Today we saw two spanking new Frigates, INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri, join the Indian Navy. They are reincarnations of two Leander class frigates, built in India back in the seventies , to serve the navy and the nation till the turn of the century, while I was still in the Navy as an Engineer officer. I had the opportunity to repair both the old Udaygiri and Himgiri during my long stint at the Bombay dockyard.

Both the ships were decommissioned before I joined the upcoming new naval ship repair yard at Karwar in 2005. 

The old Himgiri came along with me to Karwar, and played a crucial role in setting up the new yard. 

We built a ship lift there, the very first facility in India to literally lift a ship out of water. It was ready, and we had to try it out with a warship. But we didn't want to risk a ship in service, as it was the very first time we were lifting one. 

That's how Himgiri, though  not in service anymore, came to Karwar, to be used as a 'warship' to try out the new ship lift. 

My team of specialists drew up a docking plan, and we lifted the ship, inch by inch, with bated breath.

The Himgiri  played her role very well, and came up smoothly,  like a true warship. That successful lift scripted a new chapter in our ship repair technology,  encouraging more yards to install ship lifts and pick up many many more ships. The old Himgiri thus played a key role in nation building, even as a decommissioned warship. 

Here she is, perched on the ship lift at Karwar,  with some stalwarts of my team.

Captain Ramesh Babu, recently retired from Mumbai after serving the Indian Navy and Mazagon Dock, lives in a Kerala village, pursuing his interests in social service, heritage conservation, horticulture and writing. His published works are Calicut Heritage Trails, a guide to the medieval port city, and After You Sir, an anthology of school stories. His third book My Own Mazagon rediscovers the forgotten history of Mazagon and resurrects the identity of Maza Gaon, or ‘My own Village’.

Captain Ramesh Babu