कुछ तो लोग कहेंगे, लोगों का काम है कहना।

Refer LIVEFISTDEFENCE.COM article by Shiv Aroor ‘The Truth Hurts’ authored by Commander Yashodhan Marathe (Retd.). The article is on naval ALH, which elaborates his assessment of ALH quality and design capabilities vis a vis Naval Requirements.

The article is an emotional outburst on quality and design deficiencies which the Pilot (now retired from Navy) had encountered during his tenure. Sometimes the emotional outbursts are good to drive a point but delayed outbursts (almost two decades) reeks of ulterior agenda and has the pitfall of not being in touch of what has happened in those 15 – 20 years of ALH development and the present status. Helicopter designing and manufacturing is not a family drama for emotional outbursts but a concerted effort in developing a product and taking it to maturity level in the midst of constant feedback and working on it.

A defence equipment is conceived, designed and manufactured as per Defence Procurement Plan document and the guiding specifications are in terms of requirement of the services called General / Air/ Naval Staff Qualitative Requirements (GSQR/ ASR/ NSQR). It is a classified document and is based on threat perception gathered, acquisitions made by adversaries, their development plans and information about contemporary technology and equipment available. The documents consist of specifications of equipment which the services would like to acquire to remain fighting fit. Care is taken so that single vendor situation is avoided.

Naval requirements of helicopter NSQR mainly have statements about requirement of hover for long periods and stowage on the ships. Army and Airforce requirements GSQR/ ASR for helicopter talk about capability to deliver goods at high altitudes such as in Siachen Glacier at 5 to 6 Km above sea level. The requirements of Navy and Airforce/ Army are at variance and no helicopter in the world would be able to meet both the requirements with equal ease and there will be some shortcomings somewhere. In 1980s -1990’s designing two different helicopters (for Navy and for Army/ Airforce) was not possible considering availability of funds and time at hand.

Services placed their requirements in 1980’s- 90’s for development of ALH.  India never had any capability to design and manufacture any helicopter.  From mid-1960’s HAL was manufacturing Chetak helicopter under license from SUD Aviation, France. It was not designed by any firm in India and till then India had no capability to design and manufacture state of the art helicopters which would be a mainstay of Defence services in India. Private companies had no interest in pumping capital and money in a product which has unusually high gestation period. Private companies were happy in becoming middlemen for foreign companies for such high-end state of the art high gestation period product as the returns were attractive in being a middleman rather than becoming a designing and manufacturing agency. Nobody had stopped private players in bringing out a helicopter or say a bypass jet engine (which is also a high-end state of art high gestation period product). The work of designing a helicopter had to be under taken by a government public sector company.

As a nation, acquiring a capability for the first time in any field has its associated costs which the nation has to bear in terms of shortcomings in design and delay in the product fructification. Defence PSU took on this task. Some shortcomings were accepted at a later stage by higher ups without compromising on the threat perception requirements and flight safety. India (HAL) for the first time entered into Helicopter design field with the help of Germany’s MBB to start with and after the initial confidence building entered into designing the first helicopter on their own. This helped in building the national capability.

After rigorous testing and establishing the design, deliveries of ALH started in the first half of the first decade of this century. In the mean while HAL went through the learning curve and this learning is still going on. During the initial phase of ALH deliveries there were many design limitations and shortcomings vis a vis Army / Navy / Airforce and each service gave requisite concessions without compromising on threat perception requirements and flight safety. When CDS Bipin Rawat says for indigenisation and Atmanirbhar Bharat we should accept 70 % fulfilled requirements, he actually means higher ups (in government and services) should accept concessions arising from design short comings on such high value long gestation period products without compromising the requirements based on threat perceptions and flight safety. In case of ALH, there were shortcomings in the design and manufacturing quality as we as a nation were attempting the product for the first time. There will always be room for improvement, and many improvements were achieved over a period of time. Today there are more than 300 ALHs manufactured and around 3 lakh flying hours clocked with numerous contributions during national calamities which have been chronicled by media and other enthusiasts.

