Blue Fish: The War Beneath Read online

  “No Sir.”

  “Why hasn’t this data been reported?”

  “Sir, they are hills nearby.”

  “Hills? Did you check with navigational officer?”

  “No Sir.”

  “How certain were you?”

  Ramana didn't respond.

  “Speak up.”

  “Sir, I was not sure about it.”

  “What do you mean not sure? You didn't know what it could be? How did you even get this post?”

  I stepped in to pacify Sharma, and to save Ramana from embarrassment. Officer Kamal joined me on my way to the sonar room.

  “What happened?”

  “This is what we have.” Sharma handed over the log sheet to Kamal.

  I looked at Ramana to see him terrified; his legs were trembling in fear. I took the log sheet from Kamal and handed it to him.

  “You will learn. Report everything back to me. Don't be silent. Now take your position,” I said.

  My recurrent intrusions in the matters at hand seemingly annoyed Sharma to the extent that he would take his anger out on me. But being an officer, he somehow got a hold of himself and stomped back into his cabin, with me following. I closed the door behind me when Mr. Sharma said “We cannot take chances like this.”

  “I understand Sir, but there was no point in shouting at him,” I said.

  “What if we were attacked?”

  Kamal entered and said, "You see Sharma, the phrase ‘what if’ opens many too many possible avenues. But the truth is we are not at war, and neither is our enemy. As Arjun rightly pointed out, shouting at that boy in sonar room out there couldn’t have served any purpose."

  “Don't tell me the purpose. This is sheer negligence on his part and he deserves to be prosecuted for this."

  “It’s funny that you went up to an extent of addressing ‘prosecution’ for that error. To err is human, Mr. Sharma. However, as the Chief Commanding Officer, it is at your free will to hire or fire somebody on board. But prosecuting him only shows to the rest that you are taking this beyond your professional pursuit,” Kamal posited.

  Right then, the Engineering Officer Prathap entered in saying "Sir, we have received a radio message from Headquarters." He handed over a slip to Kamal.

  “Open envelope seven,” Kamal read out.

  Sharma took the seventh envelope out of his locker.

  I looked up at Kamal, who looked like he might have an idea what the envelope contained.

  “Mission cancelled, return to base," Sharma read out in despair ”How is this possible? We still have not finish the operation."

  My intuition told me this was Kamal’s plan all along.

  Sharma reread the message a few times.

  He picked up the intercom, connected to the radio operator "When did you get this message, Jayraj?"

  "10 minutes ago Sir."

  "When did the head office send this?"

  "Sometime yesterday Sir."

  "Be precise Jayraj."

  He looked through the log "Yesterday 18:00 hours IST Sir."

  "Did you send any message?"

  "Yes Sir."

  "What was the message sent?"

  "I made him send the damaged reports," Kamal interrupted the exchange.

  "You caused that damage Mr. Kamal," Sharma said.

  "Yes I am aware of that and that is why I have sent the report."

  "You should have checked with me before sending it; I am the god damn Commanding officer of 'S21'." With the silence that followed, his undeniable authority on the boat floated in the air.

  "Sharma, you are the Commanding officer but I can take decisions that are politically appropriate."

  I realized that somebody should step in and stop the altercation that was about to burst. Even the doctor was about to step forward to stop them. Suddenly Ramana reported an emergency situation.

  "What is it?" I asked.

  "Enemy submarine detected Sir," Ramana replied.

  This was the moment Sharma was waiting for. However, we had official orders to go back to the base. Sharma didn't get excited to hear about the presence of the enemy submarine.

  "Okay Kamal, you want to be politically correct. You do not want to get into war. This is what your intention is. We can now confirm that the enemy is present in our waters. Mission accomplished, so we now return to base and be politically correct," Sharma sneered.

  We were all waiting for further orders from Sharma.

  "Arjun, turn 'S21' around back to base," Sharma ordered.

  I was about to take up the order but suddenly, Ramana raised the alarm "Sir, Torpedoes in the water. One enemy torpedo is in the water." Nobody expected this to come. We all looked back towards Kamal and then to Sharma for further actions.

