My Journey as a Naval Officers Wife.

Life is so blissful when you are born as a human being and ecstatic…when you are introduced to this world as a girl. What more I can ask for? My dear friends I would like to share in this write up  my most cherished experience I have had so far. My journey commenced way back, more than 4 decades ago with a pinch of salt but ample sweetness of honey. My roots lie in Allahabad(popularly known as Sangam- confluence of 3 holy river Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati) as I did my entire schooling and graduation from there. Coming from a middle class family was a boon for me, as it taught me the real values of life and always kept me grounded and connected to my Indian tradition and culture. As any other girls dream, I too had a vision of tying a knot with my dream boy and as luck would have it that D-day came and my life took off on a new exciting adventurous flight. I found the best friend and confidante in my life partner, whose entire family has had the honour of serving the nation being in defence forces. I feel blessed and privileged to share the Bhatnagar surname. For me, coming from a totally non service background was never a drawback as my parents-in- law accepted me with open and warm arms. As I was clueless about the fauji life, every day was an adventure for me.The sailings, duties on board, terms like roger, secure, mess night, one in two, bachelor’s bouncing for parties and yes, most importantly, the concept of  hopping from one base to another, the accommodation problem  specially in Mumbai… where married accommodation has always been deficit till we got one of are own staying in a fellow officer’s house was very intriguing initially, but eventually turned out to b the most exciting part of are nuptial journey as it resulted in bonding with other counterparts. I started enjoying every moment of my blissful trip as it unfolded  new chapters with each passing day. Being a naval aviators wife, I had a smooth take off throughout (touch wood) meaning, no long separations unlike my counter parts in the surface navy. Life in services has been very colourful for me as it gave me ample opportunities to explore myself unlike in civil life. Going on stage and performing in cultural programmes after marriage is not a readily acceptable concept in a civil set up ,but here I had the liberty to enhance my personality to the fullest by volunteering for dance ,fashion shows ,singing etc. My husband has been a pillar of strength ever since. I owe a lot to him for encouraging me in all spheres. Life in navy has transformed me into an independent and self reliant person (which I always dreamt of) and the credit goes to the Navy as we keep hopping from one city to another frequently and adaptability becomes an integral part of are lives. As the saying goes- “Join the navy and see the world” has proved true in our case as it gave us the opportunity to roam almost all across the major countries of globe. The Mauritius Deputation was a dream posting we ventured the most sought after places in the U.S. and Europe which was an eye opener and left an indelible impression in our lives. In this eventful journey of two decades now I am a proud mother of two children, Jatin(19) who is in 1st year Ashoka College and younger daughter Vanshika in grade 10th …both my priceless possessions. We as a family have the privilege of leading a very happy and contended quality life in Navy. I am proud to be associated with this fraternity n like we say it in navy wish you all smooth sailing in all ur endeavours in life.