When the ALH was developed and designed it had enough growth potential. This potential was used when ALH was integrated with four different kinds of lethal weapons and other crucial mission systems. Constant upgradation and design improvements also kept the product state of the art. Its glass cockpit is futuristic and can compete easily with any other contemporary helicopter cockpit and win with flying colours. This all happened when the pilot writer was out of touch with the product development phase.

The shout out in ‘The Truth Hurts’ from ex Naval pilot is delayed piece of writing since ALH induction started 15 - 20 yrs back.  With the constructive feedback from the services and sincere improvements in the product (ALH) by means of modifications, upgradations resulting in newer versions of ALH (MK I, MK II, MK III, MK IV) associated with improvements in quality, ALH has matured. The article gives a feeling that it is ill timed for DPSU and in time for the vested interests as Navy is scouting for 111 NUH helicopters and thousands of crores of business and commercial aspects are involved in the project.

Instead of doubting the capability of a DPSU from a far distance divorced from reality, be serious, let Navy be a lead service, fund the project, have a say in design, have a dialogue and see the superlative result of Atmanirbhar Bharat. This particular deal if it happens with HAL would be a torch bearer of Atmanirbhar Bharat. Give chance to the DPSU to compete in the race and then adjudge the best player. Ab initio striking off the name from the race is not a fair game.

This and many more articles would come up like monsoon mushrooms against the Defence PSU till the contract is clinched or the interests of vested parties satisfied. The best is to ignore such timed articles.

START A BETTER LIFE - 11 - LESSON 2 (PART II)

Mental Makeup – Rationalists – Spends the time in understanding the true purport of matter and energy.

Mental Makeup - Service Oriented -  Carries out duty for universal greatest happiness of the greatest number.

Mental Makeup – Devotional - ritual minded, religious, like to chant.  Carries out duty with the intention of self-serving and sometimes selfless service. As he progresses in his devotion, he starts carrying out selfless service for universal greatest happiness of the greatest number. This transformation happens without the person being aware of that transformation. The devotional person when attains heights level of devotion continues carry out the selfless work thinking it is a part of ritual or religious direction.

These mental makeups coexist in every individual being. It is the question of which is predominant. To recognize it and to start the life journey based on that mental makeup. As the journey progresses often one finds transgressing now and then in other two mental makeups and it is perfectly normal to happen.

Since we have time at our disposal, we should strive to pass this time in a way which gives joy. If we don’t take control and wait for the time to pass then we are bound to be plagued by bad quality of life resulting in unhappiness. The aim of each one of us is to spend the time in such a way so as to maximize happiness and minimize sadness and pain. To achieve this, we have to select one of the three ways to lead the life. To do this one has to discern the mental makeup. This can only be achieved by spending some time thinking on self and observing oneself.

Animals also pass the time but there is a qualitative difference between passing time without knowing about it and spending time with full consciousness. If we don’t have a purpose, then it is difficult to spend available. It is much more difficult to spend time if there is a mismatch between the mental makeup of the individual and the actions the individual does to fill the time. On the contrary if there is complete synchronization of the mental makeup and our actions then the resultant passing of time is very joyous. One finds artists engrossed in art, scientist engrossed in research, businessmen in business, saints in preaching and so on. This is as per the individual mental makeups. If one sees the path of each individual from birth to death or from start of reaction to end of reaction, it is only one common path - the path of passing time. How consciously one passes the time, is of importance rather than what was done to pass the time. Every passing moment should be filled with that conscious action which gives joy to self and a remembrance to other. Once engrossed in such an action the time passes on its own.

Sometimes we get entrapped in such circumstances in life that we feel as if we are stuck in a traffic jam.  In traffic jam, although the vehicle has power to propel and we have capability to drive, we cannot use this power and capability to come out of traffic jam on our own. The one who is stuck in a traffic jam would have to bear it and experience a slow boring run ahead. It is same for our life. If we get entrapped in adverse situations, we are forced to maintain a low profile even if we have ability and talent, till the adverse circumstances are mitigated. Let us call it a traffic jam syndrome. In case of traffic jam syndrome - best is to keep cool and chant the name in which one has faith. Nothing else to do, wait for the traffic jam to clear.  To be continued……. Keep reading…….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A SONG WHICH TRANSCENDS THE BOUNDARIES

This piece is for connoisseur of Hindi film music. During this lockdown period I came across a Pakistani drama premiered in year 2014 (they call it as ‘Drama’ we call it ‘Serial’).

