Sense of belonging draws spouses to ships

CHENNAI: When a woman, in her early fifties gently patted the imposing Coast Guard ship Sarang as she disembarked after a day at sea, it reminded one of Maximus in the film Gladiator, who runs his fingers through through the wheat grown on his fields. Little wonder, wives of officers of the Coast Guard have a strong sense of belonging and love towards the ship in which their spouses spend a good part of their lives. Something like this cannot be normally expected from families of employees of other sectors.“This is my ship. My husband (Gurupdesh Singh) commanded this majestic vessel (Sarang) before his elevation as Chief of Staff,” declared Amrita Singh with a tinge of excitement. Anandi Dinakaran, whose better half had been a commandant of ships, including the recently decommissioned Kittur Chennamma, said sea and vessels had always been a thing of joy for them, an extended “member” of the family.“I love and respect ships. When we come on board, we understand the difficult job, a member of the armed forces does at sea.”If this is what the spouses feel, how do those who actually work feel? Says Sanjay Aryavir, Commanding officer of CG Squardon 848 (choppers): “The sea is our revered work place and I have saved many lives as part of my duty. However, we could do little to save lives in the recent Pulicat tragedy despite our best efforts. Incidents like these affect us.”