhatnagar
6th August 2017 Sunday Musings; "Star Gazing" !The lucky stars of Player Venus set in the west yesterday. Takes meback to late September to Early October circa 1974. That time of theyear is kind of a lull period. The monsoons are over, the excitement ofyear end festivities - Dusshera, Diwali, Christmas are yet to start. Wewere, however, running heater skelter in TSR.The sky was something else. It was blue and clear. The stars, havingto hide behind dense clouds for months, were out bright and shining.A mini picture-book on astronomy, which was a present from myPhysics teacher in school, came in handy.As time off from polishing shoes and washing stockings (the perils ofbeing Prabhat’s locker mate…!) was very short - glimpses of theevening sky would bring great joy.7:30 pm; Post dinner. Planet Venus was setting over the west. Altair(in Aquila), Deneb (Cygnus), Vega (Lyra) formed a nice triangle. Wasthere Sagittarius too…with Nunki? Yes, with the arrow pointing atScorpio, the brighter Antares followed by the less stellar Shaula.If you woke up or (more likely) were woken up in the wee hours - ohwhat a change! The outline of the milky way ; there was Orion theHunter - Rigel, Betelguese, Bellatrix, Alnilam all vying for attention.Of course Orion would not be seen until Scorpio had set over thewest.How can you miss the regal Cassiopeia with less stellar Schedar andAchird? Or the Ursa Major (Alkaid, Alioth, Dubhe and Merak) with theline along the head asking you to look at the Pole Star. The tail led toanother constellation … I forget.
Capt Anil Verma (R.I.P)
Sirius was right there to brighten you up. The Gemini twins Castorand Pollux were kind of hard to see, but Pegasus the Horse neededmuch less imagination. Taurus - the Bull, with Aldebaran, needingno protection, just strutted around, reddish eyes blazing. Unlessyou mistakenly identify it as the blushing red Mars.Early morning, Canopus, almost like a planet - barely twinkling,snatches the mantle of being the brightest.I heard about ‘Star Tic’ and signed up. And passed. My first Tic.Hooray!Thanks to the little Astronomy book.As Mulloth’s bugle sounds (almost sings); It is reveille, the starsslowly disappear from the sky .In TSR WApp - A grandson rises & shines. A grand-daughter is alltwinkles and sparkles.Each a Star; while we wax eloquent - “A Star is Born”; God Bless!Yes, the usual please; Beer and Biryani. Thank youVacation? Yes. 4 weeks. Back on 20th August. +++++++++++++Tarun Arora;I was lost in those thoughts and was refreshing the long forgottenstar recognition tips.(Late) Capt Anil Verma;The head leads to the Pole Star .. ..... and the tail ? You forgot ? Lookacross and it leads to Canopus .... a beautiful star ...... but myfavourite ... is still SIRIUS and Acrux and Gacrux .... the beautifulSouthern Cross ..
20th August 2017Sunday Musings; Top Mates !The TOP system in the Year 1 was something special. It is a pitythat is was discontinued in Year 2 and Tops were organised byClass. In my opinion, the bonds between us would have been built& strengthened far earlier than at Reunions 30+ years on.The Six Tops (Port/Stbd - Fore/Main/Mizzen) meant every sixthperson alphabetically was a TOP mate. Greatly helped to bondwith batch mates from other classes. Today, I will recall each ofmy Starboard Main top mates - fondly and may kindly be taken ingood humour. We pulled through some tough times and eachpulled their weight - albeit sometimes in different directions!!The two most jovial and friendly of the Top are no longer amongstus. It is said God takes away those we love most, early; 2964 NayarP(ondy) K and 2018 Punni P. R.I.P.Alphabetically2904: Aggarwal Sudhir (Sudbury?); Tall, he needed to bend downto speak to the shorter Agarwal, so developed a kind ofstoop/slant to port side….2910: Arora Tarun; Behind the impish smile was a tough character.Very dependable in times of need. Made things look simple. Thesmile remains….2916: Bakshi Atul; The dreamer. What was behind those farawaylooks came to light only when he followed his passion into art. Anart genius…who knew then…2922; Bhattacharya PK; Let us just say he marched to a differentdrumbeat. Brought the much needed laughs in our otherwisedreary lives. Still does, every day…
Sudhir Agrawal Tarun Arora Atul Bakshi Pradip Bhattacharya
2928; Correa JCJ; Patrician, makings of a complete family man. Time hasproved it so.2934: Dua Arun; Well, no one on earth can claim to have understood him,then, over the years or now!! If you need a friend… he da man…2940: Gupta Sanjay; You heard him, often. The squeaky voice followed youevery where…2946; Kang JS; Well, a Classy Surd. His height meant we were breathingCO2, when standing next to him….No mean bone in that body…then andnow.2952; Kundra P K; He stood with thrusting his hairy barrel chest andmanaged to get into more trouble than necessary…then and now??2958; Misra P N; The quiet Odiya. Went about his day without a fuss.2970; Rahman M.A.; At 17, he had the profile of a 70 year old. A feat in itself.2976; Roy SP; Very helpful, if you asked nicely. Had the strength to putstone to deck.Looks changed in last night’s photo…for the better.2988; Singhal Naveen; He had (& still has) an ENT voice - where the airflows IN from the ear, nose & deep down the throat to deliver speech…unique & recognisable then and now!2994; Tandon SK; Toughie outside, a soft interior. Far more cosmopolitanthan he looked.3000; Wadhwan VK; One rarely found him where he was supposed to be,unless you looked for Sachdeva!!. Man of very few words. Very differentnow … a welcome change!3006; Trivedi RN; His body had six degrees of freedom. Head floppedaround, legs pointed in different directions and hands moved incessantly.Always a smile, whatever the circumstance. 3012: Jhang Rakesh; Arguably,the strongest physically…..:) But under the frail physique was a steelydetermination. Just look into those eyes… steel will melt, in fright !!3024; Somne RB; Rather sombre and serious. Kept his counsel. Nary asqueak.My calendar tells me it is Sanjiv Chibber’s 59th Birthday! So he can nowclaim to be the youngest! Happy Birthday Sanjiv!!
