Ross Island

The first thing that greets you as soon as you land on Ross Island are the deer. They are friendly and gather around you, (mainly looking for food)  

There were instances where the deer tried to escape from the island, maybe due to lack of food or drinking water. 
The island gets its name from Daniel Ross, a marine surveyor. It became the natural choice for the settlers (British) due to its commanding geographical location. Settlers went about recreating a home far away from home with vigour, so much so that the island soon earned the name of “Paris of the East” Soon churches, homes for the  British and Indian officers, store houses, shops, printing press, hospital, post office, tennis court, mineral water plant, swimming pool, bakery, library and general stores came up. An entire bazaar and three separate clubs were constructed. About 500 personnel including officers, troops, Indian merchants and families lived at Ross Island.  

The bakery still stands, but is in ruins. 

And so are some of the living quarters 

Since 1979 the Indian Navy has set up a small permanent post here. No one is allowed to settle on the island.  What you get to see are a few air raid bunkers like this one, built by the Japanese during their reign at the fag end of WW-II   

  There are very few who has been to Ross Island and not met Anuradha Rao. 

Its been a life time that she was on the island and has a good rapport with the animals and the birds. The deer, squirrel, and birds  respond to her call. 

Once while feeding the deer I noticed a squabble between two deer. She immediately called out to them by their name and told them to stop the fight. That is when I realized that she had names for each one of them.

When the Japanese invaded, her grandfather, who was involved in the Indian freedom struggle at that time, was a prisoner of the British on the island. He was executed by the Japanese on the suspicion of being a “British spy” 
The bread that she feeds them is without yeast. She says that Yeast is not good for the deer and can even kill them.

The island which was 200 acres in size, lost about 130 acres due to the earthquake in 1941. The 2004 tsunami also took its toll of the island but on a lesser scale as the main impact was on Nicobar and not Andaman.

Like Ms Anuradha Rao said, “its only when you visit such places and understand their history that you can comprehend the scale of the sacrifice made by people of another generation, so that we can live in freedom”

Cherry Hill at Orcas Island

Had been to the Orcas islands two weeks ago. What a wonderful place. 

Like they say, getting there is half the fun. There is this bus from Seattle airport that takes you to the Anacortes Ferry point. 

From there the Washington State Ferry takes you across to the island in about an hour.

You can be on the outer deck to take in the view 

If the wind is too chilly you can while away your time at the lower deck trying to fix the jig saw (it is large and you may succeed in assembling just a part of it in an hour)

 Once you disembark you can pick up a rental car. The drive from the ferry point to the place where we stayed was just marvelous.   

The cottage that we stayed in  - Cherry Hill Cottage 

and the view from the window   

If you care to step out you get to see this 

A wonderful place to relax. You can spend the afternoon under a tree reading a book 

or just laze in the evening looking at the setting sun filtering through the leaves 

  The cottage has a fully equipped kitchen with all the required amenities that one needs for a stay.

The rooms were tastefully decorated and a special mention should be made about the different types of flower arrangement in each room. I was taken in by the array of books that they have stocked. Three binoculars for bird watching. Talking of bird watching, I spotted some in and around the area. 

Racoons, rabbits and deer were the order of the day. 

The deer just waits for someone to forget to close the garden gate, and hence this sign 

We made friends with the horse at the neighbouring stable. So every day in the evening we used to amble over to say hi to him 

When we reached Cherry Hill Cottage we found this note by the owner: 

Thanks Marilyn and Jerry Eisner for giving us this wonderful opportunity to relax.

Made a small video of the ferry. 

By the way on the pathway to Cherry Hill Cottage I stumbled upon this Woodpecker’s nest. More on the chicks and their mother in my next blog.

The NDA in Pune

I like to compare the old with the new. How it was then and how it is now.
For example the first Passing Out Parade (POP) at NDA was reviewed by Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru.

This was 55 years ago. As you can see all the three chiefs (Army, Navy & Air Force) were present at the POP. And that was the basic idea of starting the NDA, to train all the three services together.
West Point, the US Military Academy on which NDA is modeled, has a poignant unofficial motto: “Much of the history we teach was made by soldiers we taught.” The same holds true for the NDA too.
To cite a few examples, one is Lt Arun Khetarpal.
It seems one evening he surprised all present by suddenly announcing that, in the coming war, he would die and would be rewarded for gallantry. Something in his demeanour made everyone believe his premonition.
Deployed across the Basantar River on 16 December 1971 his last radio message was “No Sir, I will not abandon my tank. My gun is still working and I will get them”
He did, dying as he knocked off his fourth Patton tank. He was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously.

From left: Capt Salaria, Lt Arun Khetarpal, Capt Manoj Pandey.

38 years later Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, an ex NDA, did the same by his heroic death during the 26/11 terror strike at Mumbai.
“Do not come up, I will handle them.” These were probably the last words which Major Sandeep told his men as he was hit by bullets while engaging terrorists inside the Taj Hotel, Mumbai during the Black Tornado operation.










Had been to the NDA (National Defence Academy) recently and was impressed by the way they have maintained the standard and the surroundings even after half a century.

The dining hall is one such place. Apart from the wood work, and the grandeur, the quality of the food is something worth mentioning. Had poached eggs after a long time and washed down with cold coffee (forefront above)









I am sure the cooks must be having a tough time, but then it’s a daily routine for them.

The regimental flags adorning the entrance to the dinning hall.


That’s a view of the Sudan Block.


And this one is from the Sudan Block

Incidentally the Sudan block was built by the donation given by the African republic which gifted a hundred thousand pounds in 1941 for the construction of a suitable war memorial, in grateful recognition and commemoration of the gallantry and sacrifices of Indian troops in the defence of Sudan in WWII (inaugural photo below)

You can get more information at the official website






It was not surprising to see monkeys, deer and peacocks roaming around with no fear.

The cadet’s gym may look a little out dated but just have a look at the things they had to do at the Gym on a daily basis.


Coming back to the dining hall, at the entrance of the hall there is a table set for one, with the chair tilted forward. I found this interesting and had a closer look. This table is set for the Prisoners of War who are forgotten, but holding on to the hope that they will return one day.

There was a placard placed on the table with the following written on it:

The table set is small, for one, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner against his oppressors.

The single rose displayed in a vase reminds us of the families and loved ones of our comrades-in-arms who keep their faith awaiting their return.

The Red Ribbon tied so prominently on the vase is reminiscent of the red ribbon worn upon the lapel and breasts of thousands who bear witness to their unyielding determination to demand a proper accounting of our missing.

The candle is unlit, symbolizing the upward reach of their unconquerable spirit.

The slice of Lemon is on the bread plate, to remind us of the bitter fate.
There is salt upon the bread plate - symbolic of the families’ tears as they wait.

The Glass is inverted, they cannot toast with us this night.

The chair – it is empty. They are not here.

Remember ! All of you who served with them and called them comrades, who depended upon their might and aid, and relied upon them, for surely, they have not forsaken you.

Remember until the day they come home.