Capt. Kapil Aneja, Master Mariner - 30 YEARS IN COMMAND

This is a two-part long interview. The first part appears here. Starts with a humorous take on the sailing days gone by. It gets into things sublime as the interview progresses.

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How did your experience at T.S. Rajendra shape your early career path?

The invaluable life experiences and learning through various activities on board on T.S. Rajendra (TSR) went a long way in shaping my early career path. When my batchmates and I stepped on board the TSR in 1979, we were a bunch of footloose and fancy-free young men devoid of discipline and leadership skills. At TSR, we got the opportunity to participate in rigorous physical training, sports, and drills that helped to build resilience, discipline, and mental toughness required for a career at sea. It was at TSR, that I learnt to apply the theoretical concepts learnt in school to real-world scenarios which reinforced my understanding of maritime principles and practices, thus helping to develop a solid foundation in maritime knowledge and skills. Participating in team activities and exercises on TSR helped develop leadership, teamwork, and communication skills which have stood me in good stead throughout my sea career. TSR provided me an early opportunity to interact with fellow cadets from diverse backgrounds and nationalities thereby helping to develop my cross-cultural understanding, tolerance, adaptability and a global perspective which is so essential in a sea career.

In just a few months, the tough instructors had managed to transform us from unruly brats to disciplined cadet officers. Discipline was so deeply instilled into us that despite the following hilarious incident, the entire lot of us kept a straight face - On 'National Maritime Day', the Shipping Minister was invited as the guest of honour on T.S. Rajendra and was welcomed on board by Capt. Indrajit Singh, the Captain Superintendent. The minister began his speech with a royal mix up, saying "I am honoured to be here on T.S. Indrajit, and I thank Capt. Rajendra Singh for welcoming me on board!!", yet none of us laughed at the goof up! (he had jumbled up the names!)