JCJ Correa
Sanjay Gupta
Jasper Kang
Prashant Kundra
Vijay Wadhawan
An eclectic mix you will have to admit. Now look back andremember your TOP/Classmates. No duplicates please - let us seeif we can cover 75% of the cohort!!They missed me? So sweet. Beer and Biryani, please. Thank youVacation? It was good…and short…need another one…no not beer, vacation….Cheers!!
Sanjiv Chibber
27th August 2017Sunday Musings; Foxy Signals!Time 19:30 Hrs. The Quarter Deck, usually a beehive of activity,with comings and goings through the day, is unusually quiet.At this time, the cadets would be in the auditorium to watch thenews or catching up on some class work or the other. QD was leftalone.Now, picture an aging gent sitting on the Quarter Deck, in acomfortable chair, laboriously filling a pipe and taking short puffsat regular intervals. He would be Prof? Dr? Mr.Mitra - the SeniorSignal Instructor. Short, rotund, with a highly anglicised accent.The old fox always sat on the port side - so he could see the lengthof the ship. The starboard side had many footfalls. Less likely tobe a trouble spot. He would occasionally cast a languid eye on thecadets as they moved around - but largely remained indifferent.He probably had seen it all and hardly cared anymore.The 75-76 term had started and the newbies needed signallingpractice in addition to their regular class. I was one of the‘trainers’ roped in to conduct the practice session.To be a trainer, obviously you need a sharp eye; Years spent in aco-ed school with teenage girls is a big plus; a glance, a peek, agesture, a look - each signal conveyed a different message. Missone and a great opportunity would have been lost, probablyforever. With experience in decoding those complex signals,morse or semaphore was a cinch. That ‘abhyaas’ in school, morethan any other subject, helped me score a “100” right through insignals, earning a ‘trainer’ role. But I digress.
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Semaphore Signals
The lights in QD were dimmed. The session being optional, thoseinterested would sit around, while morse code signals were sentout from a black box, with the speed on the keys slowly increasingwith each round/session. There were a couple of other trainers(Ajit?) as well. The ‘quick fox’ jumped over the ‘lazy dog’ over andover again on those nights. The lights were switched on for theSemaphore session. The foxes continued to jump and the dogs justlazed around.I recall those sessions with much fondness - it gave anopportunity to interact with the new cohort (with emergency infull swing) under the watchful eyes of Mr Mitra, while giving mehands-on practice in signalling.This sessions went on for a couple of months and I remember avery keen student - JP Menezes & some disruptive ones - Vikas &Soods..:). Those with Sea Cadet background were already familiarwith Morse & Semaphore and slowly took over the ‘practice’classes.After that brief time in the dimmed lights of Quarter Deck feelingsomewhat important, I went back to being a number, a ROC; Nowa lifelong label!Amidst all the faux signalling, Mr Mitra, serene as ever, continuedto tap the ash out, clean, load the pipe and puff away. He had seenit all. For him, nothing much had changed. Now probably as old as he was then, nothing changes much for meeither; I tap the table. An ashen faced waitress shows up…Beer and Biryani please….
Vikas Seth - the Disruptor
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17th September 2017Sunday Musings; A Splash of Green…and the Tears flowed….Time 17:12 Hrs, yesterday 16th September 2017, a Saturday;I was working on a boring project. Keenly awaiting for the day to endas Sunday brings a change in routine. A day of rest and for me, time tomuse, to reflect on life…..The ‘voice’ called out my name from the other room. Unusual - in aquiet small home for 2 we rarely do that….surely an emergency.. I wasdirected to the window only to freeze at the sight.A tall 3 tier gondola used for painting the condo was toppling over -there were 4-5 workers desperately trying to right it. Slowly andsteadily with no one leading, as all hands were needed - theymanaged - except a pot of paint on top toppled with a big splash ofdark green on the Blue border of the tennis court. There was a victimtoo - one of the workers got some paint splashed on his hair, face andboiler suit.There were 3 Indian workers and 2 Chinese (an aspect I had notnoticed until then). The Indian worker rushed to get some keroseneand cloth. As I watched from 6 floors above, still frozen, he calmlycleaned the paint off the Chinese worker, whose face was splashedwith green. Ever so gently, using the tips of his fingers, he cleaned theface, all along gesturing the China man to stay still. One Indian andthe other Chinese had in the mean time started to scoop the paintwith bare hands and fill up the pot. When they couldn't scoop anymore - they ever so gently started pouring the kerosene around theedges. Slowly and surely they worked on removing the large pool ofpaint. Face restored to normalcy, the paint struck Chinaman andIndian exchanged hi-fives and rushed to help their colleagues.
