pulse - march 2013

March 2013 Pulse ...feel the beat! Page | 1

The Unofficial Publication of The 1979 Batch Engineer Trainees Of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Tiruchirapalli, India

March 2013 Issue No. 135 February 2013

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Inside This Issue Page

In The News: by Easwaran 2,3,5,16

ET79inDeed: Thirumalai, ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ 4

Lady ET79: Mrs Umamaheswari Somaiah 6

Culture: Holi by Chandra 8

Health: by Mohan 9

Guest Column A true story by Andrew Hudson 10

Wot Doin? A new section on & about GenX 12

Feedback You said it 15

Dear ET79

Mar 13 issue comes with several contributions. Thirumalai and Mrs Somaiah are in focus.

We have a new supplement “Wot doin?” which will figure out what Gen-Next is doing. Ramesh Easwar opens the section and tells us all about his off-work indulgences! – Parents watch-out!.

We welcome your feedback on this issue.

Happy reading, 16 pages!

Radha

1 Mar 13, Dubai

Page 4 – ET79inDeed

Thirumalai – Our Own Lawrence of Arabia

5 – Breaking News

Muthu quits job, goes back to school

Page 10 – A True Story

How Indian mariners were rescued from Somali pirates

wot doin GenX? (Page 12)

NEW


ET79 Holds the Fort

Rakesh Guru Gets Married

The wedding of Rakesh and Apoorva was a grand

event. A good contingent was expected to attend

from Trichy; but due to a strike on 20th Feb 2013,

many had to drop out. Ananthan and Nizam

attended the wedding. Ananthan reports that it was

a grand event. The bride-groom’s dad was calm and

enjoying the event with a trade-mark smile. Aunty

seems to have put on a few additional kilograms by

the end of the day, but has been hiding it under a

tight belt.

The reception was also a grand event on the

previous day evening. Suresh Babu and Muthu had

represented ET79 at this event. The photo captures

the upbeat mood of the evening.

How does it feel to be an in-law? Guru has his

characteristic smile. Where are the young couple?

“Rakesh & Apoorva have flown to Thailand and

will be back by this weekend’, says a happy dad.

Somaiah in the News

BHEL Participated in 2-Day National Vendor

Development Programme (Buyers-Sellers Meet-

Cum-Industrial Exhibition) - MSME-EXPO 2013

from 2nd to 3rd February 2013 at Rajahmundry.

Honorable M.L.A Shri Routhu Suryaprakasha Rao,

inaugurated the Exhibition and General

Manager/CMM&Logistics Shri T.Somaiah was the

Guest of Honour for the inaugural function.

Director, MEME-DI along with GM/CMM &

Logistics visited BHEL stall.

In The News R Easwaran

The occasion is the Republic

Day at Thirumayam. We

celebrate the day across the

country, then what is so

special about this at

Thirumayam, you might ask.

Well, this is the first RD

function when an ET79

received the prime honours

and hoisted the national flag.

Yes, our Gopinath saluted the

National Flag. Ravindran, the

next in command, was close

at heels.


Asok's Daughter's Betrothal

Close on the heels of many ET79, it is Asoks

turn to get ready to be a mamanar! The

betrothal took place on 22nd

Feb 2013 at

Sivakasi. The back drop spoke it all. It was no

small strength … about 200 of Sivakasi

‘cracker’ists participated. Hariesh welcomed

the groom with a bouquet, which he himself

had bought after a great search in Sivakasi.

Besides poochoodal, there was also a cake

cutting event as also a grand high tea. What

really took the cake was the release of the hand

sketch of the couple crafted by Vaishnavi,

which Balaje smilingly released. The

photograph of the pencil sketch is enclosed,

which reveals the enormous talent she has. It is

in the genes. The marriage is going to be 19th

June 2013 between 10-11 a.m. at Sivakasi.

There would also be a reception at Trichy

which is most likely to be on 21 June 2013.

Somaiah in Trichy

It does make news, as Somaiah garu is visiting

Trichy after the last visit in 2005. He did find time to

talk or meet all ET79, during his stay. When I called

on him at the Kaveri Guest House on 24th morning,

he was casual and seemed to have put on some

weight. After all, a GM heading Common Materials

Management and Logistics at BHEL Hyderabad has

to have some weight. There were quite a few calls in

the short time I spent with him – many from his good

contacts in Trichy. Then suddenly one person named

Rajamani came. Somaiah introduced him as the first

person whom he met in Trichy, who took him to ET

hostel, way back in 1979. And he comes to meet

Somaiah after all these 33 years. That is the level of

contacts that Somaiah maintains. Must be good case

study material for any management consultant!

Somaiah’s daughter, Dr Vaishali, is doing her MD in

the US at Detriot and he wants to have her marriage

organised in May 2013. He is looking for a US-based

medical fraternity bachelor. Somaiah’s son Teja is in

Infosys Hyderabad and is looking for opportunities

for higher studies. Mrs Uma Somaiah is a teacher and

she has her school within about 10 km from their

residence.

