Waterlogged trip to Lucknow during the monsoons

That was a trip to HAL Lucknow that I will never forget. It was during the monsoon season and a colleague was accompanying me. When we boarded the Kushinagar Express at Nashik Road, we did not know what the future had in store for us. The trouble began shortly after the train left Bhopal. The train came to a standstill and no one knew the reason for the sudden holdup.

After an hour or so, the train began to roll but it was not picking up speed – it was moving as if it was doing so with reluctance. By that time we realized that the route of the train was being diverted because of waterlogging of the tracks. There had been heavy rainfall in the surrounding regions and, hence, the train would crawl to its destination.
Well – the pantry car put u its hands. There was no food, not even tea and snacks. The wayside stations were no solutions and we had to just keep waiting till a big station came up – and, when it finally came, it was Lucknow.
The scheduled time of arrival of Kushinagar Express at Lucknow was 4am, we had arrived at 8pm. Once the train stopped, my colleague and I made a beeline for the refreshment room, ordered a cup of strong tea and then a plate of bread-butter sandwich and omelet. Realizing that we would not get dinner at the Guest House, we ordered a second round of sandwich-omelet. After that, we took a cycle rickshaw to the Guest House. (to be continued …)

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Stuck in Delhi in summer with only one change of clothes!!

Next morning, before leaving for continuation of meeting in Air Head Quarters, I handed over my shirt, pant, and banyan etcetera to the room boy of the Guest House and requested him to get them cleaned and keep the set ready within 24-hours because I did not have a spare set of clothes. The room I occupied was air-conditioned no doubt but summer in Delhi can be hot in the open and perspiration made one’s life miserable.
Anyway, in the meeting, a decision was taken that I, along with my Russian specialist, should proceed to Air Force base at Hindon where the aircraft were kept. Once there, we should check up all the available aircraft, note the observations and submit the report to all concerned. We should involve the Air Force personnel in our study.

Obviously, it was a time consuming work of a repetitive and monotonous nature and, for the next 20 days, every morning, I would leave the Guest House after breakfast, pick up my Russian from his hotel and proceed to Air Force Station Hindon.
The car would be provided by the Guest House and the driver was a young man and a very rash driver. He would keep putting on the car’s headlights demanding right of way and keep zigzagging through the heavy traffic of Delhi roads.
After observing his actions for a couple of days, my Russian friend pleaded with me to ask the driver to go slow and not rush. ‘I have a tiny daughter back home in Russia and I want to go back to her in one piece’ – he said. I explained that to the driver and he smiled and slowed down but, that was momentarily – speed was in his blood. (to be continued …)


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TD in Delhi of three days turned out to be one of 30-days

This was one TD that I would never want to be repeated. It was supposed to be a TD of three days in New Delhi in the month of June – and it turned out to be one of 30-days!!
The work was related to the induction of a new variant of MiGs by the Indian Air Force – the aircraft had been supplied by HAL Nashik and the engines mounted on them were supplied by HAL Koraput. Since Nashik supplied the aircrafts mounted with the Koraput engine, and since the problem pertained to engine, a team was sent to the Air Head Quarters in New Delhi to discuss with them and resolve the issue.

I had to go along with a Russian specialist and it was a TD of three day’s duration. Air passage was authorized from Nashik to Delhi and back and I left with a change of clothes packed in an attaché case.
The outward journey was uneventful. The fight from Nashik to Mumbai took around 45-minutes. We got down at Mumbai, had some snacks and boarded the flight to Delhi. At Delhi airport, there was a vehicle and the driver held aloft a placard with HAL Nashik written on it. Locating him was no problem and we went to a hotel where my Russian specialist would stay.
As for me, I took the vehicle to our Guest House in Asian Games village. From there I rang up our Service Engineer who stayed in Hindon. He was expecting me and our Russian specialist and we decided to meet next morning at Air Head Quarters. I asked the driver to report to me next morning by 8.30am.
But the interaction with the Air Force officers did not turn out as I had expected. A Russian specialist had come from Koraput along with a senior officer of Koraput and they remained silent spectators. I had to take the leading part and knowing that Air Force were our customers and the customer is always right, I had to play a crucial role. I had to ensure that things did not go out of hand. (to be continued …)


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Nashik, a tourist center with links to the Mahabharata

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