What was going on in their minds when the gondola was topplingover - personal safety, safety of their team, fear of reprisal, senseof duty, professional pride or just survival? They were in a strangeplace, working hard to fulfil their dream of a better life forthemselves and their families, back home. The toppling gondolathreatened it all. They pulled together as a team, their differences,and there were too many to count, was not material to the greatergood. I looked for religious figures or politicians to se if they weregiving a helping hand to these folks - but they were strangelyabsent.I turned away with a tear flowing down my cheek. I saw areflection of each us as cadets on TSR in them. My beliefs notwithstanding, I said a small prayer for their well being.Went back 45 minutes later to check - the court was back to itscracked but pristine blue.The workers were nowhere to be seen - off to enjoy their Sunday. Ilet the tears flow and they did for some time.For they showed me in 5 minutes that life was still imparting thelessons I had learnt in TSR.Even if they are forgotten …..by us.Beer and Biryani..…. is dedicated to the 5 workers.
1st October 2017Sunday Musings; Assets to Asses….“All Assets become Liabilities” - a wise guru.The world (& many in TSR WApp group) mourned the death thisweek of a (Hugh .. some would say 'ugh') man who surrounded himselfwith female 'assets' for most of his life. Most of those assets have nowturned into heavy liabilities for their owners, while the many millions who spent money buying the magazine featuring them are now turning a new page and finding more purpose in their life.In TSR the assets we ‘owned’ were confined to a single locker and thesteel trunk which brought them there was stowed away in a faraway store room. There were very few opportunities to add to theassets until the day of graduation.Our accumulated assets over a life time can be classified underfinancial, intellectual, spiritual or influential assets as most bodilyassets of youth have or are nearing their end date, though some ofus are still frequently (re)searching for the ultimate elixir.TSR didn’t allow much time for thought and despite theiryouthfulness, the cohort had very little energy to think aboutturning pages of scriptures or singing peans of those in or out ofpower as they do today. So it is safe to assume that most of the assets forthe majority of the cohort was accumulated post TSR.While we dealt with financial assets last week in WILL (ing) issues,the “intellectual asset” is a tough cookie. As the working life endsthere is considerable ‘free’ time available to add to this asset.
The internet (Wiki, Google, trolls, fake news) is a fertile ground forthe intellectual asset of many to rise in content (and volume)disproportionate to its usefulness to the rest of the populace. Theasset owner (now comfortably ensconced in an armchair) now findsit increasingly tempting to flaunt the extent of his newlyattained (forwarded or researched) intellectual asset.Just as a badly worded Will could be a liability to its intendedbeneficiaries, an armchair experts’ ‘intellectual asset’ couldquickly lead to a discourse on ‘asses’; ‘A**es’ were successfullymarketed by Hugh (or 'ugh') Hefner who passed away - while ourintellectuals are still busy championing potential A*** holes ……“All Assets become Liabilities”; Q.E.D.So what should you do? Spend some of your money on …..... Beer and Biryani…
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&
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15th October 2017; Sunday Musings; “P” for Pleasure……”The letter “P” is special. It is little wonder that most high qualitiesassociated with humans start with “P’. Potential, Perseverance,Performance, Peak, Power, Peace, Promotion are Prime examples.Many Parents (the “P” again) of our TSR cohort were goodPlanners. They were Positively Psychic. They named theirchildren with the letter “P”. With Pramod (Delight), the Prasad(Divine Gift) was named Prabhat (Dawn) to bring us Pradeep(Light) so the Pankaj (Lotus) can bloom gently in a light Pawan(Wind). The turbaned ones added a “Pal” which helped theirnames sound Polite. Paul too made his Priestly Presence felt.Those whose family names had “P” had no such Problems. TheirProgeny had ‘healthy’ Plans. Pacchu Parlayed his way to PlatinumPinnacle of wellness while Puri raised everyone’s BP with just hisnickname.The “P”s had the world eating out of their Paw from their loftyPerch. Politics, Philosophy, Psychology - every Protagonist or‘Post’man was subjected to or engaged in Pungent Polemics to thePoint of Pointlessness.My Parents, mindful of their “P” and “Q”s, - were Piqued at theQueue and decided to skip both. “Q”? only the “Queen” or a queerwould want that, anyway. I was, thankfully, neither.“R” already had the redoubtable “Ronnie” - larger than life itself,even then, was rocking away.
