The Arguments within

The Global Position Satellite navigation system is an indispensable part of a modern seafarer's life. On a sidetrack , navigation used to be carried out by Star-gazing in the days of yore. The sextant, a star sighting instrument, was invented by the Chinese, although most of us Indian maintain that we taught the world the art and science of Navigation. My personal quest into how the art and science of navigation came to human kind has yet indicated the we Indians would only do a river navigation, which was called 'Nav gath' in Sanskrit which perhaps is the etymological base for the Navigation. But river navigation, which harnesses 'terrestrial navigation' is vastly different from ocean navigation, which uses the 'celestial navigation' . Celestial navigation is the first place where the need for chronometer, or a time measuring device, was first felt by mankind. The purpose was to be able to measure the movement of sun across the longitudes. The "long b...

Most people in Indian Merchant Navy are wary of one particular breed of Technical Managers( aka Superintendents) . And that is the Indians themselves. It is humorous to find that quite many of us are aware of some problem existing in our management approach, although we believe that it is in someone else among us but not me. We realize deeply that the Indian style of management focus a lot on exacting hard work from people, so much that where there is no work, we begin to feel uneasy for not getting opportunity to do our most cherished thing..the hard work! It is agreed that all the arguments that would stand in favour and against our desi notion of Hard Work, ..(Hard work key to success, Hard work can win all battles, Foreigners do more hard work than us, ....and so on), the idea of slow and easy approach is completely abhored by our such the (someone-else-) Managers. My close friend just now rang me up from China, to tell how hard his life has become, on the same ship on whic...

Private adult tapes :- to the question of future of the protagonists Private videos of common civilians in their compromising positions have become replete on internet these days. With digital camera becoming a toy device in every person’s hand, the most secretive life of people is coming to public light in galore. Sometimes I feel elated that to the students of human psychologies it is opening doors of some new frontiers, and sometimes sad as to what would be the public life of people who have been caught up in those videos. Almost all people I meet are enthusiastic about seeing those tapes. But many of them feel utterly disgusted with other people who see or talk about them, because of a natural fear rising in own mind of themselves falling victims of infidelity some day. The instantaneous thought of own family’s women member getting caught deters most of such people to ever appreciate, comment, or discuss such videos. Therefore this lot of people are always in disgust and denigratin...

( a letter written to appeal against strict, zero-tolerance, D&A policy in some of the shipping companies ) Dear Sir, This is in response to the “zero tolerance” drug and alcohol policy implementation, which is getting a little too merciless on seafaring community as though to make an austere saint of us! The sea farers in the days of yore were the outcast, convict people with immense skill and desire to live and survive. Perhaps they savoured all the taste of women, wine and ate away all the dodos of this planet, feeding their will to live more in the rigorous’t of ocean waves. Then suddenly dawned upon the mankind the rule of “Governments”, which captured the “companies” for un-social and environment un-friendly policies. A new era of “Drug and Alcohol” abuse came upon the ravelling sea-farers, which I agree was and is, a need of the hour to check more damages to the seas and oceans, from happening. It tamed the sea-farers slowly into the family-people who started to crave for mo...