Mr. and Mrs. Iyer

The great difference between voyages rests not with the ships, but with the people you meet on them.

-A. E. Barr

I had heard about the movie in Cochin Shipyard where my fellow mates spent half their time in front of the idiot box, while I spent my better time on beaches and in and around Kerala’s tea gardens and waterfalls. My friends told me about the movie largely because they associated me with the lead character – Rahul Bose, who is a photographer. (In college I was compared to Madhavan in RHTDM, the poor chap was a Mechno too, with the difference that the guy is a winner).

Mr. and Mrs. Iyer

So, on my first ship, one idle evening we are in anchorage near Japan in the biting cold of February, and we don’t have to proceed till morning the next day. I go to the common room, make a nice sandwich for myself along with a cup of hot coffee, and browse through the 10,000-good movie collection on board. English. Hindi. Tagalog. Some French, Spanish and Norwegian ones too. I chance to see this video cassette on one of the shelves, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer , and at once realize that it would go well with my coffee and the lights of fishing trawlers and Yokohama cityscape in the background. I start to watch it.

I will always remember this movie. Not that there is something I like in the movie itself. I mean, the movie is a good one but that is not the reason I would remember it. I would remember it for what occurred when I was watching the movie on the ship.

In the middle of the movie, the Chief Engineer (C/E) walks in to the common room and is dressed in a boiler suit. Now, C/E dressed in a boiler suit in the middle of the night. Its something akin to right out of “Nightmare on Elm Street”. I was told that “As long as the C/E isn’t working, there is no problem.” And he sees me in a recumbent posture, with a half-eaten sandwich on the plate, a cup of coffee in hand and watching a movie.

“Don’t you know that we stopped the ship?” he says. “Stopped the ship…” I start. “The main engine cylinder number 4, fuel injector started leaking. So we had to stop the ship and open it up and replace it”, he adds. I begin to realize that I’m done for. When the weather is good, you just don’t know whether the ship (this one was a 50,000 tonne behemoth), is moving or no. This is largely because the engine room is way down near the propeller and the accommodations are way up on the decks. This would be my first and last ship. Not that it was my job to replace the injector, but being the junior-most on board, I should’ve been present in the Engine Room to learn what is happening. And then I say, “Should I go down now?” “And do what?” he retorts. And then C/E says “Which movie is that?”. I answer. “Ok. Enjoy the movie. Good Night”. “Gnite Sir” I respond.

The next morning, I go down to the engine room and the entire staff is looking at me and grinning. And the C/E asks “How was the movie?” I try hard to control my nervousness and the entire control room bursts into peals of laughter. I laugh with them.

I have never heard from anyone on the staff of my first ship since the time I signed off in 2005. Makes me sad.

Won’t ever forget that movie. Nope. Never. Here’s to Team Takara !