L to R: Pramod Dhyani, Pavan Kaul & Pawan Sadhana, Prabhat Sharma, Prasad Rebala, Bhuvanesh Puri
They decided on “S” - believing a Star was born… Sure, untilreality struck. Every action scene in a Bollywood movie will havethe villain’s 10th henchman named “Shankar”. The haplesscharacter will be Beaten Black and Blue and then Bumped offbefore the Buzzer sounded the Break.“S” was associated with Sickness, Shampoo, Shave, Shower andS***; Even “Profit” has a “P” but “Loss” has 2 x “S” (just to underline my“auqaat” - status)Suffering in Silence, I Searched for Signs & Steps to find Solace. InSolitude, I chose Solitaire and Sudoku, before I found the ultimateSolution; to combine with “B” with “S” just as Puri had done toguarantee lifelong success. “Beer and Biryani” of-course. Now I pen a lengthy “BS” and add them to my Signature everyweek; Allows me to let off Steam and remain Sane. Now I Seekyour Support to Save me from Switch blades, Swords and Sticks. p.s.: “P” (as always) must have the last word - “Parvesh” (The Lord of Celebration) is coming with “Pralin”(Sweets);
Parvesh with a Beer!
Pralin with Sweets!
Sukh Pal ("Happy Friend")
with a hint of a smile!
Happy Deepavali !!22nd October 2017Sunday Musings; “Blazing Eyes” and “Diwali at Deshpande’s”Somehow I had gotten into the “B” list of cadets who were to bekept a close watch over by Capt Kansara. How I got therecontinues to mystify me till date (the infamous “Saazish” episode,may be…) The “A” listers were mostly there for a good reason……Once on that list, there was no way out; On OOW Duty days - his“eyes”, ever alert, looked around the Quarter Deck - picking outthe “A” listers first and then the “B”s, to make sure each onestayed on the straight and narrow. The ‘eyes’ conveyed themessage, loud and clear.Perplexed at my state, I looked desperately for a way out - andthere it was; Shashi Kumar, was academically brilliant and moreso his notes always received the highest marks in Capt Kansara’sclass. Shashi, who I was good friends with, let me in on a secret -use lots of colours, he said. Next weekend, I spent the meagrecash in hand on some colour pens and plastered the long ledgerstyle notebook, with as many colours as possible. Handed over thenotebooks for assessment.
Happy Deepavali !!22/10/2017Sunday Musings; “Blazing Eyes” and “Diwali at Deshpande’s”Somehow I had gotten into the “B” list of cadets who were to bekept a close watch over by Capt Kansara. How I got therecontinues to mystify me till date (the infamous “Saazish” episode,may be…) The “A” listers were mostly there for a good reason……Once on that list, there was no way out; On OOW Duty days - his“eyes”, ever alert, looked around the Quarter Deck - picking outthe “A” listers first and then the “B”s, to make sure each onestayed on the straight and narrow. The ‘eyes’ conveyed themessage, loud and clear.Perplexed at my state, I looked desperately for a way out - andthere it was; Shashi Kumar, was academically brilliant and moreso his notes always received the highest marks in Capt Kansara’sclass. Shashi, who I was good friends with, let me in on a secret -use lots of colours, he said. Next weekend, I spent the meagrecash in hand on some colour pens and plastered the long ledgerstyle notebook, with as many colours as possible. Handed over thenotebooks for assessment.
Capt V.N.Kansara
Dr.Capt. N.N.Shashi Kumar
At the next class a notebook was held up and the booming voiceasked - ‘whose book is this’? Recognising it to be mine, I meeklystood up not sure what would come next…. ”You…? You…?”, herepeated for emphasis. Only those who have experienced it firsthand will remember the intensity as the blazing eyes roundedover, with the finger pointed in my direction. The incredulity inhis voice, seemed to convey that it was all a mistake. I had beenthere before and the outcome was never good.“Yes Sir”, I squeaked, my voice barely audible, even to me. “Ifyour book is good, you are good… sit down”, he boomed, a tinyhint of a smile curling the left lip. Satisfaction, perhaps, thatanother wayward Cadet had seen the light and is on the mend.Next fall in - the “eyes” picked me out - but moved on quickly.Thanks to Shashi - I had the found the ‘get out of jail’ card! I wasoff that dreaded list once and for all!!————————-
What got me in Capt Kansara's bad books? ... I was watching the shooting of this scene ... click below ...
TSR'76 Honouring
Capt V N Kansara on his 80th Birthday with a Momento
Click ^ ^ ^ Here
Diwali, circa 1974; First Diwali away from home which was a longdistance away. I had no place locally to go to. So, in typical Indianfashion found an uncle twice removed who lived in Poona. Thetrain journey was horrendous. We found a place inside & outsidethe toilet and took turns. I remember Gadre, Nadkarni and ShekarDeshpande. There were a few others as well.Shekhar graciously invited me to his place and I spent a good partof Diwali at his house. The Deshpandes' extended their kindhospitality to an unknown kid for which I will always be grateful
—————————————Interestingly, though I have never met Shashi or Shekar since1976, I consult for Sashi & Sekar Associates since 2016 and myoffice is co-located with them! A daily reminder of those friends!!————————-I will dearly miss the lunch in Capt Kansara’s honour in Delhitoday.Surely there will be Beer and Biryani……..just as in Singapore, alsoin his honour.
