Commander Bahadur Nariman Kavina is the Navy officer we are talking about. As a husband, father, friend, boss and even stranger he was extraordinary, adoring, sensible, sensitive, wise, kind, charitable, adorable, considerate, and compassionate. Above all, this upright gentleman with a twinkle in his eye and an endearing smile on his lips was most unassuming and humble. A 1971-war hero, he passed away in Australia, on June 29, this year. Shernaz pays a tribute to an officer and the gentleman, in the weekly column, exclusively in Different Truths.

The dashing, valiant and audacious Navy officer, Commander Bahadur Nariman Kavina, Vir Chakra recipient and braveheart of the 1971 Indo-Pak war is no more.  June 29, 2017, has gone down as a gloomy day for the Indian Navy, the nation, and the Parsi community because of the loss of this noble soul.  He died aged 80, in Adelaide, Australia, where he and his wife Farida were visiting their children.

Bahadur Kavina was born on March 1, 1937, in Bhusaval (Maharashtra) to Nariman and Tehmina. He received his early education from Bhusaval and later Boys’ Town, Nasik from where he is said to have run away more than once and was brought back to finish his schooling. Thereafter, he went on to Jai Hind College, Bombay and graduated in the science stream. He had joined the NCC as a Naval Cadet and from college, he went on to the National Defence Academy in Pune as a direct entry for the Indian Navy. As a Senior Officer, 322 SDB squadron he became a loyal part of the Indian Navy in 1960. That same year, during the Indo-Pak conflict his squadron, carried out intensive patrolling of the Gujarat Border. He served on various ships as a midshipman and did courses in different Navy schools. After the 1960 conflict, he was deputised to specialise in communications, which course he did in Cochin. In 1969, this illustrious son of India was sent to the USSR for training in missile boats.

Almost four decades ago, when India gave humanitarian support to around ten million refugees fleeing human rights violations in what was then E. Pakistan (Bangladesh), Pakistani army launched a provocative attack on suspected Mukti Vahini camps in Bengal; at the same time they engaged the Indian army on the western border forcing India into a two front war. The strategic task of denying war supplies through a Naval blockade on East and West Pakistan fell to the Indian Navy. They executed the mission with ingenuity, perfect timing, great valour and secrecy which took the Pakistani Navy absolutely off-guard.

Cdr. Kavina was one of the chief architects who created history by playing a pivotal role in devastating the Pakistani navy in a big way. In 1971, gallant Cdr. Kavina was the Commanding Officer of INS Nipat, during the heroic missile attack against Karachi harbour and Pakistani naval forces. INS Nipat was part of the strike force code named Operation Trident.  The other two ships of the 25^th Missile ‘Killer’ Squadron were INS Nirghat (Lt. Commander I J Sharma, AVSM, VrC) and INS Veer (Lt. Commander O P Mehta, Vrc NM). These were OSA-1 class missile boats, each armed with four SS-N—28 Styx anti-ship missiles. One of the tactical advantages the task force had was that most of the crew which had returned after training in the USSR and commissioning these boats were fluent in Russian and so all communication between the ships was in Russian. This would have flummoxed the enemy had the communications between the attacking boats been intercepted and they would remain ignorant of the tactics. This catalysed the success of the operation.

On the afternoon of December 4, 1971, Indian Navy’s fleet sailed from Okha Port in Gujarat, towards Pakistani waters with orders to attack the Karachi port, the stronghold of the Pakistani Navy. The task force was about 70 nautical miles from Karachi when a blip on the radar showed an enemy ship approaching, On December 4, 1971, INS Nirghat launched two missiles and sank the destroyer PNS Khyber. INS Nipat fired two missiles to sink Venus Challenger which was carrying ammunition and also finished off the destroyer PNS Shah Jehan. Then INS Veer struck the minesweeper PNS Muhafiz, which crumbled before it could even send out a distress signal.

Apprehending a retaliatory air attack, two of the boats were ordered to withdraw to the pre-determined rendezvous with the tanker INS Poshak. Cool throughout the action, the intrepid Lieutenant Commander B N Kavina, VrC now took Nipat to within 14 nautical miles of the shore. Fired a Styx scoring a direct hit on the Keamari oil terminal and set it off in a lethal blaze. A second attack which ravaged Karachi port paved the way for the Indian Navy’s supremacy over the seas. For the first time, an anti-ship missile was used for land attack. On its return journey homeward after this spectacular victory, Nipat’s fuel hose pipes gave way. Pakistan radio had by then broadcast that an Indian vessel had been sunk. Nipat was the only ship not accounted for at that time and amid tense and confused moments it was believed to have been sunk. But on the night of 7^th December, it returned, triumphant, to a hero’s welcome thanks to the ingenuity of its engineers.