A story of young lovers. Crisp acting by famous actress Mahira Khan. A drama well scripted and filmed. Family drama which a family can enjoy together. The story line is simple but dealt superbly. There is a title song sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and a gazal sung by unknown female singer. The story and songs keep the viewer enthralled. The viewer is compelled to listen to the gazal number of times because of superb poetry, setup and the haunting music. Enjoy the gazal clip (now taken out as the you tube link was lost, but still interested can youtube it and enjoy) followed by the poetry.

हज़ार बातें कहे ज़माना
मेरी वफ़ा पे यकीन रखना
हर एक अदा में है बेगुनाही
मेरी अदा पे यकीन रखना

मेरी मोहब्बत की ज़िन्दगी को
नज़र न लग जाए इस जहां की
यही सदा है धड़कते दिल की
मेरी सदा पे यकीन रखना

किसी को हँसता न देख पाए
अजीब शय है ये बैरी दुनिया
ये बेमुरव्वत है बेवफा है
न बेवफा पे यकीन रखना

नज़र में रहना है खुशनसीबी
नज़र से गिरना है बेहयाई
हया है औरत का एक गहना
मेरी हया पे यकीन रखना

Meanings of some key words for appreciating the gazal.

अदा – Grace, सदा – Echo, शय – Thing, बेमुरव्वत – Unkind, Inhuman, हया – Modesty.

The gazal which I happened to listen in the Pakistani drama kept reminding me of our yesteryear songs. Being a great fan of our film music and old songs, I felt this is the gazal which aptly fits into the ‘old film songs’ playlist. I almost imagined the gazal being sung by Lata Mangeshkar. As if made for her singing. The poetry would make some of the present Bollywood songs look like trash and the music composition would make some of the present Bollywood music composers to rethink of their capabilities. I tried to know more about the song. The credits were in Urdu, and was unable to find out if there was any mention of the female singer. I googled and tried all stunts on the web but I could not get the name of the female singer of that Pakistani Drama. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is the singer for the title song "Haey Re Hum Sadqay Tumharay". 

To my surprise, instead I got this – The gazal has been taken from the Indian film of 1974 ‘Ghatana’ Music was composed by Ravi. Some sites say the lyrics were also by Ravi, but I doubt as I don’t remember Ravi penning any songs. Lata Mangeshkar has sung it. Being a gazal it has minimal background music (no music when she sings) and that makes the song more difficult and apt for Mahira Khan for the role she plays in the Pakistani drama. The Pakistani drama has lifted the forgotten song of 1974 Indian film and brought in front of the connoisseurs of music in 2014. The Pakistani Drama producers need applause for apt selection of this heavenly song and making it immortal but also should be rapped over the knuckles for lifting the song without permission if it is true. Music lovers will find out that and hope that it has not infringed the copy rights of the song.   

Here is the clip of the original gazal sung by melody queen Lata. Connoisseurs will not miss the way she brings to life words यकीन and धडकन to make the difficult song melodious and soulful to the discerning ear.   

LATA MANGESHKAR IN GHATANA SINGING हजार बाते कहे जमाना, 1974 SONG

START A BETTER LIFE - 10 - LESSON 2 (PART I)

Commentary – The most important question of ‘to be or not to be’ or ‘to do or not to do’ and ‘spending time consciously’ is addressed in this chapter. This chapter starts discussion on Rational thinkers renunciation type non action and Service minded desireless action or work minded action.

From the time of birth to death every living being try to fill the moments with some kind of actions. Every action leads to some kind of reaction on oneself or elsewhere. Every living being when in contact (through senses or through thoughts) with living being or nonliving matter results in action which has some kind of reaction on oneself or elsewhere. Living being cannot shy away from action even if one decides; there are some involuntary actions which keeps on happening.