Shekar Deshpande then, over the years and now
19th Nov 2017Sunday Musings; “ …life decides the winner of the debate….. ”We return to the TSR auditorium, but this time it is for a debate.Those were the days before PC - (not PeeCee a.k.a PriyankaChopra…, you ‘Baywatch’ers), I mean ’Political Correctness’ - hadentered the popular lexicon.The motion proposed was ”Fat people are a Danger to Society…”;In 2017, such a description of the ‘heavy-set’ would see the globaldefenders of “PC” busy trolling & shaming the institution and theindividuals concerned on social media.It was another era. The debate topic was most probably a tongue-in-the-cheek attempt by the otherwise dour Subra and Sharancombo to inject some humour into our & their life. The only fatperson on board TSR was the Chief Steward and it would havebeen suicidal to portray him as a ‘danger to society’.We dutifully trooped in, happy to be in an air-conditioned roomduring class hours. I can’t remember if we were selected or we gotto choose the side. I, a scrawny 47 kgs bunch of bones, ended up onthe side defending the ‘well fed’.The debate commenced. The usual arguments ensued.. for themotion…how the obese take up space, block the entrance to a bus,eat too much etc. This was countered with how the well-roundedwere generally funny, believed to be more generous and forgivingetc etc.
Mr Sharan
Mr Subramanian
English Lecturers
D Bhatnagar , D K Mehta , S K Munjal
Rising to speak, I recalled in Julius Ceaser, the Bard of Avon (notour own) had written in Act 1; “Let me have men about me that are fat, sleek headed men andsuch sleep a-nights. Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look. He thinks too much.Such men are dangerous”The hordes of ‘lean and hungry looking’ in the audience growledin protest. I recall Subra, being very surprised at that time and awry smile formed round the contours of his face. That remains myonly scoring point in a debate in life….marriage made sure of that.400+ years ago, the Bard wrote the epic tale. 40+ years on, I ambeginning to see the merits of the Bard’s writings. For some timenow, I am a happy member of the ‘fat…..” The good news is most of TSR 74-75-76 have seen the merits ofbeing on the ‘heavy’ side. Having joined the ranks of the ‘fat,…” ,they look & sound happy and despite some debatable WAppposts… can no way be classified as “ …a danger to society…”. Not yet …..The motion is finally defeated by life!!! A wag will surely ask - what about Rakesh Jhang? Is he not leanstill? An exception always proves the rule - a wee hungry lookmaybe, but danger to society…NEVER.…. him getting fat is still awork in progress … but with his daughter married off in ~3 weeks- he can focus on joining the winning side as his personal goal for2018 ……what would make this possible…..???Beer and Biryani ….of course :)
Rakesh Jhang Then & Now
Dabiru VenkatramanShankar Saab, excellent piece ! Love the statement ”That remainsmy only scoring point in a debate in life….marriage made sure ofthat.” Which many of us relate!Pradeep Lall; It’s a joy to peruse your witty and refreshingly humorous“musings”.Jus’ keep ‘em coming !!Nikhil Khandekar Wow! So well written. Pls keep them coming...H'wr, finally to winWho is bodily thinWith a laugh quite fatAnd nimble as a cat
26th Nov 2017Sunday Musings; “ …taking stock….. ”As the world and the new age netizens focus on the “Chhillar”stuff - we the denizens of TSR who have reached a more matureoutlook turned our attention to taking stock of the assets of life.Where do we begin - the locker in TSR is as good a place as any.Starting off life in TSR at a young but not yet adult stage was anexperience in itself. One’s worldly possessions are all in one place,probably for the only period ever before or thereafter. Thedisorderly teenager transforms into an organised creature, withan uncanny ability to secure his own belongings. All this whilesurreptitiously keeping an eye on the ‘goodies’ that may‘accidentally’ just land in his locker. Mysterious were the ways the‘stock’ and ‘stocking’ moved.The locker ‘assets’ were built up over time. By diligent saving fromtheir meagre allowance, by generous weekend supplements viatheir local guardians or a winning hand at ‘teen- patthi’. Therewere ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ as with all matters relating to stocks,some consistently so - just as it would be later in life; It was just abeginning.So were the lockers a good predictor of you as a stock investor?Would a neatly arranged locker indicate a conservative investor,while a locker bursting at the seams indicate a chaotic approach toinvestment? Would the ‘friendly’ batch mate who loaned you aurgently needed stocking from his well stocked locker (with illgotten loot) turn out to be today’s inside trader?