While I was talking, Gopalasamy also joined in. The

good news is Gopal is a Rs 24 crore turnover

company and he is doing fine. Dr Ravichandran also

walked in and took the

opportunity to distribute

the marriage invitation

of his daughter. Dr

Asok Kumar also made

it a point to call on

Somaiah. It always

leaves a nice feeling

after meeting Somaiah.

Here’s a person who

can build lasting

friendship at the drop of

a hat!


Thirumalai’s ‘evergreen’ looks and simplicity hides his intense desire and drive to achieve big things in

career and life. We tracked down Thirumalai, who is cooling off his heels and heart in the US, for an

interview. For people who are unaware, Thirumlai is popularly known as PTS in corporate circles. Let us

find out what makes him the Sultan of IT.

Q: Thirumalai, we know you as a ‘high-flier’ in

BHEL. What would you rate as your biggest

achievement, outside BHEL?

A: One of the significant achievements that had a

great impact in my banking career is when I

managed the credit card launch project in Saudi

American Bank (Citibank in Saudi is called as

Samba).

Q: When was this .. and can you elaborate?

A: I moved from Citi, India to Samba in Sep 91 and I

was assigned the credit card migration / re-launch

project. This project involved coordination with our

teams in Singapore (+5 hrs from Saudi) and South

Dakota, USA (-10hours from Saudi). I was new to

Saudi environment and culture but had to get the

work from many different nationalities to complete

the project within an aggressive target of 4 months. It

was and is considered as one of the biggest success

stories in Samba, as the entire project from concept

completion was executed on time.

Q: What was the reaction of the people,

particularly your management?

A: Management, to say in short, were stunned at the

successful execution in a short time.

Q: Tell us more about what was special and

complex about the project?

A: I had introduced many new infrastructures to the

bank which was running an outdated legacy platform

called 'Perkin Elmer' with rudimentary Cobol

program and flat file structure. I am sure my IT folks

would appreciate the complex nature of the project,

others please excuse me for the IT jargons. I also

introduced SUN/Solaris, C language, RDBMS, Case

tools, Advanced security management systems.. all

these within that 4 months. There were many nights

that I reach home at 3 am and return to office by 9

am.

Q: How were you recognized?

A: The success of this project, gave me more than

the adequate ‘reputation’ in Samba and many more

successful projects followed and so also rewards.

Q: Tell us about other significant project ..

A: Another satisfying achievement was that in 1999,

when I was asked to manage the entire e-

commerce activities for the bank. I was also a

ET79inDeed Thirumalai: Our Own Lawrence of Arabia

Thirumalai Career Track

1979 – 89: BHEL

1989 - Aug 1991: Citi

Aug 1991 - June,2003: in Saudi American Bank

(Joint sector bank with Citi). Last position was E-

Commerce Division Head reporting to group

head and as E-Board secretary reporting to MD

who is the chir-person of the e-board.

June 2003 - June 2005 in Polaris as Product

Engineering Group Head reporting to the

president of the company

1 year break Till Oct 2012 in SAMBA Financial Group (No Citi tie-up) in various capacities; When I left the bank, I was the Program Director for Technology conversions that includes Core Migration.

Thirumalai adds, “Recently, I ran in the 5 km marathon event in San Diego, whose proceeds will go to cancer treatment.


member secretary of e-Board for the bank. Though I

was an IT professional, I got to interact with

Managing Director and other senior GMs on a day-

to-day basis.

Q: What about recognitions from the outside

world?

A: The internet banking launched by Samba through

my team won many awards during the next 10 years

both in Saudi Arabia and MiddleEast-Africa region.

When asked what else he has to say, a humble

Thirumalai said, “It is a great opportunity to share

with you some of my experiences. I hope I was not

bragging too much”.

As Suresh Babu vouches (see inset), Thirumalai is a

person made for big goals and he did achieve them.

We wish him a restful stay in USA and long life and

happiness.

Dr. G Ravichandran's Daughter Keerthana's Wedding

Chennai is all set to host this event. Keerthana and

Aditya are all set to marry. The dates to note are Mar

12, 2013 for the reception and Mar 13, 2013 for the

marriage. The Mandapam is Sri Krishnaswamy

Kalyana Mandapam, No – 62, South Boag Road, T.

Nagar, Chennai – 17. For those who have attended

Rajasekaran’s daughter’s marriage, be informed that

this is the same mandapam. The Muhurtham is

between 10.00 to 11.30 a.m.

The Reception starts at 7.00 p.m. You will have the

pleasure of listening to Srivaralaxmi and Party on the

Keyboard. Dr Ravichandran has already sent the

invitation to all, in case you have not received it, he

wants you to treat this as his personal invitation.