As the fleet was returning to Mumbai, one sailor climbed up the missile hanger on Nipat and wrote ‘Killers’ on it in red paint. The squadron was thereafter christened ‘The Killers’ and a Killer Day has been celebrated by the Indian Navy on December 3 ever since. Navy Day is celebrated on December 4 to commemorate the launch of Operation Trident.

From an active life at sea, he went on to land appointments. He put his managerial skills to use as Officer-in-Charge, Signal School, Command Operations and Plans Officer Western Naval Command and Director, Tactical School. In 1981, he took premature retirement and went into civil service. He worked at Shipping Corporation of India and Five Star Shipping Company in command of various cargo and passenger ships till 1997.

This was one calm and collected man. In all the years I knew him not once did I see him lose his temper with anyone! His subordinates loved him as a father figure and all who worked with him, above him or under him have only adoration and admiration for him. There is an incident that occurred during his tenure in merchant navy. In Port Blair, once because of some union trouble the workers started pelting his ship with bottles and such. One tipsy cook came brandishing a big knife at the captain. Captain Kavina, with typical level-headedness, addressed the cook calmly and asked why he wanted to kill him. He continued talking to the man in an even tone till eventually, the man was at his feet crying and asking to be forgiven.

This is the Navy officer we have been talking about so far. As a husband, father, friend, boss and even stranger he was extraordinary, adoring, sensible, sensitive, wise, kind, charitable, adorable, considerate, and compassionate. Above all, this upright gentleman with a twinkle in his eye and an endearing smile on his lips was most unassuming and humble. He never threw his weight around or flaunted his many awards in others’ faces to get around regulations. On meeting him no one realised they were in the hallowed company of a national hero unless someone else spoke about his valour. What remained etched in their minds was that they had connected with a gracious soul. He was the epitome of a good human being, a genuine to-the-core patriot, an absolutely law-abiding, honest citizen who was pained to see the ‘illiteracy of the educated’ who weren’t exemplary civilians. In his own inimitable way, he was a paragon difficult to replicate.

He had been honoured by the Maharashtra Government with the Maharashtra Puraskar award. The Signal School in Cochin named their motivation hall after him on 26^th January, 2017 and on July 3, 2017, they sorrowfully laid a wreath as a tribute to the Late Cdr. Bahadur Kavina, VrC, together with the reading of a meritorious citation. And in Adelaide, this brave soul was laid to rest in a very dignified ceremony on 4^th July 2017. The Indian Defence Advisor, Captain Chetan Chandagave (S/M), paid him homage by laying a wreath on behalf of CNS and the Australian honoured this Gallantry Award Winner with a ceremonial guard of honour. This was organised through CNS by VAdm SCS Bangara (Retd). When the late Cdr. Kavina’s ashes are brought to Mumbai they will be ceremoniously consigned to the sea.

He leaves behind his beloved grieving wife, son Carl, daughter Roshni, daughter-in-law Kamal, son-in-law Mehernosh and six grandchildren all of whom dote on him. But he has also left with them a fragrant bouquet, a permanent rainbow of cherished memories that they prize and will find strength in, to carry on living without him. Our prayers are with them in this difficult time.

Like other brave-hearts because of whose dare-devilry and sacrifices we sleep peacefully at night, he used to be deeply hurt when internal conflicts threatened the very fabric of the nation they were ready to die for. They do not put their lives on the line to see their beloved country destroyed from within. They do not fight because they hate the enemy or are seeking glory but because they love their countrymen and want to protect their treasured motherland.

Commander Bahadur Kavina, we salute you and bow our heads in reverence! You will live on in our hearts; your glorious name has been etched in letters of gold in the annals of India’s history. May it ignite true patriotism in the hearts of your countrymen!

Long live our hero!

©Shernaz Wadia

Photos sourced by the author.

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Shernaz Wadia

To Shernaz Wadia, reading and writing poems has been one of the means to embark on an inward journey. She hopes her words will bring peace, hope and light into dark corners. Her poems have been published in many e-journals and anthologies. She has published her own book of poems "Whispers of the Soul" and another titled "Tapestry Poetry - A Fusion of Two Minds" with her poetry partner Avril Meallem.

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