We celebrated the 90, 45 and 25 years of DRACEA this week, withgaiety and laughter. As the participants sized up their stock offriends (along with their girth) they realised that all their meagreinvestment has soared in size and value. After all what value canone place on ‘priceless’; I meant the girth….would you trade it forany thing else? Only a well rounded stock around the waist cancarry that guffaw with gusto, as you meet that long lost batchmate…who stole from your locker; All is finally forgiven.It is the marriage season for the progeny of many batch-mates;Tickoo, Rebala, Kacchvimath, Dua, Jhang, Bhutto - the venues arespread across the country giving an excellent opportunity to soakin the moment and spread cheer. Pick out out the best outfit fromyour new age locker and get going.The wedding planners assure me that the “Chillers” are wellstocked and the tables are laid out for………………..Beer and Biryani …. :)
Clockwise from L to R
Capt & Mrs Batura,
DRACEA SG Family,
Capt Pradeep Lall
1984-86 Batch Reunion
Capt Rakesh Dhir TSR(73-75)
3rd Dec 2017Sunday Musings; “ …Bite of a biscuit….. ”It was an rainy, unusually late Friday evening at work. (oh no…not a “dark and stormy night” article…) I raided the mini-pantryonly to find a solitary sad looking container with a half openpacket of milk biscuits. With sugar levels low, I took a coupleand as I bit on them…. it took me back to the …….Dining Hall (Mess room) in TSR in the morning and evening,before fall-in. Everyone dutifully lined up for biscuits and tea.Exactly 4 “Brittannia” milk biscuits and a plastic cup 3/4th fullof piping hot ‘tea’ each.The ‘tea’ was an exceptionally special brew; The Chief Steward,a prudent manager of meagre finances, realised that FW andheating consumption was not on his budget. So the water wasboiled to the maximum, a few tea leaves and drops of milk (bothbeing budget items) added and the “TSR Tea” was born. Thiswas then poured into plastic cups of various hues (green, redand blue mainly) - a daily validation of Dr Dastur’s colourblindness results. Holding on to the precious biscuits & the hottea cup we moved to the long metal table to sip the scaldingbrew. It took time to drink; Hot plasticky tea on a cold lip was amatch made in heaven, a daily lesson on how to seal a kiss.
Capt P. Lall
Capt Subhangshu Dutt
That’s when the deluge begun. The seniors, by now not very fondThe seniors would slowly appear in front and start stacking thebiscuits much like Lego blocks. Some would even queue up twice,just to bring you more… an unheard off service….Each senior would order you to ‘finish it’; the ‘or else’ was leftunsaid, but clearly understood. Much like now, when the weekendchores ‘requested’ by the better half are not done. “Woe betide”…There were special days; that’s when the cream biscuits (usuallyorange flavour or the rare lemon) appeared. Tues(?) morning,Thu(?) evening, every Sunday evening and on holidays.To avoid us getting fattened on those cream biscuits, only 3 each!!To our horror, those seniors, who dumped their unwanted milkbiscuits on other days, would now be licking the cream off thesebiscuits, such was their value. Even the lingerers would dutifullyqueue up.Ahhh the cream, I can still taste it….as if it was yesterday.The milk biscuits kept me from starving until dinner. Then andthis Friday…. Post TSR - most of us would have sworn off milkbiscuits…..Withdrawal symptoms??? … Naah.… We, along the way, licked ourhot lips and found………………..Beer and Biryani …. :)Enjoy it with…. \Harrdy Sandhu's …”Naah”..… click Capt Subhangshu Dutt; Brilliant. Coinciding with morning tea!!
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10th Dec 2017Sunday Musings; “ …Joy in the Morning….. ”“Boko’s a frightfully Good Egg!” exclaims Bertie Wooster, in thePG Wodehouse novel“Joy in the Morning”, to his Uncle Percy, in a spirited defence ofMr. Boko’s reputation.Exactly our opinion of our own “Mr. Boko” - until the ‘Egg Show’story by the very upright ‘fishy’ Dada from Kanpur broke…theSwiss egged him on by breaking into a “Please Sir, I want More”tizzy, a la Oliver Twist.Set in the wee hours of the morning in circa 1978, the ‘Egg Show’starts off at the sizzling panhandle in Mizushima prefecture. Our‘Good Egg’, well toasted with several rounds of Sake… is whiskedinto the arms of doe-eyed hostesses at the back of a taxi. As thetaxi gathers pace, the boiling Yakuza set off in hot pursuitdemanding that ‘Mr Boko’ pay up or be fried. The Samrat sent aSukhani to take the ‘good egg’ off the boil. Very hungry with allthe action, they all sat down for a well earned breakfast……Just as I did, not long before that, on the bench in the dining hall ofTSR in the 1st term. Brought up in a vegetarian home, myinteraction with a egg was medicinal and minimal! Whenrecovering from say a fever, a raw egg would be discreetly addedto hot milk, supposedly to restore strength. Not exactly a friendlyintroduction, one would think. So, it was natural to indicate“Vegetarian” in the TSR meal form, when joining.