Balraj in India

Our V Balraj is planning to be in India during 8-23 March 2013. During 8-12, he would be busy carrying out long overdue maintenance works in his Tollgate house. He will be attending Dr G Ravichandran's daughter's marriage at Chennai. He is planning to make a visit to BHEL and WRI during his stay.

Suba recalls the best qualities of Thirumalai: 1. PTS is smart, dedicated, meticulous and hard working 2. Sets up big goals. Wants to achieve these goals with his full heart and soul. Going strong continuously to reach greater and greater heights. 3. Attaches a great value for relationship, be it a friend, colleague, family or any one. In short, he is a great man.

Suba continues: “In BHEL days, I had the privilege of being a

colleague of him in EDP where we were not only good friends

but also the professional competitors. I have learned a lot

from him technically and personally”.

“He was one guy who helped me at every hard moment of

mine including the time I have lost our whole bunch of house

keys at Maris theatre when my family was on the street of the

township at midnight”.

“I cannot forget our Delhi, Haridwar trips and all that we have

done on the banks of Ganges. When we met him at his

daughter's wedding recently, he was looking like 'Maapillai'

and subsequently, I have to apply one extra coat of hair dye. I

love to hear him calling me 'Dei Chetty'”.


Somaiah gratefully expresses how Mrs Uma Maheswari Somaiah has shouldered the

responsibilities of being a better half and mother over the years. Let us hear from Somaiah.

On extraordinary support received at

extraordinary situations:

“It was a trying time for the family when my

father was ailing after a he met with a minor

accident and we all had to rush home. At this

emergency, Uma arranged all resources for his

better medical treatment. I could not reach on

time and she took full responsibility and

comforted me not to worry and that she will

take care and she did”.

On managing the

home-front:

“Uma believes in

doing all domestic

chores to the picture

perfectness, so that we

are all at ease. Family

well-being was always

in her mind and of the

utmost priority”.

On the qualities, that amazes Somaiah:

“Uma faced tough challenges to meet the

domestic and professional commitments when

she was working at Velamala School. Three

other teachers had taken transfers without

replacement. At this time, she managed the

school single handedly by taking local people

as temporary teachers so that the students do

miss their academic year and a new building

was constructed in her tenure. I am always

amazed by the way she is respected and

regarded by the locals even though it has been

very long since she left that school”.

On Mrs Uma’s hobbies and passion:

“Uma loves nature and is fond of gardening.

The environment and ambience around us is

always filled with the fragrance of flowers and

sight of beautiful trees. She is conscious of

public impressions and thus did her very best

to project our family with the best of

etiquette”.

Somaiah continues, “She is also a good singer

and interested in acting.

Of course, an excellent

cook; keeps trying all

exotic recipes from TV

shows”.

“She is also a good

Finance Manager and a

meticulous planner. It is

due to her effort that we

are always at ease on

finance front”.

At this stage of life, what is the message that

you would like to give his wife (which you

have not given so far).

“My dear, I am sure my in laws couldn’t

have wished for a better daughter; I

couldn’t have dreamt of a better half any

better; our children couldn’t have asked

for a better mother and the students

couldn’t have asked for a better teacher.

U made me believe that behind every

man’s success there is a woman” and

hope I made you believe that there is a

man behind the well-being of a woman”.

LadyET79 Mrs Uma Maheswari Somaiah

Somaiah recalls an event, which highlights Mrs Uma’s presence of mind: “I would like to share with you an incident that happened to our daughter when she was 2 years old. One day, while playing in the garden my daughter caught hold of a cactus plant and all the thorns pierced her hands, and the hand started bleeding profusely. We were very much worried and took her to the hospital. We were shocked when the doctor said that he has to operate and remove the skin of her palms. However, my wife spontaneously removed each and every thorn from our daughter’s hand patiently and as a result the surgery was avoided”.


Easwaran writes: What strikes me most about Mrs

Meena Asokkumar is her concern for people,

especially when they need support. You can be sure

that she is a friend indeed! I have seen her extend

such help not only to ET79 friends, but to many

others. Helping tendency is ingrained in her genes.

I cannot forget the times when my wife was

hospitalised or when my mother got admitted in

hospital, she would come by her two wheeler and

stay with them at the hospital and ask me to go

ahead with my office. It is rare to have this sort of

friendly comfort - it goes beyond friendship, it is

sisterly. She would keep them engaged on topics

other than their illness. She would find time in the

evenings to get back home and prepare the food

for the patients and also for me, and ensure that

we have the food.

Another aspect that I find in her is her ability to

cook classy delicacies. She is a veteran at this - can

make both V and NV dishes. You go to their home

in the evening, she would pressurise you to have

some of the thinnest dosais, tasty fried rice and so

on. You cannot find such a hospitable host.

She has varied talents - painting, art works,

stitching, embroidery and so on. Tanjore painting is

her passion and she has already made many master

pieces, which could easily earn a good lump sum for

Asok when he retires - if she chooses to sell. She is a

very good teacher as well and has many followers.

