Folks, coming in little late on this but here goes. I happened to be in INS Valsura, one of the Navy's premier training establishments, last week as a participant in the Valsura Literature Festival or #ValLitFest It was a marvellous experience for many reasons. First, hats off to
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the Navy, HQSNC & Team Valsura for organizing this delightful fest. Arguably, the first of its kind done by the Navy & first of its kind in Saurashtra region, the fest ticked many new boxes while having an eclectic range of themes & wide variety of authors.
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Done over a full day at 3 diff venues, with modest objectives but audacity in implementation, it was good to see range of school children, navy & army personnel & many others enthusiastically listen, interact & be active part of the proceedings. I also enjoyed
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several interesting conversations with fellow authors & writers. Hope the fest gains traction & is back in a bigger avatar next year. At a personal level too, the trip was highly memorable for me. We began our Navy career 36 years at INS Valsura, the station of
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our first young officers' (Sub Lt) courses. To go back there at the fag end of my service was a recipe for much nostalgia. For a Navy history lover, Valsura has much to provide. Both in its own 80 year illustrious past & in the form of an excellent heritage hall
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and Musuem where the technological history of Navy comes alive. Of particular interest is the philately section housing almost all stamps, first day & special day covers on Indian Navy & Coast Guard & a recently launched 'Covid Musuem' that records
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in impressive manner the trajectory of the pandemic & how Valsura handled it. An invaluable archival source few years down the line. There is so much more to the buzzing energetic place. An oasis of green in an arid region, the base has vast green cover, large
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solar energy plant, a booming Mango Orchard & novel outdoor installations, that showcase the unit & Navy well. While producing high quality Electrical branch Sailors & Officers, training on a dizzying array of high-tech equipment, Valsura also displayed it's
9/n. multifaceted character & charming versatility. Wide variety of birds, the hum & throb of daily training routine, warmth of its denizens, the quiet efficiency of the 'cantonment', make Valsura both a calm & busy place. Above all, loved my interaction and discussions with
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many like minded people interested in matters maritime, navy, history, books, reading. A truly enriching experience. For more about the Fest & Place do read
Folks, happy to share that on Sat, 02 Mar, I was awarded the 'Prerana Puraskar' by #MaharashtraSevaSangh a very well known & highly regarded, Mumbai based social & cultural organization. Spreading awareness about our Armed Forces is also one of its many objectives through one
2/n of its initiatives called #SaluteIndia. The award was given in recognition of 'my efforts in spreading awareness on maritime issues'. Am grateful & humbled by this gesture of MSS. Also, deeply grateful to my family & friends, senior Navy veterans, @indiannavy & my fellow
3/n. #MaritimeEnthusiasts at @MaritimeKS which has made this possible. The other awardee was #HavPandurangAmre, 21 Para SF veteran, Tololing Battle (Kargil) participant who since retirement in 2014 has been endeavoring & educating youth to join Armed Forces. Award was presented
Folks, 2 days ago, while on a short trip to Kolkota had the greatest privilege & pleasure of meeting #CdrRanendraNathGhosh or #RonnieGhosh as he is known. Sprightly & agile, at nearly 91 years, Ronnie sir, is one of the oldest veterans around & pioneer of Naval Aviation in India.
2/n. An alumnus of 3rd JSW, Ronnie G was commissioned on 01 Sep 54. Volunteering early for Naval Aviation, he trained in Begumpet/Hakimpet & then joined the Naval Jet Flight at Sulur in the late 50s. Selected as commissioning crew of INAS 300, he trained in UK & was part of first
3/n. White Tiger team commissioned in July 1960 at RNAS Brawdy. Incidentally he was the second person immediately after #RHTahiliani or #TallyHo to land on the Vikrant with the Sea Hawk fighter aircraft. #RonnieGhosh is also Indian Navy's first Air Warfare Instructor having done
Folks, coming in lil late on this, almost a month after the event, but sharing few snapshots of experiences at the wonderfully organized @PondyLitFest from 15 to 17 Sep, where I had the honour of participating in two sessions. To begin with, all sessions were of high quality and
2/n. Offered much food for thought. Second, it was personally educative to listen to & interact with the very erudite @swapan55, @IndicMeenakshi, @Sampadananda, @gchikermane, @monikahalan to name a few. It was a treat to exchange notes & thoughts with some of the brightest
3/n. Young minds in India today such as @vikramsampath, @ARanganathan72, @Iyervval, @ahluwaliadisha, @swati_gs, @RashmiDVS, @nandinisgTOI
It was good to see the amount of discussion, deliberations & even disagreements being voiced freely. As always was lovely to reconnect with
Thks. Folks, completed an extremely rewarding 4 day trip of #Hyderabad which featured 2 talks each at Military & Civilian institutions. Yesterday, had the honour of speaking to the Higher Defence Management Course participants at #CollegeofDefenceManagement doing an overview of
2/n. India's Maritime past & evaluating @indiannavy growth. The interaction that followed was very interesting & lively. Very good to see the academic & admin infra at the College, which encourages learning & cogitation. On previous day, 12 Sep, also had the honour of speaking at
3/n. the #CollegeofAirWarfare, to the participants of #HigherAirCommandCourse, on similar subjects. There too, the levels of interest and interaction were very high & educative. These two institutions have the creme de la creme of the 3 services at the Colonel/equivalent level
Yesterday, 17 Jul, had the great pleasure & privilege of addressing participants of the Higher Command Course 52, at the Army War College, Mhow, on 'Overview of India's Maritime History & a brief look at Indian Navy's journey since 1947'. The interaction that followed was
2/n. Rewarding & went on long indicating high interest of the participants in maritime matters. Have very fond memories of AWC from my previous visits & other associations. The sylvan surroundings, well-stocked library & academic atmosphere enable much cogitation on strategic
3/n. And Military issues. The visit was made more special this time by the fact that the Commandant #LtGenDPPandey was my Delta squadron mate, one course senior, in @NDA_Khadakwasla. Meeting him after nearly 40 years was special & hearing his perspectives on various aspects
Folks, last week I had the occasion to visit Wellington, near Ooty. Some notes of the same. I had the privilege of addressing the Naval Wing of 79th DSSC course on "Evaluating the growth & development of Indian Navy 1947 - 2023". A wide canvass that I hope I could do justice to.
2/n. Happily the 3 hour time slot enabled a granular approach touching upon various aspects of the topic. It was particularly nice to see the high level of interest, evidenced in the volley of penetrating questions & comments by the particpant officers which included 8 foreign
3/n. Students as well. It was also good to see some spouses of participants & faculty members attending the talk & evincing interest in the subject. A brief interaction with the Commandant #LtGenVirendraVats was extremely rewarding as was a detailed meeting with #RAdmPuruvirDas