Trip to Khasab

The northern most part of Oman is called the Musandam region. It is a peninsula bordered by the Arabian Gulf on one side and the Gulf of Oman on the other. This peninsula is isolated from the rest of the Sultanate by an arm of the UAE's east coast. This region is famous for its pristine beauty and awesome natural scenery. The most important town and port in this region is called 'Khasab'. Our company has a 3 S (sales, service and spares) facility at Khasab and I had visited this place twice earlier. The first trip was by air whereas the second trip was by air one way and return to Muscat by ferry. I had always wanted to drive to Khasab from Muscat in order to enjoy the breathtaking scenery. On the approach to Khasab the road traverses through the mountains which nearly touch the ocean at some places.

This wish came true on 24/25 January when me and a couple of my Omani colleagues went to Khasab in my car. The drive from my residence was 525 km one way and we had to cross into UAE and drove through the emirates of Fujairah, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaima in order to reach Khasab. Following are some pictures of the area around Khasab and its approach (click on the photo to enlarge):

A view of the gigantic mountainside at Ras Al Khaima

which caught my attention because of the UAE flag

painted on its precipitous face !

Cattle on the road at Ras Al Khaima. My colleagues

were aghast at this sight (as it is unthinkable

in Oman) but it reminded me of India.

Approach road to Khasab
On of the many fishing villages enroute.
The mountain and the sea !

A small fishing wharf.

A view of one of the numerous small virgin beaches.

Note the crystal clear water !

Returning from Khasab.

Myself and Nashib with the craggy face of

the mountain in the background.

Chairman's Staff Party 2009

In our company all members of the staff hold a get together every year department wise, the expenses for which are borne by the company. This is called the Chairman's Staff Party. Owing to various committments the said party for our department could not be held in 2009 so we organized it on 13 and 20 January 2010 for the Security staff posted in the Muscat region (also known as the capital area). We have around 300 personnel in the capital region so the party was held on two consecutive Wednesdays (last working day of the week) for a strength of approximately 150 on each occasion. This was also necessary to ensure that all shifts could be covered. On both the days, the security staff (nationals as well as expatriates), let their hair down and had a ball of a time. The venue was an outdoor location courtesy a well known restuarant which provided a sumptious fare with a DJ in attendance.

This opportunity was also used to give away prizes to a select few who had shown exemplary dedication and devotion to duty during the year 2009. Following are some photos clicked during the parties :

Prizes being given away by the Chief Guest

A scene of the party
One of the boys literally pulled me on stage !

Free for all on the stage

Fareed Al Balushi and Capt Anand Rawal dancing

to a popular Hindi tune.

Aseem Sharma and Mahfoodh Al Hinai are all smiles.

Benefits of Patrolling in Guarding Operations

Notwithstanding the proliferation of technology in the field of Security Management today, human barriers are still the most effective in a vast majority of security applications. Recently there was an attempted theft case at one of the vehicle yards where the breach was detected by the security guard who was on patrolling duty. The yard has a perimeter of approximately 5 kms and one tour of patrolling takes about an hour. There are contact points fixed all along the boundary wall which have to be physically touched by the ‘proxy pen’ (part of the guard monitoring system) by the patrolling guard. When the said guard reached the location of one such contact point he saw that there was a breach in the wall and four truck tyres were lying on the ground. This happened at 0300 hrs and the intruder(s) fled presumably on seeing the light of the torch which the approaching guard was carrying. On further investigation he could see a car parked on the highway which drove off as soon as he stepped out of the gap in the wall. The guard showed remarkable presence of mind by noting down the registration number of the vehicle which was passed on to the Police investigation team. The area was secured and the boundary wall repaired after the Police team had concluded their inspection of the site.

All facilities such as vehicle yards, warehouses and business premises which are spread out over a large area warrant the requirement of patrolling by the security guards, particularly at night. The above incident brought home a some lessons for us which we are in the process of addressing. These are as follows :
(a) The collusion of some insider cannot be ruled out in this particular case. Action is in hand to sort out this problem.
(b) Reducing the time taken for patrolling. In the instant case the intruders had time to remove four tyres from the parked trucks. They took the toolkit from one of the locked trucks by breaking the window glass. They may have had knowledge about the time taken for one round by the patrolling guard.
(c) The vulnerability of the unarmed security guard who has to confront such situations. A vehicle will shortly be provided for patrolling so as to reduce the time taken for one round as also to provide some measure of protection to the security guard.
(d) Increasing the frequency of patrolling and not sticking to a particular schedule which can be predictable.