Go to Asok's house any afternoon, there would be

many girl students doing their Tanjore Painting and

Mrs Asokkumar, patiently training them. And the

students just love her.

She has a wonderful sense of humour, which many

may not know. It is incidental that Asok is the

target, when some of the best humour pours out!

She is a disciplinarian (Master Hareesh would vouch

for it), lover of all arts, no gossip person, very

sensitive in nature (It is good that she doesn't

watch TV soap as that can guarantee litres of tears

from her!) and a lover of nature and gardening. I

am almost certain that it is she who is the driving

force behind many of the tours and outings that

Asok plans. Very religious and ardent Isha

practioner, she would do everything to support

such causes.

May be the best way to define her is 'she is

different'

Happy Birthday to You

Name March

Mr Rakesh Gurumurthy 2

Mrs Ponmudi Kandasamy 4

Mrs Lakshmi Chandrasekar 8

Mr Ravi C S 11

Mrs Prema Mohan 16

Mr Asok Kumar 17

Mr Shyamkumar Paramasivam 18

Mr Chandrasekar R

20

Mrs Indirani Balraj 29

Mr Vinesh Chand Gopalaswamy

31

LadyET79 Mrs Meena Asokkumar ...contd from Feb 13 issue

Celebrations

Sriman Mohanty and Tanushree

Mohanty complete 28 years of

marriage on Mar 8, 2013. They got

married in 1985

Happy wedding anniversary to

you!

Celebrating Wedding Days


“HOLI HAI...” Come holi and the streets of India

will reverberate with these chants. Holi is being

celebrated in India since time immemorial but the

popularity of Holi seems to be rising with every

passing year. As it gives so much liberty to the people

to let their hair loose and enjoy their hidden crazy self.

Holi marks the end of the winter gloom and rejoices in

the bloom of the spring time. Differences of any sort

are drowned in the coloured waters of Holi and people

just enjoy being a play animal. To further enhance the

festive spirit of Holi celebrations we have a social

sanction to get a kick with the tradition of bhang.

Then there is total wildness as people dance to the

rhythm of dholak and sing traditional folk songs in

loud pitch. Children particularly enjoy the festival as

they throw water filled balloons and pichkaris at

passersby... and even evoke a smile on the irritated

face. It can be said, "Life turns Colourful" when it is

time for Holi.

The literal meaning of the word

'Holi' is 'burning'. There are

various legends but the most

prominent of all is the legend

associated with demon king

Hiranyakashyap who wanted

everybody in his kingdom to

worship only him. But to his great disappointment, his

son, Prahlad became an ardent devotee of Lord

Naarayana. He commanded his sister, Holika to enter a

blazing fire with Prahlad in her lap. Holika had a boon

whereby she could enter fire without any damage on

herself. However, she was not aware that the boon

worked only when she enters the fire alone. As a result

she paid a price for her sinister desires, while Prahlad

was saved by the grace of the god for his extreme

devotion. The festival, therefore, celebrates the victory

of good over evil and also the triumph of devotion by

lighting symbolic bon-fires. This is extremely

important in the modern day society when so many

people resort to evil practices for small gains and

torture one who is honest. Holi helps the people to

believe in the virtue of being truthful and honest and

also to fight away the evil.

Legend of Lord Krishna is also associated with play

with colors as the Lord started the tradition by

applying colour on his beloved Radha and other gopis.

That is why playing colours is particularly rampant in

north India and it is celebrated with so much charm

and enthusiasm in Mathura, Vrindavan, Barsana and

Nandgaon - the places associated with the birth and

childhood of Lord Krishna. In the midst of these

colouring games are savoured the

mouth watering holi specialities

like gujiya, malpuas, mathri,

puran poli, dahi badas etc and

downed with glasses full of

thandai.

There are also a few other legends

associated with the festival - like

the legend of Shiva and

Kaamadeva and those of Ogress Dhundhi and Pootana.

All depict triumph of good over evil. In the state of

Tamil Nadu, it is known as Kaman Pandigai or

Kama-Dahanam though not observed widely.

Across the world wherever Indians or people of Indian

origin are present Holi is celebrated with gusto and

bonhomie. Well, the essence of any festival is to take a

break from the daily humdrum of life and make it

interesting. The other major intention of celebrating

festival is to bring people together and generate a

feeling of brotherhood and spread harmony all around.

Let us do it in an eco-friendly way by avoiding use of

toxic chemical colours and minimize use of water and

fire-wood.

CULTURE Holi Festival – 26 March 2013 By Chandra


If you have diabetes, you know all too well that

when you eat carbohydrates, your blood sugar goes

up. The total amount of carbs you consume at a

meal or in a snack mostly determines what your

blood sugar will do. But the food itself also plays a

role. A serving of white rice has almost the same

effect as eating pure table sugar — a quick, high

spike in blood sugar. A serving of lentils has a

slower, smaller effect.

