Long time back I had penned my memories breaking them for 5
years each. This one is a summary.
All my colleagues were in one branch of civil engineering ie
Irrigation, Roads and Buildings and Public Health. In my case I served in all
the above which is rare. In addition, I had the unique opportunity of teaching
in a degree college,(REC and later NIT) management training institute,
structural inspection of steel,fertilizerplants and mines,(RSP) construction of oil
refineries, gas cracker plant, petrochemical plant,multistory office complex,
ferrochrome plant polyester fiber plant, highways, railways along with
prestressed,steel bridges,integrated sewerage system. In addition I was an
Advisor Construction in the ministry of Finance/Industry, Team Leader of a contingent of 85
engineers of several discipline at Iran ,
and in construction of Resort/Business Hotels at Malaysia .
In most of the cases they were the largest in the country at
that point of time. My job as an engineer was for livelihood, but my hobbies
were diverse which was along with the job keeping my body and mind in constant excitement.
They were athletics,NCC-rifle shooting in college days, shikar,flying,
astronomy and astrology in later days. This aspect I shall try to highlight in
the snippets in separate chapters
Concurrently I was holding a commission in the regular
reserve of officers (corps of engineers) and ncc rifles, a private pilots
license of airplanes, delivering lectures in reputed institutes.I did a diploma
in project managent in Urwick Mgt Centre at Slough, England, did one year out
of 3 years in MBA at Delhi Univ.Urdu course at Jamia milia Univ,German in
Maxmuller.
Games and Athletics
In East Hostel of Ravenshaw College one Raju Das, who was my
room mate prompted me to college sports. I got a 3rd prize in high jump.
Since I was in ncc and rovers crew, and being science student with an extra subject,
I had no time for games. In College
of Engineering
Only one thing I excelled was in rifle shooting, where I
used to be the champion of the state. Earl Roberts Trophy was a all commonwealth
game for cadets only. The items were 1- Normal
one at 100 ft and all the time you can take
2-A disc comes out from an underground bunker for 2 sec and
you fire one bullet. This is done 5 times.
3- A moving target from one end of bunker to the other for
30 sec, where you have 5 bullets to fire.
4- A disc with bulls eye, inner, magpie and outer is fixed
at a distance of 600 ft. ou lie down fire one bullet, get up run to 500 ft in
45 sec and fire the next one.
All the points added will give you ranking. The other was Burdwan Trophy for Indian cadets only on the same lines. I got 7th rank for later and 45th in former.
One havildar taught a trick that don’t hold the rifle and
try to aim, but to move the rifle and press the trigger at the exact moment.
The other trick was my own for the last item. At 600ft the target is too small
so I don’t fire and keep the bullet for 100ft, where I fire two bullets in
quick succession. We are issued one extra bullet for warming of the barrel,
which I do for target practice on coconuts on the trees, which were plenty in
Gods own country. These are not very legal, but comparing with some of the the
cricketers of today is not a criminal offence
Debate
Even though I was good in general knowledge and got several prizes in quiz competitions,
I never tried debates being basically a shy person. At that point of time I had
read subjects like history, anthropology, history of languages and their scripts.
One day a friend suggested that I contest in the hostel competitions. The
subject will be announced at that time so that no one can prepare ahead of time
The subject selected was “The greatest event in human history”
Others said about World Wars, Alexander, Pluto, Roman empires etc.I rose tall
all 6ft 2in and said- Human beings in groups were hunting feeding in a tribe
sometimes killing other tribes for centuries. One day some decided to settle down.
Then one man put four sticks and said this is my land and took one woman and
said this is mine. This was the event which started all the conflict, wars and
associated turbulence. In my opinion this was the greatest event and not what followed.
I got the first prize and that was the last, like one book wonders of books.
Later while I was teaching I used to hold debating competitions for students and
give keynote addresses. Then as founder president of officers association of
eil, I used the platform for speech, along with the normal lectures, but they are
not debates.
