sixth ship- ravidas

I joined this ship, ‘Ravidas’ in Madras and the ship was loading granite blocks for Italy. The cargo work was almost over and securing of the blocks was going on. Within a couple of hours, the ship was ready to sail. I finished the departure stations and went to sleep. This was my first ship as second officer. Even though I did not have the certificate as second officer, I had to do the second officer’s job on board. At sea, my watches were from 0000 to 0400 and 1200 to 1600. Apart from this I had to look after the ship’s medicines, nautical publications and also had to do the voyage planning. In ports, my watch was from 1800 to 0600. As my first ship, was a sister ship of this ship, I did not find any problem in getting used to the ship. But this ship had cranes, whereas Tulsidas did not have the cranes.
Few years ago, this ship had met with a collision, near the south coast of Srilanka, which caused a major damage to the ship, near no. 3 cargo hold. The ship was towed and repaired and now it looked as good as new.
I came to know from other crew members that the previous second officer was not doing his duties properly and was caught sleeping when on duty by the Captain. Because of that, the second officer made an excuse to get down and so was hospitalised for nothing. I started a new phase in my career as second officer. This ship was also doing the UK run, which was so familiar to me, now.
Life was good as a second officer. I did not have to go on deck to work, apart from the port watches. The Captain was very friendly. He had an electric cooker in his cabin and often asked to make sambar in his cabin. The Ch. Off was a couple of batches senior to me and we were almost like friends. The other officers were also quite friendly and we used to have a nice time watching movies together in the evenings.
Time flew so fast in this ship, because of the good crowd we had on board. Once, when the ship, had gone to a place called Civitavecchia, in Italy, the port had some holidays. I went to Pisa along with 3 other officers. I saw the leaning tower of Pisa. It looked amazing. The journey was made in trains and buses. Without knowing a single word of Italian, we went all the way to Pisa and came back.
When the ship came back to Bombay, after a voyage to UK, I went to MMD, Bombay and got my Second Mate’s Certificate and I was a full-fledged second officer now. I informed Appa and Amma of the same. I bought sweets and distributed it to the ship’s crew. I also bought some sweets for Appa and Amma, as the ship was to call Madras after Bombay.
Another time, as soon as we crossed Suez Canal and entered Mediterranean Sea, the sea became rough and the ship started rolling up to 45˚ on either side. Since the ship, was carrying general cargo, this rolling is dangerous for the cargo and the ship. We tried altering the course, but the rolling continued. It was like that till we entered Atlantic Ocean. Luckily, the cargo remained as it was and no damage had taken place.
There was a volcano, in Mediterranean Sea, which had very recently erupted and we altered course to go near the mountain to see the volcano. The eruption had subsided, but we could see smoke coming out.
The ship went to Norway and Sweden, during one of the voyages. The passage was so beautiful, with small islands on both sides, covered with greenery. The port in Norway was very close to the town. It was hardly 5 minutes walk from the ship. I used to go out almost every day for a stroll. It was almost similar in Sweden. Nature at its best can be seen in such places. During the winter, we were in England and the port was closed for Christmas. We had nothing to do, as it was snowing heavily. This was the first time I was seeing snow, even though I was seeing sub-zero temperatures right from my first ship. The whole ship was covered with snow and so was the jetty. We young officers decided to make the most of the snow. So we went to the jetty and made a snowman, decorated it with cap, tie and other things and took lots of photographs. That’s one memorable thing in my life.
After a couple of voyages to UK, the ship was routed to Far East, a place I never had been. We completed discharging in Haldia and then started loading for Japan. I was off watch and was sleeping. All of a sudden, the Captain called me and told me that Calcutta office had got a call from Madras office, saying that I have to contact home urgently. I was shocked, not knowing what to do. I went to the town, called up home and spoke to Appa. He said that they had seen a girl for me in Tiruvanmiyur and that they liked the girl. Appa gave the phone number of their home and asked me to call her father and speak to him. Not knowing what to speak, I called up that number and told that I was Prakash and told that Appa had asked me to call. I don’t remember what I spoke, but the call was for a few minutes only. Then, I called up Appa and told him that I had talked to them. Appa told that he had posted a letter along with a photo of the girl. I told him that I will see the photo and let him know my decision.
The ship sailed for Japan via Singapore. I got Appa’s letter there in Singapore and I saw Raji’s photo. When I went out in Singapore, I called up Appa and informed him that I like the girl’s photo and that he can proceed further. I bought a watch for Amma, a gold chain for Appa, the Sony music system, which I had all these years and a world band radio. From Singapore the ship went to several ports in Japan. I saw the city of Kobe recovering from the earthquake. It was a sight to see the vast rumbles of concrete being cleared there. I also went to Osaka, where I saw the world trade center. I went up all the way to the 57th floor and saw the sprawling city of Osaka. The ship also went to Taiwan, before coming back to India.
