Talking
of Vizag, I miss the lovely beaches. Once we went for a picnic with our friends
Maya and Muddaiya and their two sons. We were in our swim suits and were
scouting around for a nice place to splash around in the water. Srivatsa went
ahead to do a bit of reconnaissance. The next thing we saw was a huge wave
pulling him into the sea. We stood still watching him trying to come out and
another wave dragging him in. All the four kids froze in terror. Maya and Muddi
were helpless. I fell to the ground and promised God I would never fight with
Srivatsa. The third wave rose to pull him in but he scrambled faster and kept
out of its reach. Before the next wave could grab him, he was standing before
me, smiling like he had come out of the shallow part of a swimming pool. What
saved him that day was my prayer and his cool, calculated strategy of beating
the wave at its own game. More people drown due to panic they say. He is a cool
man, except when the bathroom floor is wet! I am ashamed to confess that I
have not kept my pact with God. But then He forgives as I only fight when I am
provoked!
Of
the three Armed Forces, Navy is the best (says I) because all postings are
family stations. There is less of rank barriers as officers and sailors live on board ships and submarines for
extended periods while sailing. Since we live in townships, there is ample
scope for entrepreneurial activities. There is plenty of opportunity to use one’s
talent in teaching music, cooking, dance, tailoring and other skills. In Vizag,
we had an auditorium in the Naval
Park, which was the
centre for all cultural and social activities. As an executive committee member
of NOWA, I started a library in the auditorium by going house to house on a
collection drive of books. Commodore Korde was the Chief of the Naval Dockyard.
He was my ‘Rakhi! Brother. On ‘Raksha Bandan’ he would come home before going to
work and lower his tall frame to sit down in my ‘pooja’ room to let me tie the Rakhi that symbolizes brother/sister bonding, round his wrist. A man with a
volatile temper, he was Srivatsa’s Boss but my ‘bhai’. When he was transferred,
he hosted a dinner in the Naval Mess for all his junior officers and their
wives. Because I do not eat eggs, he had special dessert made exclusively for me. He made
the dockyard resources available to me, to get racks and cupboards for the
books in the library. When Sarala Kulkarni, the Admiral’s wife, wanted anything to be done in
the sailor’s quarters or the auditorium, she would request me to ask Kordesaab!
Another young bachelor officer who helped me with my NOWA activities was
Kailash Girwalkar. He calls me ‘akka’ as he heard my siblings call me that when
they visited. He lived in Mumbai and was my host whenever I went there. He extended his hospitality to my Guild
members when they and come for the Mother-in-law of the Year award ceremony
(you will read about it later) and is almost like an honorary member of the
Guild of Women Achievers!
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