I was thrilled to join the Indian Navy in May 1980. Though as a child I had wanted to join the Army but after seeing a few documentaries of Film Division in cinema hall wherein warships were shown I decided to opt for Navy. The thought of visiting foreign lands also excited me . I boarded Ganga – Kaveri from Allahabad to Chennai . It was a journey of two nights and three days from Allahabad to Kochi and reached Chennai the next day evening from where I boarded another train. The train to Kochi Harbour Terminus reached at about 1130 . It was the last station after crossing the famous Thevra bridge on the Kochi channel. When the train reached its destination , maybe I was the only passenger who alighted. Kochi being a Navy and Port Trust island with mostly official residences. The main city was Ernakulam which we had passed, where the main population stayed. I had my large black trunk full of items prescribed in the joining letter and a holdall . The weather was cloudy and gloomy and hardly any person was in sight but for some railway staff.

There was one huge navy blue truck which I learnt later was called ‘three tonner’ waiting outside with ‘Indian Navy’ written on it and this would be our mode of transportation for a long time! I was perhaps the last cadet to report and was told to have lunch in the dining room which was near the ‘Guard Room’ . As I was having lunch hungrily a senior in white uniform appeared from somewhere and sat opposite and shouted at me to have my lunch slowly and not to rest my elbows on the table ! That angry face stayed with me for long time. I was alloted ‘Ranjit Division’ which was new multi storey building and I was to share my room with two other cadets from Dharwad! Normally two cadets were in one cabin but since I arrived late I had to be adjusted!

Soon I was given a zero haircut and I joined the ‘band of brothers’ who had come from all over the country, a heterogenous group who would be trained to be a homogenous entity in one and half year time ! Though I was a sportsman and had played hockey up-to the state level I was not used to this rigorous routine specially the morning PT which was taken by PTI Tara Singh who it seemed , had single handedly resolved to make us lean and fit within six months! Though the standard PT time was thirty minutes he would slog us for an hour by which time we would be cursing him . Our diet had suddenly increased and we would find breakfast insufficient! I could cope up with the training but missed my Allahabad! This longing for the city , family and friends I experienced for the first time ; I was Homesick for which I was not prepared and wanted to return home. I could not share my melancholy with any one and took recourse to writing letters to family and the remotest of friends not showing my despair but longing for the lost city. We were to submit one affidavit in the Academy and there was some problem with mine and I wished they would send me back for that! It took me sometime to come to terms with the reality and made new friends.

Soon the time came for our first sea sortie or sea acquaintance sortie which was to be a day affair , it was to get our ‘Sea legs’! Though we were briefed about the sea sickness and some of our instructor had advised us that it happens to all the first time in varying degrees and then most overcome it and few live with it . Many Admirals and reputed Captains suffered sea sickness all their career but soared to success braving the odds, we learnt! We looked forward to it with much anticipation . Dressed in our newly made white and starched cotton No 8 uniform ( half sleeve shirt and half pant) , donning blue beret, belt and boots we embarked Training ship ‘Krishna’ as the monsoon had set in. Collectively we were a happy lot as we marched up the gangway smartly saluting the ship and were received by the training staff of the ship and directed to proceed to the Poop deck cabin of the cadets. At that point no one was interested in us as the ship’s officers and crew were busy making the ship ready for sea.
As we were sitting waiting for the breakfast we imagined as if we were on a picnic , joking and jostling and singing songs, a gush of comradery erupted and for a moment we forgot that we were on training! The breakfast arrived and it was ‘Chana Dal’ with bread jam and butter , it was from the sailors’ galley and though we were surprised to see ‘Dal’ being served in breakfast we relished it .
Soon we heard the orders of ship being cast off and we went out on upper-decks and made to fall-in . Warship leaving harbour is marked by traditional ceremonies piping and saluting between ships, all officers and men on ‘stand still’ position. However , soon the smoke from the funnel overwhelmed us ! It was black smoke puffing out . Krishna was a steam ship which burnt FFO ( Fuel furnace oil) to make steam and which emanated strong black smoke called soot by which it was recognized from a distance. This caused the initial sickness but soon the strong monsoon wind evaporated our unhappiness and we were admiring the beauty of Kochi harbour with Vypin island and Chinese fishing nets near its mouth and dolphins dancing ! This was short lived and as we entered the Arabian Sea the drama unfolded ! The ship started rolling and pitching and it was difficult for us to remain steady on deck. We were clinging to each other to find a foothold , some of us rushed to cabin and hit the bunk! We disregarded all the announcements and soon I along with others were ‘throwing up’ ,what ever we had eaten in breakfast . I could not fathom this new sickness which was similar to ‘hill sickness’ but much aggravated with no scope of immediate relief . Very few of us stayed steady , perhaps they had sailed earlier or were made of stronger stuff! The staff directed us to the buckets hung at places to use rather than spoiling the deck! Whenever I would make an effort to get up and go out on the upper deck to get fresh air the sickness would seize me and I would return to my bunk.
We were now ordered to muster on Foxle , the front portion of the ship for participating in ‘Jackstay’ . It was a ‘Rope and Pully’ system rigged on two ships to pass men and material . It involves some excitement and action as the second ship takes station abreast and then a thin rope is passed by gunshot and on it is sent the bigger rope . Once the ‘Jackstay’ is connected the exercise commences in which much manpower is required to pull the rope quickly and firmness is to be maintained to ensure that the gear with men and material does not touch water and is brought on board safely! We were asked to pull the rope and as we pulled we slipped on deck as we had worn boots with studs ( necessary for parade training) , it was a scene from a ‘Charlie Chaplin film’ but with some shouting and assistance from the ship’s staff we completed the exercise without any mishap.

Back to our bunks it was time for lunch which ,most of us refused and I remember our steward Stanley feeding us and giving us pickle to change the taste of our sour mouth. He would insist that we should eat something and not be empty stomach! I was wondering about my fate, destiny and past Karma ! In the evening when our ship returned to harbour and as I was stumbling out of the gangway the thought of getting ‘sea legs’ nagged me and I consoled myself to have at least learnt to crawl! Getting sea -legs was a far cry and another story! However the joy and happiness on arriving on land made me understand why the sailors of yore drank , danced , gambled and sinned! on reaching ashore after months of sailing!

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