Following are some photos taken at the site which will illustrate the above mentioned points better :

The tyres lying near the breach. Each costs nearly

350 Rials (approx Rs 40,000/-) !
The breach viewed form outside. Abandoned tools
are also visible.

The guard monitoring contact point on the sheet

which was damaged.

A view of the area outside the facility which is lonely

and isolated. Ideal ingredients for potential intruders !

UPSS Golden Jubilee - Some More Pics !

Here are some more photos of the UP Sainik School Golden Jubilee celebrations :

Wreath laying ceremony at the War Memorial

Proceeding to the venue for the foundation stone laying

ceremony for the proposed Ampitheatre which will

seat 1000 persons.Just before the start of the AGM. Vice Admiral Paras Nath

can be seen at the bottom right of the pic.

Rakesh Gupta and Anjan Das chilling out - cultural

programme, cocktails and dinner on 19 Dec 2009 Surya Officers Institute at Lucknow Cantt was the

venue for the evening and was suitably bedecked.

Old Boys catching up on lost time !

Back to School after 37 years !!

After I passed out of UP Sainik School, Lucknow in December 1972 I used to make plans every year to attend the annual 'Old Boys' meet and visit the school to refresh and recollect the plethora of memories associated with growing in my alma mater. Something or the other always came up and I could not attend a single reunion till 2009. Somehow, it was never possible for me to attend the annual functions when I was posted at various places in India. It became a reality after 37 long years and that too after relocating to Oman. It was great catching up with old friends and classmates, seniors and juniors, and reliving the cherished moments of our school life. The reception we got from the cadets was overwhelming. The entire school was lined up along the approach road clapping and greeting all the visitors despite the early morning chill of Lucknow. Following are some photographs which will tell the story better (click to enlarge) :

Myself, Rohit Varma, Abhay Dixit and Kushwaha with

the cadets before start of the programme.

Self, Rohit, Dixit and Kushwaha (Dixit was telling
us outrageous jokes - purportedly true tales)

The old boys with Mr R.P.Shukla (in brown coat) - our

Chemistry teacher who used to bash errant cadets at the

drop of a hat but was also a friend, philosopher and

guide. He retired from service ages ago but he recognised

all of us and even remembered some of the pranks

we used to play.

Class of 1972 - Anjan Das, Rakesh Gupta, S.K.Arora, self.

In front of our old class.

The Academic Block (we never had coolers !)

The 'Toofani' - given a facelift !

Class of '72 with Toofani as backdrop.

Frontage of the school (Administrative Block).

Yours truly !

Statue of Guru Dronacharya.

S.K.Arora and self

UP Sainik School Golden Jubilee Celebrations

On 19th and 20th December 2009 UP Sainik School, Lucknow celebrated its Golden Jubilee. A record number of 'Old Boys' turned up for this historic occasion. There were a lot of other 'firsts' in the conduct various events - the most notable being the Lucknow half marathon which was held on 20th December. The first batch of old boys (who joined the school in 1960) were present in good strength (I think they outnumbered all other subsequent batches !) The 'Old Boys Association' really worked overtime and stretched themselves to the limit to ensure that the programme went off well. The office bearers are to be congratulated for completing this Herculean task in an impeccable manner. Following are some photos of the various events which were held to kickstart the Golden Jubilee year (click on the photo to enlarge):

The programme started with the 'Wreath Laying'

ceremony at the War Memorial.
Laying of foundation stone for the new Ampitheatre
by 'old boy' Lt Gen V.K.Chaturvedi, AVSM, VSM
Cricket match between the old boys and the cadets.

Capt Sunil Chandra Vir Chakra Dwar - the new gate.

Tug-of-War between the old boys and the cadets

(the old boys lost)

Sitting in the Auditorium for the 'Old Boys' meet.

The first batch being felicitated on the stage.

Old Boys (and some spouses) from the first batch

on stage at the cultural programme on 19 Dec. Mrs

Molly Daniel (wife of Late Col H.R.H.Daniel - the

first Principal of the school) can be seen after

cutting the Golden Jubilee cake.

Participants warming up for the Lucknow Half

Marathon on 20 December 2009 at 0600 hrs.

'Prerna' - Lucknow Half Marathon was flagged off

by the GOC-in-C, Central command, from the

K.D.Singh Babu stadium at 0730 hrs.

The Old Boys Association has resolved to conduct

this 'prize money' event every year. The idea is to

bring Lucknow at par with other cities where such

races are held every year as also to create

awareness about the school.

The start of the 5 km race for boys and girls under

18 years of age.

'The Inspiration'

Video of the flag off - Lucknow Half Marathon !

(The response for this event was very good with the

participation of a lot of well known runners from

India and abroad)