Shikar
In our days out door activities are treated as manly and one
of them is shikar which was treated as sports and not criminal activity as is portrayed
today. This was done by kings and the aristocracy allover the world. I was
fascinated in guns and by ten I knew how to handle my fathers 12 bore single
barreled gun Spanish make, with nuances of different cartridges viz ball,LG, SG
and smaller ones made in England .
One day a tiger was moving in the vicinity of our house and in my fathers absence I was the man of the house and loaded the gun and came out but he had runaway. Much earlier when as a child my mother was feeding me a ball of rice, I said there is a tiger somewhere, and my mother saw it at a distance of 100ft under a stilted godown. At that time I said by smell and not by sight. My sense of smell was above normal like many other faculties other than studies.
One day a tiger was moving in the vicinity of our house and in my fathers absence I was the man of the house and loaded the gun and came out but he had runaway. Much earlier when as a child my mother was feeding me a ball of rice, I said there is a tiger somewhere, and my mother saw it at a distance of 100ft under a stilted godown. At that time I said by smell and not by sight. My sense of smell was above normal like many other faculties other than studies.
In later part of 1960, Sukinda Forest
When the light came one of them could not be sighted and the other made a circuit keeping distance from me and sat down in front of the jeep on the road. All this time I had not batted my eyelid and it was dry. The worst part is the shikari took my rifle and fired and the bullet hit the road and not the leopard. He wanted the credit for killing and was no good in it. Then I decided to buy a gun, which I did- one Indian ordnance double barrel. I made several other trips but only got rabbits. There was an airstrip for tata planes and at any time you can get ten fifteen of them.
When the light came one of them could not be sighted and the other made a circuit keeping distance from me and sat down in front of the jeep on the road. All this time I had not batted my eyelid and it was dry. The worst part is the shikari took my rifle and fired and the bullet hit the road and not the leopard. He wanted the credit for killing and was no good in it. Then I decided to buy a gun, which I did- one Indian ordnance double barrel. I made several other trips but only got rabbits. There was an airstrip for tata planes and at any time you can get ten fifteen of them.
In the beginning of 1970,my flight instructor an ex air
force pilot wanted to go for shikar to Tikarpada which was a reserved forest. I
drove the jeep and gave the gun to him with my assistant holding the spot light.
Suddenly he shouted “Tigers”. Tigers do not move in groups like lions, two come
briefly in mating time and a group means mother with kids. When I asked him to
stand and shoot he got scared. Then I had to stop the jeep got down with the
gun, and by that time they had vanished.
One evening my asst engineer found me in sad mood and
suggested that we go to the forest, which we did. We spotted deers,wild buffallows,
jackals and of course rabbits, but killed no one. We used to leave at 7pm and
come back early mornings and do our job. After several trips I bagged my first
spotted deer, and to carry it across the forest check post was a feat by itself.
Two people had to carry it in a circuitous route when the jeep will pass
through the gate. With one leg of the deer I proceeded to bhubaneswar and I was treated with honor in
angul area, in spite of several failures to bag any.
Once the forest ranger wanted deer meat and he took me to a
dense forest, whereas they stay in open grasslands and take shelter in nearby forest.
Anyway when we entered the area it was full of Sitahar flower trees which were about 30 ft tall and the fragrance
of the flower were all around. After trekking by foot we saw a single
elephant.Elephants in herds is no risk, but single ones create problem. By that
time I had collected a bagful of fallen green mangoes, which I placed on the
road and retreated. The elephant was busy eating them and we were spared.
Another time across satkosia I was traveling with the driver
only I saw a porcupine traveling in front on the road.I fired one buck shot and
it did not die because of the quills.I had to go to the side and killed it.I
did not eat it since the front paw was looking like a human hand.
Earlier I was traveling with my wife and two daughters from
phulbani exactly on the above route and saw a gaggle of jungle fowls, and I had
a lg (large games) loaded in the gun. I had no time to change and killed the male
cock, which was very tasty.