If we break up the matter to its elementary particles and view all living and non-living beings in context, then there are chemical reactions happening everywhere. Some chemical reactions are dormant and some are active. Some are manifested and some are hidden. All chemical reactions are referenced with time. For if there was no time dimension then there would not have been any chemical reaction at all or all chemical reactions would have folded at once in one moment. Since the world is perpetual in the realm of our understanding, therefore it can be easily said that each chemical reaction takes some moments to happen. The universe is full of different chemical reactions taking place concurrently and sequentially.

In the midst of billions of chemical reactions all over universe there are some chemical reactions which are different and have something extra which all other chemical reactions don’t exhibit. That is life. When such a reaction happens, we say that a living being is born and when such chemical reaction ceases to exist, we say that living being ceases to live – though the rest of the chemical reactions keep on happening.  

In such successful special chemical reaction starts (birth), it takes some time before the chemical reaction ends (death). Start of chemical reaction event in our life is not in our hands and end of chemical reaction more or less is also not in our hands. So, we are actually recipient of a block of time till the end of the reaction. How we pass these moments marking the beginning and end of chemical reaction decide whether we are happy or not. Whether we enjoy bliss or not.

The time between two events cannot be lessened and we have to live with it. It is we who decide how we pass this time. So, some pass it by indulging themselves in hobbies, some by social work, some indulge in religious rituals, some for earning money and luxuries, some don’t do anything and wait for the time to pass, some indulge in activities which are antisocial and against the nature. It is based on their mental makeup. Till one starts treading own path, the method of passing the time largely depend upon upbringing, mental makeup and circumstances. Thereafter methods and actions to pass the time ideally should be channelized as per the mental makeup. If they are not channelized as per the mental makeup, then passing the time becomes difficult, dangerous and painful to self and others.

As per the mental make up the time can be passed by either reasoning (if one is a rationalist) and seeking knowledge (not information), if one is more service oriented then the time could be spent by doing unattached social service or if one is work oriented, then get involved in some kind of right action. If one is more towards ritualistic or religious minded then for him indulging in social rituals, prayers and chanting become primary way of passing the time. Our life is not strictly compartmentalized and all three mental makeups coexist. What is needed is to be aware of predominant mental makeup resident in self.    Keep reading ................................!!!!!!!!

START A BETTER LIFE - 9 - LESSON 1

The Bhagwat Gita would be interpreted in the following manner-

Commentary.

Suggested read.

Suggested mental makeup for the particular exercise.

Relevant information on the chapter.

Exercises and examples.

Chapter 1.

Commentary – This is the introductory chapter and deals with confusion of mind and problem definition about life worries – identifying what troubles us. The life worry (problem) once defined needs a solution. Many of us are in the habit of defining, redefining and repeating the problems we face. By mere repeating the problem one cannot get rid of it. Once the problem is defined the next step is try to solve it. It must be understood that whatever solution one arrives at, a new set of problems emerge. We should be ready to accept those new set of problems emerging out of the solution. We must try to solve the problem with whatever resources we have at our disposal and should reconcile to those problems which are unsurmountable after putting in our best. Identification of problem is important otherwise we start treating daily problems and hardships as life worries. In the chapters to follow the remedy for problems is discussed.

What is a problem? The problem is that which makes us restless, unnerved, worrisome, insecure due to fear of unknown, uncomfortable due to ignorance, sad, an unwelcome or harmful situation. A problem is that which we think needs to be overcome. A problem is a gap between existing state and desired state. Indications of problem getting solved are satisfaction, state of happiness, feeling energetic, feeling comfortable, no worries, sense of security, state of wellbeing. Some reject any kind of solution which alleviate the problem or try to find faults in the solution. They close the path of solution or reconciliation and remain in the ditch called problem.  All of us face problems in life and therefore the requirement of a method to solve the problem.

Suggested Read – No suggestions.

Suggested Mental Makeup for the Particular Exercise – All three types of person may undertake the exercise.

Relevant Information on the Chapter – Total number of Shlokas 47. This is the introductory chapter and deals with problem definition. It is based on Brahmavidya Upanishad and Yoga Shastra. Yoga is way, method or practice of attaining higher conscience through mental and physical exercises.