< m.v. Samrat Ashok >
The vegetarian breakfast on TSR, except for the occasional vada,was unpalatable. The dosa was made of rubber and I had to ask theequally famished guy seated next helped me pull it apart. I wouldthen chew on it much like a cow, while forlornly eyeing the runnysunny side up or the burnt-edge omelette - vainly hoping themagic potency in that sad looking egg will travel to my tired limbs.By December, I had made up my mind. I applied to become “Non-Vegetarian” from the 2nd term onwards. There was an egg everyday at breakfast. My relationship with the egg slowly and steadilyimproved and I took to relishing the boiled egg, omelette,scrambled eggs and the weekly egg curry.… I was still mentallynot prepared to turn “Non-veg” so barring breakfast, most of theother meals (fish, lamb, chicken) were just passed over. Not forlong though, as the hunger took hold and I slowly succumbed firstto the chicken, then to lamb. The fish…came much later….so willthe story…Back to the Wodehouse novel; On Bertie’s good reference, hisUncle Percy reluctantly agrees to give the fair Zenobia’s hand tothe good egg ‘Boko’, on a warm Sunday in spring.What of our “Mr Boko”?? Having escaped unscathed from theYakuza and the doe eyed damsels then and his reputation on theline now, he is springing a grand “Egg Show” party, with all the‘egg heads’ from the “Samrat”. They would surely scramble to telltheir own version of the timeless story…..and make a spicy‘Burjee’ of our “Mr.Boko’s” hitherto sterling credentials….I heard a soft movement; it was my imaginary “Jeeves”; Would you like Kirin and the Indian rice with an egg today Sir?……So perceptive, this Jeeves…Beer and Biryani …. :
Capt Sangameshwar:
Well written brings back memories five decades ago
Capt I G Sangameshwar
Mhaire R Borkar
a.k.a "Mr Boko"
17th Dec 2017Sunday Musings; “ …Crisp Notes ….. ”“How can such scary looking parents create something so cute?”,queries Chetan Bhagat (CB) in his novel Two States.Over the last few weeks there were marriages across India (no, wearen’t talking about the one in Italy), where the ‘cute’ ones decidedto finally leave the sanctuary of home & hearth to build a lifeanew. Whether their partners were found, chosen or arranged wasmoot. The dates were set, the stars aligned, venues secured, guestlists prepared, costumes designed, jewellery and accessoriesmatched.Then their parents decided to check if CB’s other quote “Theworld's most sensible person and the biggest idiot both staywithin us” was indeed true. They invited their TSR cohort to themarriage of their progeny. A lesson in history would havehelped….The TSR 74-75-76 cohort responded in full force. They came fromall kinds of backgrounds; anglicised, urbane, dehati, cultured,clued in & clueless, from across India and abroad. As they posedand pranced, wined and dined, their sartorial elegance stood out;Jodhpurs, Sherwani’s, Suits, Nehru Jackets were all on show, asthe wearer’s girth and mirth moved to different notes….Oh, thanks to the unsung hero - the laundryman…
Click ^ ^ ^ Here
Click ^ ^ ^ Here
So was it in TSR. The laundryman ruled over the Quarter Deck onTuesday mornings. The weeks’ unwashed uniforms & bedsheetswould have been shoved into laundry bags and contents listed.They would be returned on Saturday… come rain or sunshine.Over the next week, the well laundered clothes would be worn forall activities from holystoning, PE, No 8, No 4’s, No 6B, Shore leaveetc etc. Just as the laundrymen in many states were kept busy over thelast 6 weeks, while the ‘jet set’ moved gracefully from marriage tomarriage…attending Mehndi’s, Cocktails, Muhurats andReceptions.The ‘cute’ newly weds headed off to their honeymoon, happy toget away from the strange friends of their father…..The party moved to Mumbai, where it all began 40+ years ago;Behram (Baron) was the Guest of Honour, Bagga made a call overthe bugle, and the glitterati showed up in force. They celebratedinto the wee hours of the morning, Ashis toted up the bill, Soodstood guard, Manoj directed the queue of “who is who” and Borkarclicked the pictures. The music played on as they lined up to hand over crisp welllaundered notes to a very meticulous Dhyani….Am sure the bill of Rs 34,293 would have bought…. lots of …..Beer and Biryani …. :)
Norbert Noel Rego
24th Dec 2017 A Red Letter Day
Sunday Musings; “ …Shining brightly from the North ….. ”
Christmas Eve. A cry of pain. Sound of a pat. A loud wail.
A Star was born.
“Shining brightly from the North” they named him, adding the season as a middle name, for emphasis.
His bright and cuddly smile would have probably made the choice easy.
We met at TSR when we were placed in the same class. We had much in common. He was second of 4 siblings and I was 3rd. We grew up in different places, he in army cantonments and I in railway colonies.
Some cities were common or near, but we lived there at different times. Our elder brothers’ were studying in the same college. We understood snippets of the other’s language and spoke a few more.
We spent the next 2 years sitting in the same row at class, coping with the challenges of day to day living on TSR.
There were differences too; Religion. Food choices. He smoked, I didn’t. He had rosy lips from that habit, I had a rosy outlook :). He had a guileless grin, it hurt my teeth to smile.
None of it mattered.
It was not a conjoined friendship like a few others in our cohort - where if you were looking for one, you looked for the other instead :).