Picking good sources of carbs can help you control

your blood sugar and your weight. Even if you

don’t have diabetes, eating healthier carbohydrate-

rich foods can help ward off a host of chronic

conditions, from heart disease to various cancers to,

well, diabetes.

One way to choose foods is with the glycemic index

(GI). This tool measures how much a food boosts

blood sugar.

The glycemic index rates the effect of a specific

amount of a food on blood sugar compared with the

same amount of pure glucose. A food with a

glycemic index of 28 boosts blood sugar only 28%

as much as pure glucose. One with a GI of 95 acts

pretty much like pure glucose.

Using the glycemic index

Using the glycemic index is easy: choose foods in

the low GI category instead of those in the high GI

category (see below), and go easy on those in

between.

Low glycemic index (GI of 55 or less): Most

fruits and vegetables, beans, minimally

processed grains, pasta, low-fat dairy foods, and

nuts.

Moderate glycemic index (GI 56 to 69): White

and sweet potatoes, corn, white rice, couscous,

breakfast cereals such as Cream of Wheat and

Mini Wheats.

High glycemic index (GI of 70 or higher):

White bread, rice cakes, most crackers, bagels,

cakes, doughnuts, croissants, most packaged

breakfast cereals.

You can see the values for 100 commons foods and

get links to more at

www.health.harvard.edu/glycem

Swaps for lowering glycemic index

Instead of this high-glycemic index food

Eat this lower-glycemic index food

White rice Brown rice or converted rice

Instant oatmeal Steel-cut oats

Cornflakes Bran flakes

Baked potato Pasta, bulgur

White bread Whole-grain bread

Corn Peas or leafy greens

Stay well, Enjoy Life, & Be Nice to your spouse!

Health A good guide to good carbs: The glycemic index

Sourced from Harvard Medical School

Sourced by Mohan


In December 2012 the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) rescued 22 sailors, including the

Indian captain, who had been held hostage on board the merchant vessel Iceberg 1 off the Somali

coast for nearly three years – the longest period for any hostages held by Somali pirates. South

African Roelf van Heerden, a former South African Defence Force and Executive Outcomes officer

and close friend of the author led the rescue force.

On 29 March 2010 the Iceberg 1, a 4 500 ton roll

on/roll off cargo vessel owned by Dubai-based Azal

Shipping, was hijacked just ten nautical miles off

Aden, Yemen. Captained by an experienced Indian

seafarer, she was carrying

generators, transformers, fuel

tanks and had a crew of 24

from India, Yemen, Ghana,

Sudan, Pakistan and the

Philippines. The vessel

eventually ran aground in

September 2011 off Garacad,

a small coastal village in the

Galmudug region on

Somalia’s eastern seaboard.

With two deceased hostages, a continuing standoff

between the owners and the pirates, and an exhausted,

sickly crew of hostages, the last months of 2012 held

little prospect of an end to the ordeal. That was until

the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF), under the

command of a team of South Africans, took action.

Here is Roelf’s story:

“On 28 October 2012 the director to the PMPF briefed

me about the Iceberg situation and requested me to

carefully assess whether the PMPF could undertake an

operation aimed at freeing the hostages. All previous

attempts to resolve the hijacking, including offers of a

ransom, had failed and the ship’s crew was also

reportedly in a sorry physical and mental state. The

first fatality, a Yemeni, was said to have committed

suicide in October 2010 after continuous harassment

by the pirates. The other fatality amongst the hostages

was the first officer, Dhiraj Kumar Tiwari, who had

been severely tortured by the pirates and had not been

seen since

September

2011. The

vessel had also

run out of fuel

and the seasonal

high winds had

caused both the

ship’s anchors to break loose, allowing the vessel to

drift helplessly onto the rocks.”

“The operation started on 2 December 2012 with an air

reconnaissance which revealed that the vessel had run

aground close to the shore and from afar it appeared,

incorrectly I must add, that a

seaborne assault to board the

vessel would be a simple

matter. I concluded that,

given the skill levels of the

men and the available

weapons, we had no choice

but to launch a simple

seaborne assault by a force of

less than ten men transported

to the vessel by a skiff or

fishing boat. Direct fire support to cover the movement

and boarding of the vessel would be provided by a

group ashore manning small arms and a variety of

machine guns. I would command the operation and

oversee the direct fire from the high ground above the

beach.”

“On 6 December 2012 I briefed Puntland’s President

Farole in Garowe on 6 December 2012 on the rescue

plan and we left for the PMPF base at Eyl,

approximately 200 kilometres to the southeast of

Garowe, with his tacit approval, to prepare for the

operation. After rehearsing, and completing the

coordination of air support, I left for the target area

with two PMPF platoons, armed with an assortment of

AK-47 rifles, light machine guns and two DShK heavy

machine guns.”

Compromise and standoff:

“On 10 December 2012 we arrived at the target area at

05:30 am with the intent to deliver a rude awakening to

the pirates. Great was our surprise when the initial

silence was suddenly broken as we drew effective fire

from small arms on the ship. Our plan had been

compromised somewhere along the line and the pirates

knew of our plan to free the hostages.”