Exercises and Examples –Identify the Life Worries: Death of near ones, ill treatment from near ones, loss of life, natural calamity, crime against family, Loneliness, Depression, Sad feelings, Restlessness, Physical Ailments, Financial problems, Relation/ Relatives oriented problems and all such problems which takes majority of time of the day thinking about it. Identify life worries and daily hardships. Life worries become problem definitions and daily hardships become surmountable difficulties. It is important to identify into life worries/ problems and daily hardships/ difficulties.  Examples of daily difficulties/ hardships - Maid servant not coming, municipality water not coming, a theft, baggage lost are some of the hardships. Complete list cannot be given but the severity level can be understood. Example of problem / life worries - having life threatening ailment in family or individual affected by such ailment is a life worry; losing close relative is a life worry again the list can be exhaustive but severity must be understood.

Identifying the problem some examples:- while distinguishing situations into difficulties and life worries we must identify whether the nature of hardship is temporary or it is permanent. Also the scale of hardships indicates which category it should be counted.

Difficulties/ Hardships	Life Worries
Theft	Death of near ones
Minor ailments	Financial problem engulfing for decades
Irregular servants	Physical ailments which are
	Lonliness
	Natural calamity
	Covid 19

START A BETTER LIFE - 8 - RECOGNISE THE MENTAL MAKEUP

The three mental makeups explained are found everywhere in human beings. They are in combination or in rare cases we find a fully developed one type of mental makeup in a person.    

Bliss is experienced for the duration one practices, anyone of the three mental makeups. Practicing the mental makeup is not easy but can be done by exercise. If we practice anyone of the three mental makeups partially then the joy experienced is temporary. If the mental makeup is practiced throughout the life of a person then the person stays in a state of permanent bliss.

Very few of us are born with one of the explained mental makeups and practice it throughout the life. They are born great. All other humans are born with a certain mental makeup which is a combination of the three mental makeups with one dominant amongst others. Mental makeup of a person is influenced in the formative years by environment stimulation, societal interaction, upbringing, experiences gathered, mind, circumstances and health. The mental makeup gets strengthened, become weak or in some cases may get changed to a certain extent.

‘End Result Syndrome’ that is attachment to the outcome often obscures the mental makeup. This results in experiencing joy in bits and pieces. Now one is happy and in next moment one is sad.

Our job is to recognize our mental makeup and build upon it by teaching our mind to be in a stable state. To be in a state of bliss is an art which a practitioner can attain. True teacher makes the student realize his mental makeup and aids him to strengthen it. Therefore, once understood, instead of trying to change the mental makeup our goal should be to strengthen it during our course of living. Such a living ushers in happiness and sense of achievement.........Keep reading....!!!!

START A BETTER LIFE - 7 - DEVOTION MINDED

3. Devotion Minded – Persons whose mental makeup is that of indulging in rituals and being devotional utilize their time in practicing rituals. They are religious or in other words have faith in some kind of ideology. These persons like to spend their time in chanting, praying and practicing rituals. There mental makeup is very similar to the service minded where mind is attached to the end outcome they get influenced by end result. Still they are more grounded and anchored (than work minded persons). They are able to absorb shocks arising due to favorable and adverse outcomes to some extent more deftly than the ‘achievers’. As being devotional they tend to outsource all their worries to their ‘chosen’ GOD and lead a worry free life thinking that somebody there is taking their responsibility. As a result they lead more joyful life. Same way when the married daughter comes back to her parents place to spend some time, she feels relieved at her parent’s place. The daughter knows that all house responsibilities are that of her parents. When she comes back to her in law’s house she mentally assumes all the responsibilities and gets burdened under it. The devotional minded persons have the inherent mental protection in that he thinks that GOD does only right things for them and they have to only travel the distance. This makes them stress free as if the devotional person has outsourced all his mental burdens to his GOD. Such persons remain blissful and are seen more contended in life. Many service minded types are also devotional to some extent. Complete path of devotion leads to permanent bliss. Though this is difficult to attain persons have attempted it and have become successful. Deep devotional persons are rare and examples are Sant Tukaram, Sant Eknath, Nath sampraday, Guru Nanak, Saint Kanakdassa, Janabai, Mirabai, Tukdoji Maharaj to name a few. …… Keep reading.