N Shankar
Rego & his alter ego
Click ^ ^ ^ Here
Norbert Noel Rego
N Shankar
Post TSR we were rarely in touch - until about 6-8 years ago, a mutualfriend gave me his mobile no. I called him at once, asked if it was himand he calls out my name.How did you guess, I asked. He then said the most wonderful wordsever…“I knew you would call. You are my friend”.Norbert Noel Rego turns Sixty-One today.He continues to live up to his name; “Shining brightly from the Northat Christmas”And I, his friend, turn Sixty !!Yes, we were both born on Christmas Eve, a year apart.We were blessed to be born on a day when the world is happy, merry& full of cheer;Then, now and forever.Save your precious fingers from having to type those BirthdayWishes;We both know you all only have our well being in your heart andthoughts.As memories of the past years’ fade away, replace it with hope andanticipation of good times to come. They surely will. How do IKnow??I asked Garfield; “For a start, it is a lovely Sunday,”, he said….“….So if you are in Italy (like Prabhat)…Raise a toast with a Glass ofChianti……..for the rest.…there is….Beer and Biryani …. “
31/12/2017Sunday Musings; *“ ….. A Batch, A Band and A Bond….” *It is a very minute part of an era in history; At the stroke ofmidnight tonight - the second hand of clocks will move to herald anew beginning. 2017 will be consigned to the annals of history - amarker for those who follow the Gregorian Calendar. For the next365 days, 2017 will be referred as “last year”. Then on, it will beetched in memory if there was a reason - marriage of a child,becoming a grandparent, retirement or turning 60, a new placevisited, a loss etc. Some of us may not have a marker for 2017. The year would havepassed by like ships of yore at night; quietly. Not for me though….Silence is golden I am reminded… by my SCC in TSR, no less, inperson and print!! It is not something I have learned to practice, having no drums tobeat, notwithstanding. Take Jaspreet (Jas) Kang, for instance, he drummed many a beat.Draped in faux animal skin, he majestically towered over us lessermortals as he sounded the bass drum to which we marched; AroopBanerjee led the band - a natural conductor. When he played thedrum set at musicals, one was mesmerised by the fluidity as hemoved from drums to cymbals, from tom-toms to hats, back andforth. Bagga led the Buglers and if I recall correctly, Atul Bakshithe Fifers. There were cymbals clashing away in the background.
Beat the Drums & Marched on until their
Shorts grew to Trousers
The
"Boy Band"
of
T S Rajendra
1974-75-76
As they beat the drums, sounded the bugle, banged the cymbals orwhistled through the fife, footmen like me, ever conscious of ourstatus, just watched our step as we moved in unison - lest we wereattached an awkward label and hidden away out of sight, whenthe dignitaries came a-calling. There was grandeur, splendour(Ronnie!), pomp and show; The camaraderie was apparent. Between and across the leaders &the led, the conductor & the band, the seen and the unseen.Unspoken, All-pervasive and Silent. As years passed, the footmen found their voice just as the band &the leaders went about quietly conquering the maritime worldwhile enjoying the banter from afar. Their wisdom, voice andmusic, when it does return, would enrich us all.After 11 years, the day, the week & the year ends on a Sunday andthe next is 6 years away, I am told.Let tonight be different; As the bells ring in the New Year - asHope emerges with gay abandon - let there be a new timbre ofsounds, sweet notes and high pitched tenors. Let the band returnto play, let the marchers find their steps and turn dancers - whilethe phones jingle, twitters tweet and WhatsApp drains thebattery.…On this Special Sunday, as the (American) leader meditates over astring quartet, the lead Bugler heads for Club Cubana, the Swissbanks in a dud cheque, the Thai Guy catches the news early, theserene Kiwi chirps in at night, the Nobby Rooster shoots up aCacophony……..will the cycling Bard pen an amazing Euphony….
.while we, TSR 74-75-76, Welcome the New Year with………Beer and Biryani ….??? “++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++From Bhutto; Just Musing:A year near lies relegated to historyAnother dawns afresh.The pages of a new calendarYet to be thumbed,Earmarked,Appointments yet to be filed.I eagerly count the SundaysPeg them down as Shankar Days.Down the quarterdeck he drumbeatsHis memories.Time, she lingers at his call.Tonight,Whilst kisses exchange air brushed cheeksAnd the cacophony of lights And car horns strobes the night sky,A constant- Beer & Biryani must span the next yearFor how else will the weeks go by.From my fiercest critic ….Sundays are Shankar days? Who is this guy ??His whole purpose in life in 2018 is to read your Sunday Musings ??
Roll Call 1974-76 (2903 to 2965)
Roll Call 1974-76 (2966 to 3027)
TSR Pledge 1975-76 (3028 to 3146)
Thank You
Ange Dove
for the 5 Day Challenge to publish!!
A big Thank You for reading and probably thinking that the 1st e-book compilation of Sunday Musings from circa 2016-17 is a true depiction of events as they happened ... as you turned the pages it would have pretty quickly dawned on you that the Sunday Musings are part fact, part fiction and at times absurd.As we welcome the New Year 2018
let us keep looking back to
smile fondly at our follies & failings,
cherish lost loves & loving friends & families ...
long for past freedoms & unshackling current constraints
with a weekend fare of *Beer & Biryani*
31st Dec 2017
Thank You
Capt G S Aulakh
for your meticulous editing!!
Author's Note:
Please send in your feedback to improve the future editions &/or compilations. Any or all comments, captions, descriptions herein are made in good humour & without malice and if you do have any valid concerns or objections - please notify and corrective steps will be taken to address it.
Sunday Musings' is Shankar's foray into writing as a weekly experiment to see if he can type a story before tucking into a healthy repast of "Beer & Biryani". It began in 2016.
Many a week in between were missed - probably due to the after effects! You will find the unedited stories, part funny, at times poignant & occasionally confusing but mostly boring.
Pictures & Musical interludes are there to break the monotony.
The featured (now famous) personalities are from TS Rajendra
1974-75-76 era who were once (are now again) part of his wonderful voyage navigating through the vagaries of life.
This is the 1st e-Book of a 4 Part Series!
Shankar is a maverick, nomadic, non-swimming ex-Ship Captain.