With a gap of several years, in early eighties one security
officer and an adm officer arranged a shikar trip to foothills of arunachal
Pradesh, since assam
was a disturbed area. We took food in a dak bungalow and went to a village,
from where I climbed a hill by about 500ft vertically and saw something which I
had never seen anywhere. They were known as Badguan and are double the size of pigeons
weighing 2 to 3 kgs each. They had not seen human beings and were not concerned
of my presence. I killed three and carried it back in slopes with the gun,
which was an effort.
Down bellow I fired at a bison with ball cartridge and could see blood spurting out. It did not die immediately, but the villagers offered a drink made out of dry rice balls, knowing that a grand feast for the whole village is awaited. They did find the large beast within 200ft later. During this trip one army major gave me a jerkin with fur lining as it was biting cold and you cannot touch barrel of the gun in bare hand. On the way back near the dak bungalow a flock of jungle fowl were moving freely, which provided with our lunch.
Down bellow I fired at a bison with ball cartridge and could see blood spurting out. It did not die immediately, but the villagers offered a drink made out of dry rice balls, knowing that a grand feast for the whole village is awaited. They did find the large beast within 200ft later. During this trip one army major gave me a jerkin with fur lining as it was biting cold and you cannot touch barrel of the gun in bare hand. On the way back near the dak bungalow a flock of jungle fowl were moving freely, which provided with our lunch.
The last part of these activities was at Nagothane 100 km
south of Bombay.I had shia friend who used to have guns and with my gun we used
up all forests around found nothing except jackals, who came out at daytime
frolicking in sun which was a site to see. Mostly this is followed by a
sumptuous dinner at his house with the whole family. They had a mansion who
belongs to erstwhile rulers of that area. This was close to the Jangira Fort.
Flying
In my college days I wanted to become a pilot, but the
principal was of the opinion that either you become an engineer or a pilot and
not both.More so college starts at 8 am ends at 6 pm with a lunch break and the
airport was 15 Km away.
All my efforts were fulfilled when one suresh tripathy took
a liking and posted me at bhubaneswar for three years.I needed one year to
complete my training and licence.This I did by not taking any breakfast and going
to office at 9 am,except when I was on tour.I had one capt chatterji as chief
instructer, and he liked my aptitude and punctuality, and allowed solo flight
in less than 10 hrs of flying.To get a private pilot licence you need 20 hrs
solo and total 60 hrs.I did one extra night flying.
On joining the club I had to pass a oral test and with a
medical certificate I was issued a student pilots licence, which allows you to
fly under the supervision of an instructor.After PPL you are allowed to carry a
passenger, but can not do commercial jobs.This was meant for owners of
aircrafts in the olden days.
Day starts at 6 am when wind is still and sky clear.Initially
the chief and other tims the instructure will fly with you and when you are
ready you are allowed circuit and landing which takes about 6 min.The tower
gives you visual signal green to take off and again green to land, when no
commercial flights are on. Initially it looks easy and you take off and land mechanically.
The real event is the first solo, which the chief allows without warning. He gets off on the middle of the runway and ask you to take off. Suddenly you find the other seat is vacant and you are the master with no other help forthcoming. I did 3 perfect landings and then he gives me a break of 7 days. This is to check if you have learned properly. On eighth day he gives me a check not holding the controls, and allows me the sky for an hour so that I can complete puri konark triangle and get into landing pattern and land. This way I had to build up my mandatory 20 hrs solo.
The real event is the first solo, which the chief allows without warning. He gets off on the middle of the runway and ask you to take off. Suddenly you find the other seat is vacant and you are the master with no other help forthcoming. I did 3 perfect landings and then he gives me a break of 7 days. This is to check if you have learned properly. On eighth day he gives me a check not holding the controls, and allows me the sky for an hour so that I can complete puri konark triangle and get into landing pattern and land. This way I had to build up my mandatory 20 hrs solo.