“We recovered quickly from this inauspicious start and

fired at the ship’s bridge but soon realised that the steel

Guest Column South African Soldiers Free Indian Mariners from Somali Pirates

A True Story By Andrew Hudson

ID card of First Officer Dhiraj Kumar Tiwari who was severely tortured

Freed hostages with the hijacked ship at the back-drop


plates provided more than adequate protection to the

pirates, who used the portholes as firing positions. The

machine guns provided covering fire as planned and

we attempted to launch the skiff. This was easier said

than done and repeated efforts to achieve this were

unsuccessful due to the tide, the size of the waves and

the accuracy of the pirate fire.”

“Efforts to board the vessel continued on and off for

the next three days without a breakthrough. Our

Alouette III helicopter was

called in to provide top

cover but had to abort the

mission after a pirate

bullet penetrated the

cockpit, narrowly missing

pilot Arthur Walker. We

did manage to get hold of

two more skiffs from Eyl

in an effort to strengthen

the seaborne assault force

but the waves, together with the tides, constrained us

and three of our troops were wounded during one

approach to the ship. During the next attempt one of

our men was killed while trying to scale the ship’s side

and this led to the troops losing confidence in the plan.

We had indeed reached a stalemate.

“We did manage to get hold of two heavier weapons –

a Soviet 82 mm B-10 recoilless rifle and an old United

States 106 mm recoilless rifle - with a few rounds each.

The weapon sights had been lost and we improvised by

aiming at the vessel through the weapons’ open

breaches, adjusting, loading and then firing. After a

number of misses the weapon crews found the correct

range and rounds smashed into the ship with

resounding explosions, setting the vessel on fire. This

effectively changed the pirates’ minds and they

subsequently indicated that they really wished to

surrender and talk.”

Negotiations and pressure

“At about this time one of our vehicle patrols drew fire

from a number of pirates who were hiding in the

nearby town of Garacad itself. Once the pirates had

been disarmed and we began to question them it

became clear that they had enlisted the assistance of

the town’s elders as emissaries to discuss a resolution

to the standoff with the PMPF. We continued the

communication with the pirates through the elders. It

was already 14:00 on 22 December 2012 and we

demanded that the surrender process should commence

immediately. We returned to our firing positions in

order to ratchet up the pressure once again and the

elders pleaded with us to hold our fire as the pirates

were really committed and wished to escape

unharmed.”

Freedom

“The elders then informed us that

the nine pirates on board had

requested to be given safe

passage aboard a skiff together

with their weapons. A skiff was

duly sent to the vessel with a

number of elders on board and

the pirates made their getaway by

sea without any further hostilities.

By this time all the hostages had

gathered on the deck and were

waving and shouting in ecstasy. The first boatload of

freed hostages was fetched by one of our skiffs and

tears flowed as the first sailor, a Yemeni, threw his

hands in the air as he emerged from the waves. It was

24 December 2012 and the 13-day siege had ended.”

“The last skiff brought the Iceberg’s captain ashore. He

was in a very fragile state and was immediately flown

to Eyl by helicopter together with a deck hand whose

one ear had been severed by the pirates. It was a truly

moving and humbling sight to witness the elation and

emotion as the hostages fell to the ground and prayed

once they reached the shore. They stood around - some

cried, some prayed, some laughed out loud - all were

uncertain as to how to cope with the emotional reality

of freedom.”

“After clearing the area the next morning we returned

to the PMPF base in Eyl where the freed hostages met

us and thanked us for a job well done. They then

departed by road for Garowe, where they were

introduced to the world media, and were taken to meet

President Farole in Bossaso. On 28 December 2012 the

Indian and Yemeni ambassadors arrived to receive

their citizens and the last crew members were handed

over to the United Nations on 31 December 2012.

Operation Iceberg 1 had achieved its goal and the

world’s longest Somali pirate hijacking was over.”

Text and map copyright Andrew Hudson; photos

copyright Roelf van Heerden.

Freed hostages with S African commandos. Roelf van Heerden is at the bottom row,

right extreme


wot doin GenX?

Grown-ups, particularly, inquisitive parents always wanted to know what the GenX is up to.

In this ‘ambitious’ new section “wot doin?’’ we will figure this out ie on what the wards of ET79 are spending their time on.

With whom to start this column than from the ‘sibling’ of Pulse, Ramesh Easwar, himself?

In addition, we wish to feature contributions from GenX. Are the GenX up to it? Can they out-shine the elders?

We will find it out in this and the next issues of Pulse.

Pooja Aier accepts the challenge and takes us to Washington DC and reports on the US presidential inauguration. Thank you Pooja and Ramesh for your contributions.


We caught up with the busy executive Ramesh

Easwar, to find out ‘wot doin?’

We asked him, “Ramesh, off-work, on what you

spend your time?”