  "Stop all engines. Dive 100 meters," Sharma gave the order without a second thought.

  Steering Operator shifted two levers that controlled & brought the engines to 'Stop' state and shouted, "All engines stopped Sir."

  "Making a dive 100 meters Sir," Diving officer turned the vaults with full speed.

  The torpedo was quickly approaching us.

  "Torpedo distance 130 meters Sir. Approaching 100 meters Sir," Ramana whispered anxiously.

  We were all tense.

  "Torpedo 80 meters Sir."

  'S21' was not going forward as all the engines were turned off. It was just sinking down into the ocean bed.

  "Torpedo 40 meters Sir... 30 meters Sir"

  We looked at each other like we would never again see each other. A couple of crew members were even chanting hymns in desperation.

  The torpedo just passed on top of us, the sound of which was haunting.

  "Sir, it passed by and is off the range from 'S21'," Ramana said.

  For a movement we all felt relieved that we were all safe. But, still the enemy was around us. Sharma looked at me. We all wanted to fight but the final call had to come from Kamal. There was a sense of rage in all of us. We all looked up at Kamal. He was feeling uncomfortable and a bit worried. I could read his mind, there were two things going in his mind - to attack or to go back to base.

  "Go for it," Kamal said.

  That didn’t come as a surprise to us. We knew all along that he would have stepped up.

  Sharma felt Kamal’s support for the first time, as he rushed towards the intercom to pass further orders.

  "This is your Commanding Officer speaking. We are at war. I repeat we are at war. We could face our enemy now or we could go back. I have taken the decision to fight. I know we have the courage in us. We will destroy the enemy, and secure our waters. We do not have orders, and for this we might be stripped of our ranks and posts. Our purpose is to serve our country, if we make it back to the base in one piece. we may not be recognized as naval officers for not following Head Quarter's orders. You can be part of it or you may withdraw your service and just be part of this 'S21' as a spectator. I am following my heart and I will be responsible for everything. West Pakistan has attacked us. No sacrifice should be too much for us. Let us write a new chapter in the history of Indian Navy. This is not a drill, there are no second chances."

  Sharma looked at us as he waited for the response from other compartments.

  "Compartment one, we are with you Sir," came the first response.

  "Compartment four, men are ready.”

  "Compartment five and six, we will fight till our last breath."

  "Compartment seven, ready Sir, You order us."

  Sharma’s eyes gleamed with pride.

  "We will die fighting Sir, but let's not show our backs to enemy," I said.

  "Sir, I think the enemy has spotted us, they are coming closer to us," said Ramana.

  The crew in the third compartment took their positions. We all were dead focused on our job.

  "Complete silence. Make port 100," Sharma said.

  The echo sound amplified gradually as Ramana listened through his headset. It indicated that the enemy submarine was inching closer to us. />
  "Prepare to program torpedoes," Sharma ordered Taan Singh through the intercom.

  “Yes, Sir.”

  "Any contact, Ramana?" Sharma said.

  "Sir, enemy at distance 150 meters, straight ahead."

  "Taan Singh, program torpedo to 150 meters and speed 6 knots," Sharma said.

  We had a clear shot to hit the enemy. It was an achievable attack in our minds. But we didn’t realize that the torpedo programming unit had been damaged during the earlier drill. It was only now after Taan Singh tried to program the torpedo, we realized that the programming unit was malfunctioning.

  Sharma ordered Taan Singh to go to the first compartment and prepare to launch torpedoes from there.

  Meanwhile, the Sonar Operator Ramana kept concentrating on every movement of the enemy submarine.

  "Sir, they are 250 meters away, with speed 16 knots," Ramana said.

  "Make depth 200 meters," Sharma said.

  We were under major trouble as the torpedoes in the seventh compartment were dysfunctional and now we had to depend only on the first compartment torpedoes.

  We had to plan our strategy carefully now; in the navigational room - Sharma drew a plan on paper by drawing the positions that we should be in, so that we could easily attack the enemy.

