Friday, November 4, 2011

Reciprocally..........

After work, I'd decided to go around the Indian Navy's estate of Ezhimala. The monumental institution of the Naval Academy stands against the green backdrop of the 'seven hills' of 'Ezhimala'. The colour scheme chosen for the buildings merges well with the backdrop and adds to their architectural beauty.

The drive was over the length and breadth of the estate and I tried to take in as much as I could and made a mental note as to how lucky the young cadets are gonna be when they get the opportunity to make similar cross country trips on horsebacks as part of their training! The Mount Dilli lighthouse was another imposing fixture, within the precincts of the estate, that has guided mariners to safe passage across the sea over the years. The keeper, Selvan, was eager to conduct me around and I took advantage of the offer. As we reached the summit of the lighthouse after climbing a few steep ladders, towards the end, seeing the entire system from a reciprocal view gave a deep sense of satisfaction and achievement. I was also reminded of the time, years back, when I'd anchored my ship off the lighthouse and had gone along with my boys to do reconnaissance of the pristine Etticulam beach on which I'd walked a little while before.

The over 2,500 acre vast estate is an ideal place for nurturing the naval leaders of tomorrow. I felt proud of the 'monument' in the making!


Tailpiece.

Samad, my 'saarthi' during the visit, wistfully pointed out to a patch of land with a small house - close to the lighthouse that was his family's once upon a time(young Samad was studying in class 7 then) - acquired by the government for the making of the Academy. They're, of course, compensated and with a bit of that money, his father had set up their new home much near the Academy and saw Samad off to work at Abudhabi for 22 years. He's returned finally to his familiar surroundings to run his own taxi service!  

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