“My passion was/is/will always be Table Tennis. Other

than that I love travelling and watching movies FDFS*.

Right from North Madras to South have a nice time

roaming with my friends”

Table Tennis

When did you start playing? Who is your inspiration?

“I started playing from my 6th class. My neighbour Mr Krishna Shankar, asked me to take up the game seriously even after a year of amateurish array of strokes with the ball flying all around the room. My inspirations are Sharath Kamal, Ma Lin and Chetan Baboor.

How much time you spend playing TT?

“During my school days, I used to play 2-3 hours daily and literally had to forego my studies most of the times. In my college, I can’t remember a day without playing. I would make it a point to play at least for an hour even during exams”.

Tell us about your TT achievements..

“Was the runner up at District Level Table Tennis Doubles Tournament. Was a member of School and

College Table Tennis team and won inter and intra campus tournaments for 2 consecutive years”.

Any unforgettable duels..

“I remember a quarter final district level game during my 8th class when I was ahead of the opponent by a game and 5 points, after which I played a little complacent and had myself distracted to the crowd’s reactions and lost the game. I could still remember the action in the arena then; many animated breaks and

reactions. Thinking of it now, it was all about handling pressure. Life’s way of teaching it the hard way”.

Things learnt..

“There have been many semi-final entries in State Level tournaments representing college. Though I could not convert them, I can be proud of the fact that whatever obstacles or failures I have

faced I have never stopped trying, the next day I would go for practice without the slightest of hesitation”.

Ramesh, with this spirit of a champion, you are proving to be the chip of the old block. You have the level maturity beyond your years and you are sure to go places. Best wishes from ET79 family.

* FDFS, for the uninitiated, is First Day First Show. In pictures: Ramesh and his friends

Ramesh’s Next Hobby: Watching Movies

On watching movies and freaking out with friends!

While watching movies is one of Ramesh’s key hobbies, we dug deep and found that this ‘hobby’ is closely linked with freaking out with friends.

Let us find out WOT DOIN:

How many movies do you watch in a week?

“The scenario now is 3-4 movies a week. Some or the other way KK Nagar is a hub to all the theatres. Udhayam, Kasi, Kamala or Fame you have it all. What more can I expect!!”

Who are your favourite hero, heroine and comedian?

“My favourite heroes are Jiiva and Ajith. Heroines** keep on changing every month (sorry every movie) and comedians are the legendary Goundamani and Vadivelu..!!

Needless to mention about the Super Star - who can forget Thalapathy and the goose bumps when you even imagine the scenes between Mammooty and Rajni”.

Wot doin? Ramesh Easwar Opens the Door


Recent movies .. your views and comments

“Vishwaroopam and Django Unchained. Both Kamal and QT (Quentin Tarantino) are master class when it comes to movies and they keep entertaining you in every possible frame. Both are awesome movies and one gets to learn a lot about movie making after seeing it. Almost a dictionary”

Importantly, who are your companions?

“Friends, to be frank there are quite a lot!!! Instead of staying near the office, I am commuting daily around

1.5 hours to and fro my office just to enjoy with them. Such is the impact. One cannot explain!”

What do you prefer …TV Vs Big screen?

“Any day Big screen and FDFS*. The mere witness or participation in howling/whistling/palabhis

hekam and of course INTRODUCTION SEQUENCE claps!! Bliss!!!!”.

Those of you, who are seeking bliss, look no further! * FDFS, for the uninitiated, is First Day First Show.

** Ramesh is being politically correct?

The United States presidential inauguration

occurs every four years and attracts magnificent audience and splendor.

This year on January 21, 2013, Barack Obama was sworn in at the U.S. Capitol by Chief Justice John Roberts. The patriotic scene was encompassed by traditional pageantry.

I had the honor of witnessing and attending the inauguration, accompanied by my dad, Mohan Aier.

The theme of the 2013 Inauguration was “Faith in America’s Future.” From atop the Capitol steps overlooking the National Mall, Obama delivered a preview of the priorities he intends to pursue over the next four years.

I was able to hear with my own ears our President’s reaffirmation of core liberal Democratic principles, declaring that as Americans, we “are made for this moment” and must “seize it together.” In the duration of his Presidential Address, Obama thoroughly conveyed his thoughts and actions for the future on significant issues, such as immigration reform,

equality rights, and the fight against climate change.

As he spoke, the president beamed as chants of “Obama, Obama!” rang out from the crowd. As another political milestone for Barack Obama, age 51, the Hawaiian-born son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, the 2013 Presidential Inauguration was one to be remembered for many years to come.

Wot doin? Barack Obama: Presidential Inauguration

By Pooja Aier


Dear Radha & Easwaran, Cover of Feb issue is superb.. looks like one of those popular international magazines. Reflections sourced by Sridhar is very clarifying. The layout of Guest column on Dubai creek is very creative and the author raises a very pertinent question. Now the wait for future issues of Pulse is not just for the contents.. It is for the novelty value as well that is reflected in layout and features. Best regards, Chandra

That is superb and lively.

