Introducing Myself


Thread Starter #1
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Hello, fellow members !
First off, thank you TAI for accepting my application for membership - its certainly a pleasure! I am Shashanka Choudhury, a 62 year old, young at heart, semi-retired marine engineer. I still do the odd contract on OSVs (offshore-supply-vessels) around the Indian coast - to keep my hand in, so to speak! The last stint I did on a blue water flag was a 10-year tenure (no pun intended) as Chief Engineer on Mitsui's car career fleet, ferrying cars (mostly Japanese) round the world, usually to the U.S., Europe, Central and South America.

I have been an automotive ******** (I prefer the term over the more popular petrol head as I've worked with Diesel engines all my working life!) since I was first smitten - by a little Renault Dauphine - as an 11-year old, cycling my way to school in the early sixties. From that, I (and my fellow felons) graduated to surreptitiously peeling the Motoring centrespread from the Illustrated London News in the British Council Library above the old Mayfair Cinema in Lucknow. I was doing my Inter Science from Christ Church College at the time and our coup-de-grace was a blowup of the Maserati Ghibli (the original, not the current iteration) which was one of Georgetto Guigiaro's earlier and most spectacular successes. I must still be having the cutting somewhere.

Over the years, very fortunately, my wife and I have been able to indulge our abiding interest in touring the country by road. It started with a trip (in 1997) from Mumbai>Lucknow>Uttaranchal>Lucknow>Mumbai, spending time both in Lucknow but mostly touring Uttaranchal. The route: NH3 to Shivpuri and then NH25 to Lucknow via Kanpur. Our steed of choice on that first trip was a white Maruti Omni which we had bought in 1988 and on which we lavished a great deal of TLC!
Since then there have been many more trips to Uttaranchal (have lost count to be quite honest) as well as trips from Mumbai>Madikeri(Coorg district in the Nilgiris) and back as well as trips from Lucknow>Kolkata and back. There have been other cars too - the Tata Sierra, M & M Scorpio and the Hyundai Getz - the last two of which we still own.
We are also serious dog lovers - we have had boxers, and only boxers - for the past many years. One of them - Daisy, may her soul rest in peace - was the B-O-B Champion at the INKC show in Mumbai in 2004. And they have also been our travelling companions for most of our trips.
I also have an interest in the paranormal, including UFOs and the alien abduction
phenomena. This last has often resulted in a certain amount of ribbing from friends and family members. But then, as I have always maintained, to each his own!

I'll wind up here and once again thank TAI and hope that I can contribute to the fun and enjoyment of this forum.
With best regards,
Shashanka Choudhury
 
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Ayee Ayee sir.
Heartiest welcome to The Automotive India
wish you have a pleasant stay here.Looking forward to hear some of your exiting experiences off shores on your vessels.
Also would be great to read about your TLC's on your Omni and to hear more about your current rides.
 
Joined
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Welcome to TAI!

Looking forward to experiences during your stint as Chief Engineer with Mitsui and your travel across the country.

I have an interest in the paranormal as well. I don't have experiences of my own but keep reading a lot about them.
 
Thread Starter #4
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Hello jojy_1980,

Good to hear from you. Yes I hope to post some of my experiences soon, but I'll be honest and say that after 40 years at sea (yes, I joined sea in 1974 as a 5th Engineer in Scindia's !) there is not too much excitement to write about !
But I'm glad to be on board TAI and will add my bit now and then!
Best regards,
Shashanka

Welcome to TAI!

Looking forward to experiences during your stint as Chief Engineer with Mitsui and your travel across the country.
I have an interest in the paranormal as well. I don't have experiences of my own but keep reading a lot about them.
Hello jojy,
The problem with the paranormal is that it is such a humongously vast field ! I am mostly happy following & keeping up with the work of the acknowledged pathbreakers in the field (Jacques Vallee in the field of UFO research, John Macke's and Bud Hopkins' work with abductees, Stanislav Grof's research in transpersonal psychology among others.
My interest in the subject was enhanced by a family experience (my wife's and mine), during the Shraddha ceremony after my father-in-law passed away.