  "Sir, Two enemy torpedoes in water," Ramana said.

  As we all came out of the navigational room, Taan Singh approached us.

  "Taan Singh, Do not fail me. You are the front end warriors. Everything depends on you and make your country proud," Sharma said.

  "Full Speed ahead. Dive 50 meters," Sharma said.

  The diving officer and steering operator quickly changed the gears.

  "Enemy torpedoes 150 meters Sir, closing now 100 meters Sir," Ramana said.

  "We need to make 'S21' turn full 180 degrees," I said.

  We were all anxious and were eagerly waiting for 'S21' to make a complete turn so that the torpedoes in the first compartment line up with the enemy submarine.

  "Enemy torpedoes 30 Meters... 20 Meters..." Ramana said.

  The enemy torpedoes again just passed by from the side of 'S21', with huge sounds.

  "They missed us Sir," Ramana said.

  "How far is the enemy now?" Sharma asked.

  "400 meters, Depth 110 meters Sir."

  Sharma went to the intercom and asked if the torpedoes were ready in the tube.

  None of the torpedoes were placed in the tubes; Taan Singh tried to load one by one. 3 more crew members from the third compartment rushed towards the first compartment to help in loading torpedoes.

  "Two more enemy torpedoes in water fired Sir," Ramana said.

  It was exasperating for us, as the enemy was attacking us continuously and we were still trying to fix the torpedoes.

  I rushed into the first compartment and helped them to lift the torpedoes and load them into the tubes.

  "Torpedoes loaded Sir," I said.

  "Prepare to program it," Sharma said.

  "Enemy 200 meters away Sir, in range," Ramana said anxiously.

  "Program torpedo distance 200 meters with speed 8 knots," Sharma muttered through intercom.

  Taan Singh quickly set up. Ramana reaffirmed the target to be in range; Sharma made his way to the torpedo launching unit and pressed the button.

  Our first torpedo was fired. This was like a first aggressive move on a chess board by a relatively defensive player. I felt a surge of pride within me.

  "200 meters for impact... Enemy torpedo 150 meters," Ramana said.

  "Load another torpedo," Sharma whispered into the intercom.

  Prathap, Taan Singh and I along with 2 more crew members in the first compartment were quickly setting up the other torpedoes into their respective tubes.

  In the control room, Sharma ordered the Diving officer and Steering operator to make port 200 with full speed ahead. ’S21’ bent at a steep angle and tilted on her side. This naturally made the task of torpedo loading difficult as we were barely able to hold ourselves straight up. One of the crew was severely injured while pulling the chain to load the torpedo. We had to make him step aside as he was bleeding profusely.

  The two enemy torpedoes again narrowly missed us. Either it was luck or it was sheer planning of Sharma that we were missed by enemy targets. Our torpedo was still in the enemy’s range. We waited awhile for the sound of impact. A minute passed by and nothing. We realized that our torpedo also missed the target. Count was equalized, and we felt a strange calm.

  We lost contact with the enemy submarine, I guessed even they had shut their engines off. As a result of this, it usually becomes difficult for a sonar operator to detect the enemy.

  I went up to Ramana "Keep looking, they should be nearby," I said."Sir, they are just above us," he said.

  The crew looked up, and tried to sense the enemy on top of our boat.

  "Match course, make slow port movement. We will rise up and from there we will get into position to fire," Sharma said.

  "Yes Sir," I said "Ramana, What's their depth?"

  "Depth 150 meters Sir," Ramana said.

  "Match the depth." In a few seconds, we were rising up.

  "We need to fire 3 torpedoes at a go," Sharma said.

  "Sir! Enemy in range 100 meters," Ramana said.

  "Program Torpedo 2 at a distance 100 meters with a speed of 8 knots; Torpedo 3 at a distance 120 meters with a speed 8 knots and Torpedo 4 - distance 130 meters, 10 knots."

  Taan Singh quickly confirmed their programming. Sharma pressed the button of first torpedo and it was fired. He then changed the switch and pressed the button again; the second torpedo was also fired. Mr. Sharma seemed sufficed with two torpedoes and I thought he must have saved the third one for later.