K.K.Parthiban

Cheeku / Radha,

You two have taken PULSE to new

heights. Congrats.

H.V.GURU MURTHY

Sorry Radha I missed the deadline and you are too prompt in releasing the issue:-)

Will make it up in the next issue. I will write it in

advance two or three articles and you can use

them as you wish.

Regards

Muthu

Dear Radha,

Here's a review of Pulse Feb 2013.

The cover page pic blended excellently giving a very

aesthetic touch. Thirumalai deserves credits for the

photo and Radha for aesthically designing the page.

Vichu's new roopam is nicely brought out. Who said

rolling stone gathers moss?

It is nice that Radha has started to feature Lady

ET79 section; and Mrs Asok Kumar's charisma has

been nicely brought out by Asok. I had sent you my

own highlights about Mrs Asok Kumar (sent earlier),

which I feel could be used in the next issue.

Life is about self-effort plus destiny, says Sridhar's

pick of an article. In the fifty plus years of our life, I

guess we have realised that enough?!

Valentine's Day - Jambu digs deep into history. And

concludes everyday is a Valentine's Day for Indians!

May be, the way we have grown up is the reason,

Valentine's Day is still alien to us - I hope ET79 will

agree; may not be the wards!

Marker calls for an optimal exercise schedule.

Nothing in excess!

Dubai Creek and its three worlds sets the thought

process on. We do love a simpler, slower, healthier

heart beat.

There were a few spell devils - "Andrw Hudson, ET

&9".

In all a great treat of an issue, which pleases the eye

and makes a very pleasant reading. I can appreciate

the hard work that has gone behind making the

issue look so elegant, meticulous follow up to get

the features in place. Great work, Radha. Keep up!

R Easwaran

Dear Uncle,

After reading this issue of Pulse wanted to pen down my thoughts over the change of presentation in Pulse and the way it is articulated.

To be frank I was not an ardent reader of Pulse initially, till my under-graduation days, as I seldom accessed mails to read something worthwhile, rather spend hours on Social networking and gossips at hostel. That was the time Appa used to bring print outs of the month’s Pulse edition which myself and Hareesh would jovially mock over that if he had spent the same time writing for a local Tamil magazine he would have gone way ahead in earning popularity!!

But gradually over the years I have grown very fond of it. Maybe I don’t follow all the members as I ask appa frequently on who’s who.

But the way things are presented it is very simple, down to the point and can even question a generation on how to stay connected without facebook.

Changes are the only things which does not change, right to the point the new PDF version and well-structured write up’s add to the readability.

To sum it up, a great edition, hoping for many such Pulsations!!!

Kudos for your effort. Way to go uncle.

Regards Ramesh Easwar

You Said It Feedback


Hold your breath. This is real! Muthu has quit

his job. Pulse probes into this and this is what

we have to report:

Muthu had joined the Executive Fellow

Programme in Management (FPM) in XLRI few

(six or seven) years back and had completed

the course work, seminar etc. But during the

last three years, he was doing two jobs at

Nielsen and therefore did not have the time to

work on it. The Institute gave him an

ultimatum - either progress it or quit. Muthu

did not want to waste the time and efforts that

have been put in already (about 5 to 6 visits to

XLRI , twenty days each time for completing

the course work). Muthu has to clear the

Comprehensive Qualifying Exam (CQE) now for

which he has been working full time. It wiil get

over in a couple of weeks and after which he

will take up another assignment - has already

started talking to a few prospective employers.

After CQE comes the research proposal,

Proposal defence, Thesis and thesis defence -

may take another year or so. His area of

research is Marketing - Pricing.

How does Muthu manage home pressures?

Dad and kids going to school syndrome?

Muthu says, "Of course my daughters were

curious when I was doing the course work - if I

was the oldest in my class (I was not. There

were couple of guys older than me). When the

first term grades came, they were very curious

to know how I had done. Luckily I had many A+

s and was saved of any possible

embarrassment!"

What will Muthu do after FPM? Teaching is always on the cards- once he finishes his FPM. He has been taking guest lectures and short module courses in XLRI, IIM A, IIM B, MICA, TA Pai Institute of Management etc over the past couple of decades. In fact next week, he

will be taking a lecture in IIM B, and in IMT Nagpur. He may come to IIM Trichy also some time in the near future. So watch out young ET79 wards. If you spot a bearded character (with no significant hair on top) taking class for you, check out if his name is Muthu. If yes, I guess you can be assured of good grades!

Muthu Quits Job and Goes Back to School R Easwaran Breaking News

Pulse Desk

R Easwaran

K S Radhakrishnan

Time to Retire?

You have all the answers; but no one is asking.

- Radhakrishnan

pulse - march 2013

Documents

issue page

dubai page

school page

lawrence of arabia page

grand event

lady et79

dear et79

mrs somaiah