I will certainly write a bit about my Mitsui voyages and road trips around the country, but I'll have to wait till I get back home and can collect some material (photos etc). At the moment I'm in the middle of the Bay of Bengal on an OSV in the K-G Basin, keeping myself gainfully occupied !

Best regards,
Shashanka
 
Joined
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Hi Shashanka,

I will be looking to emulate you as you have read a lot. Alien abduction is something that has me hooked as well.

Hope you have heard about the latest UFO sighting in Portsmouth, UK. This sighting was on Sept 21, 2014. Critics say it's a cloud but the met department has clearly said it is an unidentified object. Eyewitnesses say that it passed with incredible speed and cannot be an ordinary plane.

I haven't heard about transpersonal psychology before. So I am reading about it online now. Seems very interesting, especially Stanislav's theories.
 

350Z

Core Team
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Hello, fellow members !
First off, thank you TAI for accepting my application for membership - its certainly a pleasure!
Heartiest welcome aboard to The Automotive India. Pleasure is ours to have an experienced marine engineer with us.

The last stint I did on a blue water flag was a 10-year tenure (no pun intended) as Chief Engineer on Mitsui's car career fleet, ferrying cars (mostly Japanese) round the world, usually to the U.S., Europe, Central and South America.
Things couldn't get better than this for an automotive enthusiast who's already in an interesting profession. :smile:

We are also serious dog lovers - we have had boxers, and only boxers - for the past many years. One of them - Daisy, may her soul rest in peace - was the B-O-B Champion at the INKC show in Mumbai in 2004. And they have also been our travelling companions for most of our trips.

I also have an interest in the paranormal, including UFOs and the alien abduction
phenomena. This last has often resulted in a certain amount of ribbing from friends and family members. But then, as I have always maintained, to each his own!
I share exactly the same interests too. A thread on UFOs / Paranormal experiences will make for an interesting read. Do also check out these links:

> http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/member-s-lounge/11171-do-haunted-roads-exist.html

> http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f.../564-tai-member-pets-help-discussions-17.html

> http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/member-s-lounge/9501-my-experience-engineer-mariner.html

> http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...-drive-73m-long-rolls-royce-powered-ship.html

I'll wind up here and once again thank TAI and hope that I can contribute to the fun and enjoyment of this forum.
Please feel free to reach out to our team in case of any support related to the forum. Have a fantastic time here.

Drive Safe,
350Z
 
Thread Starter #9
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m'bai, lko, kolkata
Hi Shashanka,
I will be looking to emulate you as you have read a lot. Alien abduction is something that has me hooked as well.
Hope you have heard about the latest UFO sighting in Portsmouth, UK. This sighting was on Sept 21, 2014. Critics say it's a cloud but the met department has clearly said it is an unidentified object. Eyewitnesses say that it passed with incredible speed and cannot be an ordinary plane.
I haven't heard about transpersonal psychology before. So I am reading about it online now. Seems very interesting, especially Stanislav's theories.
Hello joy,
First off, sincerely sorry about this l---o---n---g delay in my reply! I have been upto my neck in family matters and had taken a sabbatical from my blogging activities!
Alright - yes, the past couple of years have seen a sea change in the perception of the UFO phenomena. The bulk of knowledgeable opinions seem to have moved away from the nuts & bolts view of the phenomena towards the inter-dimensional view as proposed earlier by Dr. Jacques Vallee & others. There also seems to be some degree of convergence of ideas with the UFO+abduction phenomena and Consciousness research finding common ground. Interesting times indeed! And of course, the usual clamor of conspiracy theories and Imminent Disclosures providing noisy accompaniment!
Cheers,
Shashanka

Heartiest welcome aboard to The Automotive India. Pleasure is ours to have an experienced marine engineer with us.
Things couldn't get better than this for an automotive enthusiast who's already in an interesting profession. :smile:
I share exactly the same interests too. A thread on UFOs / Paranormal experiences will make for an interesting read. Do also check out these links:
> http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/member-s-lounge/11171-do-haunted-roads-exist.html
> http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f.../564-tai-member-pets-help-discussions-17.html
> http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/member-s-lounge/9501-my-experience-engineer-mariner.html
> http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...-drive-73m-long-rolls-royce-powered-ship.html

Please feel free to reach out to our team in case of any support related to the forum. Have a fantastic time here.
Drive Safe,
350Z
Hello 350Z,
First off, my sincere apologies for this l---o---n---g hibernation and Rip Van Winkle act. The fact is that I was caught up in - or rather embroiled in - a convoluted inheritance matter, which I have finally disentangled myself from, without much to show for it!