The ship berthed in Bombay and I was happy. The reason was Appa and Amma would be there in Bombay, the next day, along with Raji and her parents. I had told Appa that I would come to the station to receive them. I finished my port watch and left for Dadar station, only to find the train running late. The train arrived about 3 hours late. I saw Appa, Amma get down from the train. Following them were Raji and her parents. I saw Raji for the first time in my life. I was very much excited on seeing all of them. But I had to leave for ship. With a heavy heart, I left for the ship. I told Appa that I would come to Mulund the next day and that all of us would go to Thane to see Raji.
I could not wait for the next day morning. After finishing my watch, I left for Mulund and reached there by an auto. All of us went to Thane to Raji’s Mama’s place to see her. We saw all of them there and I managed to talk a little to Raji in private. Extremely happy, all of us returned back to Mulund. I had told Appa and Amma that I liked the girl and to go ahead with other formalities.
I returned back to the ship, extremely tired, but excited and happy. Next day, Appa and Amma, Raji and her parents were supposed to come to the ship. But due to bus strike, Appa and Amma could not make it. I waited for them in VT station and they reached there. I took them to the ship and showed them around. I introduced them to the Captain and other officers on board. The ship sailed out of Bombay the next day. These three days in Bombay were so tiring and hectic, but unforgettable moments. I had met my life partner and that too in an innovative way.
We went to Kandla, loaded part of the cargo and then came to Tuticorin. The ship was in anchorage and was expected to be in anchorage for another 10 days. When I was casually speaking to the Captain, he told me that if I wanted, I could go home and come back before the ship sails. I was happy on hearing that. We were running short of fresh water and so we had asked for water. A barge(small boat ) came alongside us to supply water. The Captain called me as soon as the barge had come and asked me to get ready to go home. I got down in the barge and they took me to the fishing harbour. I went outside the gate and I got a lift from a guy and went to the bus stand. A bus for Madras was coming out and I jumped inside the bus. I was home next day morning.
Appa called up Raji’s father and told him that the next day was auspicious day and that we can have the engagement on that day. Appa rang up all relatives and friends and informed them regarding the engagement. How fast things developed! I was going to be engaged and that also all of a sudden. Next day evening, Raji, her parents, sisters and few of their relatives came to our home and the engagement took place in a simple manner.
Appa had developed hernia and the doctor had advised him to get operated as soon as possible. With my presence, Appa had the operation done and he was home, the next day after operation. Vidya , Pasupathi and Pavitra went back to Bangalore via Pondicherry.
We celebrated Diwali nicely. It was nice to be back home and spend some days at home after 10 months. I went to Tiruvanmiyur to see Raji, before going back to Tuticorin. The ship left for Mangalore few hours after I reached the ship. I conveyed my sincerest thanks to the Captain for letting me go home.
We completed the loading in Mangalore and then went to Marina Di Carrara, a place in Italy. I went out there, ate the real Italian Pizza and later called up home and Raji’s home. Raji informed me that her grandmother had passed away. Vidya’s mother-in-law had also passed away. We went to Bilbao, in Spain and from there to various ports in Europe. I bought a diamond ring for Raji in Antwerp. This period of life was so interesting. I used to write letters to Raji and she used to reply back. Every port, I used to go out to make phone calls.
After completing discharging and loading, we came back to India. We were in Bombay inner anchorage, discharging cargo. We used to have boat service for the crew to go ashore. I went out, one day, after completing my watch. Since Raji’s birthday was nearing I thought of giving her a present. I bought a churidhar and couriered it to her. Since I had requested for relief, I had my reliever on board. I had also asked the Captain to relieve me after some days so that I can complete the time for my next exams. Captain was more than happy to have me on board.
We went to Madras from Bombay and I got a chance to visit Appa/Amma again. During one of those days, the clothes for the marriage were purchased. Raji came home and we showed her all those things, which we had bought. Again, I lost my sleep, but was very happy. We left Madras and our next port was Vizag. I told Captain that I would like to get down, to which he reluctantly agreed. He was saying to me to get Raji on board and that he would get us married on board (Captains have the power to get people married and that is legally valid). I knew that he was saying it just like that. But it showed the immense love he had for me. Such Captains are very rare to find now. We arrived and anchored in Vizag. I hosted a sign off cum marriage party for all the ship’s officers and crew. That was one memorable party I had in my entire sea career. We berthed after five days and those five days were the longest five days in my life. As soon as we berthed, I told Captain that I have to go home. With lot s of reluctance, he arranged for me to sign off. I cleared customs and immigration and was put in a hotel foe the night. I rang up home and told that I would be coming back to Madras the next day morning by flight. Next day morning, I reached Madras and everybody was waiting for me. Raji was there too, to welcome me. My parents and her parents must have let out a huge sigh of relief to see me back, two days before the wedding.
With this ship, I ended my career with Shipping Corporation of India.

TIME SPENT ON BOARD: 11 months and 25 days

PORTS VISITED: IN INDIA- Bombay, Madras, Calcutta, Haldia, Vizag, Kandla, Mangalore
FOREIGN: Suez & Port Said(Egypt), Marina Di Carrara(Italy), Hamburg(Germany), Uddevalla(Norway), Arendal(Norway), Antwerp(Belgium), Bilbao(Spain), Swansea & Middlesbrough(U.K), Singapore, Kaohsiung(Taiwan), Kure, Uno, Kokura, Kashima, Kobe & Osaka(Japan)