Warships on the Hooghly: A Glimpse Inside the Indian Navy ⚓

 

It’s not every day that you get to see Indian Navy warships up close, and this was one of those opportunities that simply couldn’t be missed!

Docked at Kidderpore Docks in Kolkata were INS Kuthar (P46), a Khukri-class corvette; INS Karmuk (P64), a Kora-class corvette; and INS Airavat (L24), a Shardul-class amphibious landing ship tank. The ships had been opened to the public, giving visitors a rare opportunity to step aboard and get a glimpse of life at sea.

And I got an even closer look!

I was fortunate enough to be accompanied by the ships’ Press Officer, who took me around and showed me parts of the warships that most visitors might not get to see. Seeing these magnificent vessels from such close quarters was fascinating—the sheer scale, engineering and firepower are simply awesome.

For a day, the Kidderpore Docks became a window into the world of the Indian Navy, and I wasn’t complaining one bit!

From Crossed Paths to Shared Plates

 

Four young executives, working across different offices and departments of one big media company, often crossed paths at work. We’d bump into each other, exchange a few words and always say, “We should catch up sometime outside work.” Somehow, that “sometime” never quite materialised.

Anisha and Anupam were in Marketing with The Telegraph, Raina was in HR with the parent ABP, and I was with Friends FM, also part of the ABP Group. While the three of them were based in the same building, I was in an entirely different office in another building. And as is often the case, logistics always got in the way of good intentions.

But today, we finally made it happen!

We got together at Fire & Ice, and what was supposed to be a simple catch-up turned into an evening of fun conversations, laughter and some absolutely amazing Italian food.

Funny how people can be part of the same workplace, cross paths countless times, and yet it takes a little effort to finally sit down together. Today, we stopped saying “sometime” and actually made it happen—and it was worth the wait!