ESSAYES

V ijay Diwas 1999 June - July days.. It’s raining cats and dogs in southern parts of India… South-West monsoon lashing the Konkan shores with ferocious beating. And in North West of India, what’s raining are shells, bullets, bombs, rockets etc.. Yes, let me invite you to one of those days of Kargil Conflict between India and Pak in 1999 May- July days. I was in Navy, posted at Goa, Dabolim Naval Air Base called INS Hansa. All Naval Air Bases are named after some birds like Garuda in Kochi, Rajali in Arakkonam, Madras, etc. for obvious reasons. I was Chief-in-charge of the Second line maintenance Unit for the Russian made Kamov 25 Helo( Helicopter). Our job is to support the Front line Air squadrons and ship borne flights to ensure serviceability and operability of the ‘birds’. As you know, Kargil was a ‘localized’ conflict and not a full fledged war. While Army and Air force was in the upfront, Navy’s contribution was to ensure, there were no attacks through the Arabian Sea to the west

Your responses make me honored and I am moving on… with an added responsibility on my shoulders… to make it interesting and worth spending time to read. I know that, you all don’t have much time reading this crap stuff, as much as I have for writing this. But, now that you all provoked me to continue… you have to bear with this.. Blame it on you! Let me dedicate part2 for an icon of common interest for all of us… Our characters, used to get together in the evenings in one particular cabin…Reason for this meeting will be explained later, but about the owner of the cabin, there is a lot to write and read on. He was a “ ‘G’ reat’ personality… His greatness was in many facets of life… His style, His habits, his English, Hindi, His character, his principles and above all his shape……..which every one relished about. A man with a big heart and bigger many things… Hindi pundits were lucky not to have come across our man in topic… They would have committed mass suicide, had they heard him, talk

Once upon a time.... There lived some young people in a 'city' called 'Yibalpur'. They came from different parts of a beautiful country, lured by the need of Riyal and tempted by the tricky calculation, (1 riyal= 120 multiplied by 1 Rupee). Writer would have liked to depict the portrait of Yibalpur as a beautiful place with lot of lush greeneries, mountainous horizon kissing the sky and reflections of the sun light from the wide lake causing golden rays to fall on the bed room window, a very light and gentle breeze causing the leaves of the eukaliptus in the avenue, to dance to tunes of the mild music coming from the near by public library, ..... and the like... But being a naturally honest person, writer feels it will be criminal to do so... Yibalpur was an utterly dry place where the only greenary was the thick bush around a sewage treatment plant which could be seen from far while driving back from the nearby town, Fahudabad. And of course, the few other flower plant

Mr. Akihiko Mochizuki was my Project Manager for the Vehicular Tunnel Project in Palm Jumeirah Island in Dubai, for my Company Taisei Corporation. He was a gem of a person, with many a qualities, worthy of adopting into one's life. I was often encouraged and supported during our interaction and he played a major role in changing my profile. Last year he had to go back to Japan for detailed treatment for a disease which he never disclosed to any one in Dubai till we received the shocking news of his heavenly abode. Dear Mochi San While we are waiting for your much anticipated return, To join and guide us through this toughest of period, We are, thrust upon this heartbreaking news of, You choosing heavenly abode, instead! We are bereaved of your invaluable teachings, Most of them through your 'just' presence, We are impaired of your powerful thoughts, That could still, lead us in confidence. You cared your team and respected their feelings, While accepting their views