Petty Officer

Petty Officer

It was a leap into the dark. It was low tide on that dark night when the old, soon to be discarded SS Rohidas, had thrown anchor far out at sea off the Ratnagiri coast. The Junior Naval NCC cadets from Poona on board who had to disembark here were to jump on to the large boats that had come alongside the ship. This jump was to be made from the last step of a rickety ladder off the ship’s side in the dim light of a lantern as the only muted indicator. One landed with a thump onto the boat, which rocked to absorb the impact. In the dark of a moonless night, this was a scary for the secondary school cadets.

As each boat filled to its capacity, it moved out towards the lights of the town. Ratnagiri Port those days was a solitary jetty. On disembarking, the cadets regrouped on it, and after a headcount began a tiring march of over two miles to the campsite - a school housed in a complex of small buildings. The journey from Poona had commenced the evening before. and fatigue began to tell on these young children. Beddings were quickly unrolled and soon every one of them was fast asleep.

Two days into the camp, a warning came of an impending typhoon. The sky was covered by dark clouds herded in by strong winds. The sea roared ominously and an atmosphere of fear engulfed the camp. The cadets were quickly moved into the classrooms allotted to each group and ordered not to come out. As the storm reached its maximum, winds were so string that even the door could not be opened against its force. With no food and being unable to venture out even to ease themselves, it was for most cadets their very first experience of the fury of nature. Occasional distant sounds like the cracking of branches, the shattering of glass panes made those two days even more ominous. Time passed slowly in hope and prayer.

The storm took a heavy toll on Ratnagiri town. Its buildings suffered damage as did the standing crop of its famed mangoes. The roof of some of the structures even in the Camp school complex had also crashed fortuitously missing any of the cadets.  These lads had to be shifted out for which a couple of closed rooms were required to be emptied to accommodate them.

Self-preservation is the first concern of all forms of life. A snake whose pit had obviously been flooded by the downpour had taken refuge in the quiet dryness of the closed rooms. It lay coiled up along the wall, adjacent to the door of the room. Its presence was not noticed initially noticed but when it got seen, the screams went up. Disturbed, the snake slowly inched towards the door and stopped within striking distance of it.

Those within the room now felt trapped and not wanting to risk going too close to the snake, moved further inside. The ones outside, who could not see the serpent and therefore not understand the situation implored them to come out. Further screams followed at every small wriggle of the snake. Panic gripped the camp and curious cadets from all over left their `posts’ to congregate outside the room. A truly horrendous experience for anyone unfamiliar with snakes.

Help came in the form of Petty Officer Rasheed. The camp’s kitchen-in-charge. He quickly gauged the situation picked up a short stick and moved quickly into the room. He then used the stick to press the snake against the wall at a point just below its head. The snake was throttled and writhed – first vigorously and thereafter with declining intensity and eventually become motionless, though alive. Petty Officer Rashid then caught it near the head and holding it at arm length, rushed out of the room towards a scrubland behind the school. He then flung the snake into the distance. Like the Pied Piper, he was watched and followed in awe and admiration by almost the whole camp. Here was a real-life hero who had not flinched a moment to place himself at risk in the cause of the safety of his cadets.

At the Parade later in the day, the Camp Commander attempted to discount the gravity of what had happened by mentioning the snake was a harmless, non-poisonous one, of a species common to the area. An outstanding display of courage, presence of mind and ingenuity was thereby sought to be pushed into the thrash-can of the ordinary, albeit with the motive of calming the anxieties of the young campers.

In the eyes of the cadets, Petty Officer Rasheed however stood tall that day and does so till this day. A real life hero to who they remain grateful beneficiaries. The one question that they have asked themselves is why is such a great being ranked `Petty’ and each of them join in the encore - ` Officer Rasheed Ki Jai’.