The life and times on Dufferin

While no ship lasts forever it can exist in the hearts of those who sailed on it Much like the life of the famed vessel Dufferin which does not live anymore in steel and timbre but resides in the reminiscences of the cadets who served and trained onboard One excadet the Mumbaibased Kapildev Bahl has celebrated the ship as a lifetransforming institution which sculpted many lives even after it ceased to exist In a newlylaunched book on the history of Dufferin the alumnus of the 196971 batch has showcased memories of 40odd Indian seamen who treasure lessons learnt onboard the vessel He plans to add memories of excadets from other nationalities in the second editionDufferin is a relatively known story as excadetsrsquo personal narratives are available online But the scattered versions have been devotedly stitched by Bahl The 300page patchwork of memoirs published by Innersearch Foundation is a labour of love for the alma mater It shows in the selfpublished book which can do better with tighter copy editing and savvier marketing and distribution But it is a goodtohave resource on a legendary shiprsquos contribution to Indiarsquos maritime industryDufferin was built in BarrowinFurness England in 1904 It was taken over by the Government of India for trooping duties between Burma Malaya Hong Kong and Africa Picswwwdufferin6163comBahl delineates a firstofitskind training institution that propelled several illustrious careersmdashadmirals chiefs of naval staff nautical advisors and merchant marines in India Bangladesh Sri Lanka and Malaysia The book is replete with examples of naval officers who showed exemplary courage in times of crisis The cadets and their families credit the Dufferin for their rare sea sense and value education which equipped seamen for lifersquos higher accomplishmentsBahlrsquos identification with Dufferin is deep it reflects in the chapters when Dufferin speaks in first person He has also transformed some reallife incidents into conversations with batchmates ldquoIt is an attempt to recreate a record of life aboard the ship by weaving everyday rhythms into a story and hopefully into an evocative emotional and inspirational narrative I trust that the memories which surface move the readerrdquo History of The Dufferin is a recap of the vesselrsquos known milestonesmdashthe construction in England in 1904 its naming after the Viceroy of India the robust role as a troopship up to 1925 which includes the part played in Royal Navy the conversion to a training ship 1927 to 1972 and the final rite of passage at Mumbairsquos Darukhana ship breaking yard in 1976 Dufferinrsquos trajectory is placed in the global context especially the World Wars British occupation of India Indiarsquos Independence Movement and the rise of the Indian Navy and shipping industry The momentous life of Dufferin runs parallel to Indiarsquos small wins like establishment of the first Mercantile Marine Committee 1923 construction of Indiarsquos first ship Jal Usha 1948 and enactment of the Merchant Shipping Act 1958 which for the first time provided for registration of what may be termed as Indian ShipsInterestingly Dufferinrsquos facilitation for training was not an easy process It came after much persuasion of an unwilling foreign power Sir PS Sivaswamy Aiyer resolution in the Central Legislative Assembly 1922 demanded the formation of a mercantile marine committee to consider all aspects of promoting Indian shipping It stated the need for ldquoa nautical college in Indian watersrdquo Later the Indian Mercantile Marine Committee recommended the establishment of a training school for deck and engineroom staff and the conversion of the Royal Indian Marine Troopship Dufferin for the purpose While Dufferin was eventually allowed as a training platform the British earlier alleged that ldquoIndian youth had no aptitude for a seafaring careerrdquo which is why the annual admission was restricted to only 30 boys Bahl says ldquoNothing could be farther from the truth and the charge was almost blasphemous The authorities conveniently overlooked that as late as World War I about 3400 Indian seamen had laid down their lives to safeguard the freedom of the Empirerdquo Seventyseven boys appeared for the first Dufferin entrance exam which only proved that Indians were sufficiently looking forward to a mentallyphysically challenging profession waiting for the British to quit and make place for the homegrown mercantile marineAs Bahl references archaeological and historical texts Dufferin becomes a tool to appreciate Indiarsquos maritime tradition dating back to circa 25001700 BCE For instance the Administrative History of India 1834 to 1947 honours Dufferinrsquos part in the blockade of the Makran Coast The blockade duty was an exceedingly hot and unpleasant one because officers were required to wear the number 10 uniform throughout the day irrespective of the nature of the work or the temperature At night the mess kit was worn with stiff shirts for dinner Another episode adds a new dimension to Dufferinrsquos resilience The shiprsquos crew was very proficient in landing troops and mules on open beaches using lifeboats which had the gear and thwart for the purpose As a result of daily practice Dufferin is known to have embarked 100 mules in speedy halfhour operations ldquoThe mules were trained to jump off the boat and back into the boat at the beachrdquo Bahlrsquos book informsDufferinrsquos Mumbaiconnect forms a key chapter The vessel was moored off the Mazgaon Pier from where the cadets embarkeddisembarked on the ship As the book rightly points out the strategic pier lost its raison drsquoetre after Dufferinrsquos decommissioning It deteriorated due to lack of use and maintenance Dufferin also had a strong connection with Prince of Wales Seamanrsquos Club situated close to the docks where many Dufferin cadets stayed during exams and signons The Bombay Dock Explosion of April 1944 shook the Dufferin physically too The fateful day was a Friday and an exam was in progress As the vessel vibrated ink bottles turned over Some cadets who werenrsquot confident of their performance tried to spill ink onto the written sheets so as to blank off their answers But teachers immediately identified the culpritsBahl also packs the book with light and serious exchanges which shows the texture of life at seamdashcadetsrsquo breakfast chatter shore leave politics cleanship duties swimming and signal test clearance boxing spectacles onceaweek disembark at Gateway of India film screening nights on quarterdeck ragging culture and the court of honour unofficial trials The world inside the ship evokes respect for regimen Dufferinrsquos atsea experience became a national resource which not just gave the trainees ldquothe feel of the ocean swells and wind velocitiesrdquo but also added to Indiarsquos maritime acumen The author regrets that Dufferin could not be preserved as a maritime shorebased museum As per the journal of The Company of Master Mariners of India Dufferinrsquos conversion as a museum was financially unfeasible due to which the precious property could not attain an afterlifeBahl says Dufferin inspired him to work tirelessly for an entire lifetime as it reflects in his current assignments He wrote this book during the 2020 lockdown ldquoFor me the pandemic demonstrated without any doubt that the merchant marine is an essential service and that the sailor remains its most essential elementfulfilling the timeless equation between mankind and the seardquo says Bahl who credits the Dufferin for the energy he has at the ripe age of 71In 2016 Bahl survived a neardeath experience he was paralysed and only dimly hoped to somehow dictate the book to a writer But to his own surprise he regained his mobility and not just finished the book but today also continues to wear many hats He is the President of the Maritime Mumbai Museum Society the chairman of the Nautical Institute of India he is on the advisory body of the Mumbai Universityrsquos Centre of Excellence in Maritime Studies apart from being the director of the Centre for Climate and Societal Impacts Research He is also president of the Dufferin excadetsrsquo association and heads the umbrella body of excadets of two other training shipsmdashRajendra and Chanakya He has been active in many reunions of the excadetsDufferinrsquos jubilee years have been marked by the presence of Indiarsquos Prime MinistersmdashPandit Jawaharlal Nehru presided over the 1952 Silver Jubilee function late Morarji Desai presided over the Golden Jubilee in 1977Bahl loves to plan much ahead Currently he is setting the pace and stage for the 100th anniversary of the Dufferin training ship in 2027 He says ldquoI know that is five years from now but time flies you know just as it did onboard DufferinrdquoSumedha RaikarMhatre is a culture columnist in search of the subtext You can reach her at sumedharaikarmiddaycom