At the same time I had to sit for an exam conducted by DGCA.
The method was objective questions. right wrong don’t know, which is being
followed in schools today.The pass percentage was 75%.The subjects were Meteorology,
Aircraft specific, flying in general.
I passed in the first chance. A log book duly certified by
aerodrome and the club is maintained throughout. The log book with a flight
test record along with the pass certificate for the exam is sent to DGCA for
issue of the license.
The aircraft was Pushpak with a Rolls Royce engine made of
steel frame with cloth cover. Two seats are side by side with two controls
except throttle, which is in the centre.
Later I flew an aircraft known as Tiger Moth, for which I had to pass another exam specific to this aircraft. This was the craft by which all the English/Indian pilots were trained. It is like a motor bike with two seats in tandem, no roof or breaks. Control stick was really a stick, unlike other half circle steering wheel type. For breaking the tail rubs on ground and comes to a halt. You have to wear goggles, helmet to fly, as it is open to sky.
With this aircraft we once went cross country with the same instructor who was with me in shikar. We flew over the bed of mahanadi to narsinghpur about 60 miles and back.It was very cold at an altitude of 3000 ft and so we went lower.The sight was magnificent with wide river and the forest on the banks. In this you are to talk to the co pilot through a speaking tube and the way back I found fuel level was low. There was an emergency tank, where you have to pump by a manual pump. Unfortunately this is a reverse pump ie pumps while pulling, so nothing happened, and we did an emergency landing on grass in the airport.
After getting the license I took my wife two daughters and a
girl friend of theirs separately on different days. While flying over
nandankanan I was showing my wife the animal enclosures ropeway etc, she was
worried about my daughters, who were waiting at the airport. Her thought was if
we both die in an accident, what will happen to them.
For renewal of the license either you fly 5 hrs solo or get
half an hour test check, which I preferred every year. My check pilots were
many one of them an Anglo Indian ex Wing Com, whose beautiful daughter waiting
at the club. My license was restricted, without cross country landing. This
facility was not available since gopalpur airport was not operational.
I was a flying executive member along with raja of ranpur
and biju patnaik as chairman for two terms, and the club we used to hear
stories of ranpur’s exploits.
In early eighties I got posted at Gauhati, and I have to go
to the airport officially to receive and send off visiting officers at the
airport. This gave me the opportunity to fly there. The Chief was a owner of an
aircraft gifted by maharaja of darbhanga. He had a wife from muritius.
Instructor was a young Muslim. I along with him took off for cross country
flight to an airport 90 miles west landed, got it certified by the aerodrome
officer and came back to gauhati. This fulfilled my requirement of cross
country flight and my license was open now. Before landing we saw number of
monkeys on the airstrip, which was abandoned after ww ii.I asked him to stand
guard and went to the office for endorsement. The airport officer offered me briskets,
which I declined, since he had only two left. The nearest market is several
miles away, and there used to be two commercial flights a week. The journey was
perfect with the mighty bramhputra bellow and lush green on the banks.
Then came Safdurjung Delhi Flying Club,with a board with the
name of Biju Patnaik having passed in 1936 both as a pilot and an engineer.
Renewal of license every year was a ritual with chief and his asst otherwise the
respect I was getting at bhubaneswar
or gauhati was missing. The embassy chaps with all their money were much
preferred to my government appointment. The circuit and landing was routine
except the flyover on the landing path and restriction not to fly over
rastrapati bhawan.I used to meet various categories of pilots and flew Cessna
which is third category. If you qualify for four aircrafts and 750 hrs of flying,
you get an open license meaning it is not specific to the aircraft. I could not
do this, which sanjay gandhi did and died with our chief instructor at the same
airport.
The license lapsed when I went to Iran for couple of years, where
they do not recognize our license and thus ended my flying carrier of over 20 years.
With my license I used to request the pilot of commercial flights to sit on the
co pilot seat both in India
and Iran .
Once I tried in England
but the duration was very little for the same.