  We all knew that this was it; this time we were not going to miss our target. I was looking at Kamal, he was fully aware that he was going to be questioned about how he could allow war being the political officer.

  Our enemy was not silent on the other hand; even they fired 2 more torpedoes towards us. Sharma, knowing this changed the path of 'S21' like earlier. We were sure that the enemy torpedo will not hit us under Sharma's planning.

  But this time the situation worsened.

  "Sir we are in the mid of underwater hills," Ramana said.

  It was certainly bad news for us. "Underwater hills!! Crew - prepare to close all compartment hatches. Make emergency rise 100 meters," Sharma ordered.

  Suddenly, we heard a huge blast.

  "We destroyed our enemy Sir." Ramana reported proudly.

  There was a clear sense of pride among all of us. We could figure out that the enemy was destroyed. But they were still behind us. It was still pursuing 'S21' and we were still at peril.

  Sharma ordered for us to go full speed ahead, 'S21' thus recorded a quick ascent in its trajectory. As a result, the enemy’s torpedo was blasted just a few inches away.

  Prathap, Kamal, Taan Singh and I were in the first compartment. We were neither rejoicing nor were we scared about the aftermath of this mission.

  It was all over, for a moment I thought, but I was wrong. We were still in the midst of the hills. Before Sharma or Mann Vijay Singh or Ramana could figure it out, 'S21' hit a giant underwater hill. It had a tremendous impact. I quickly went to the hatch of the first compartment, looked at Sharma and other officers were falling down in the third compartment - I fastened the hatch.

  THE FOUR OF US

  'S21' lost its momentum and was sliding down the underwater hill at a high speed.

  The four of us were holding on tightly to the walls of the compartment. It struck me that we were in an enormous amount of danger, because of the catastrophic damage to ‘S21’ amidst underwater hills. The worst part was that there was no amount of human effort that could’ve saved us.

  We had experienced a great fall. Accidents take mere seconds to occur, but their impacts last forever. We still didn’t know the impact of this fall.

  'S21' came to a standstill. We knew
that we were stuck.

  I looked up, and a strange silence enveloped us.

  I rushed towards the hatch to open it. I tried to turn the latch, but it wouldn’t turn. It was stuck because there was apparently an airlock in the compartment.

  Water finally found its way into our submarine and not quietly. It was terrifying. When Nature’s agitated, there won’t be much for us humans to do about it. So even we couldn’t do much about it. The water was gushing in from every place possible, and all our efforts to open the hatch were in vain. All the electric circuits slowly started to dilapidate and that snatched away the light in the compartment. Within minutes, we were scared for our lives and for the rest of the crew.

  "Try to contact the control room," Kamal shouted.

  "Yes Sir," Prathap said and he went to the intercom. He tried to contact the control room, he repeatedly tried contacting the control room but to no avail.

  "It seems like water has filled up the other compartments," Kamal said, worried.

  "Sir, I don't think anybody is alive out there," Prathap despaired.

  "There should be somebody alive in other compartments," I was hopeful.

  "What shall we do?" Prathap said.

  "It's too late to do anything now. Had anybody taken my advice seriously, we wouldn't have been in this situation. Darn it!" Kamal said.

  "Had we chosen to follow your initial advice, then the enemy would have attacked the Vishakhapatnam port and hundreds of fisher men would have been dead by now," I said.

  "There would have been forces stopping the enemy from attacking us."

  "Like?"

  "It's up to the government to think about it. Why should we be here? We had orders of being in Passive mode - not to attack but to locate the enemy activity and report it. But we chose to be on active mode. We never had the authority to attack."

  "I don't know about the authorities but I am proud that we have destroyed our enemy submarine."

  "And this is the outcome. We are trapped and not sure if anybody is alive in other compartments."

  "At least we have destroyed our enemy," I raised my voice.

  "Nobody will speak about it. This act will never get acknowledged by higher authorities. The attack you are proud of will never make it into the books of Indian history."

  "Sir we should do something now before it's too late," said Prathap.