An argument with Vice Admiral LR Mehta January 1981, WNC Mess. A farewell was organized on my retirement from the Navy on absorption in the service of Mazagon Docks Limited. CMDE. LR Mehta (later Vice Admiral), popularly known as Laj Mehta, presided over the function and handed me the customary silver salver. I said to him casually that I was already a naval architect when I joined the Navy and was becoming one again full time. My days as a Naval officer were over. I said that I was a naval architect first and naval officer only afterwards! Mehta got very upset. He said that we were always naval officers. Every thing else was secondary. He got quite worked up about my statement and even referred to it in his speech. I thought he was unnecessarily excited and put it down to his NDA cadet entry pedigree! I did not know then that within three years, I would be leaving the discipline of naval architecture totally and moving to unrelated fields. I joined TVS only after they acceded to my demand of being addressed by my rank and for using it in name cards. Mehta was prescient. I have not been a naval architect for thirty years now. I will always remain a naval officer. Recently I wrote to him acknowledging that he was correct and I was wrong.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 16:04:07 +0000
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