Yes, being a car buff and spending considerable time on car carriers (and Mitsui is still among the best) was certainly a bonanza while it lasted! We had occasionally carried the odd exotic on board - I remember the sensation when we had (on board the Neptune Ace, in 1999) an early nineteen-fifties Lancia D50 formula-1 participant on board. It was loaded at Livorno for participating in the Pebble Beach show that year. It was not in mint condition, so couldn't have taken part in the Concours event. Enthusiasts will recall that the D50 was a Vittorio Jano design (before his tragic suicide) & later taken over & developed by Ferrari. It had a 2,488 litre NA V8 engine. It did not shine on the grid, but who cared! For us - salivating & drooling! - any object with such a pedigree was indeed automotive nirvana while it was on board![:D]

Paranormal phenomena is an engrossing subject with so many threads and by-lanes that it is difficult to keep abreast of developments. I will certainly contribute my own ten cent's worth to the forum now that I am a fully retired individual.

Once again my sincere thanks to you and the others for having me on board. I look forward to celebrating all things automotive with you folks!

Cheers,
Shashanka
 
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Thread Starter #11
Joined
Sep 22, 2014
Messages
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Location
m'bai, lko, kolkata
Ayee Ayee sir.
Heartiest welcome to The Automotive India
wish you have a pleasant stay here.Looking forward to hear some of your exiting experiences off shores on your vessels.
Also would be great to read about your TLC's on your Omni and to hear more about your current rides.
Hello Shashank Sir,
Nice to have you on this platform.
In fact honored.
Happy posting for your future correspondences. [:)]
welcome sir,look forward to your take on all thats automotive!

Hello Vijay, TheMotorRomeo and tdcarlover,
Please accept my sincere apologies for my long absence from this forum. I won't bore you with the reasons (which I've mentioned to 350Z and joyj) and would just like to say that I am happy to be back again - and since I am now fully retired, I hope I can contribute more frequently to this forum. [:)]
 

Akash1886

Honoured Member
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Sir, Welcoming you once again on the Intro @ TAI! I hope you are feeling 'at home' with us all and perhaps what you have experienced "elsewhere" recently would definitely not be the case in TAI. Rest assured! Also as you have been associated with the Marine Background so I would like to share a link of one of my old thread about http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/member-s-lounge/19789-titanic-ship-dreams.html Hope you'll like it. It was one of my very early contributions Sir.

Regards

Akash
 
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Welcome back sir! I am sure you have a lot of stories to share with all of us! I am also quite fascinated by the paranormal and love browsing through videos on the internet!
 
Thread Starter #15
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Sir, Welcoming you once again on the Intro @ TAI! I hope you are feeling 'at home' with us all and perhaps what you have experienced "elsewhere" recently would definitely not be the case in TAI. Rest assured! Also as you have been associated with the Marine Background so I would like to share a link of one of my old thread about http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/member-s-lounge/19789-titanic-ship-dreams.html Hope you'll like it. It was one of my very early contributions Sir.
Regards
Akash
Hello Akash,
Thanks once again and yes, I am feeling relieved and happy to be in this forum! To be honest, the "elsewhere" was a rather stifling experience, with folks often unwilling to accept that the forum is a group discussion/debate, with the usual attendant variety of opinions and frequent disagreements too! But that is in the nature of human behaviour and - I believe - we can certainly agree to disagree and yet continue to co-exist happily!

And about my marine background, I have already contributed a post to our friend @nozzlering's thread "My experience as an engineer, as a mariner". Forty years in a profession is a reasonably long stretch. Unfortunately digital photography was not around in the earlier years, and I find converting film photography to digital media removes both definition and quality! So I stick to the period when digital photography came on the scene, around the late 90's - early 20's.



Welcome back sir! I am sure you have a lot of stories to share with all of us! I am also quite fascinated by the paranormal and love browsing through videos on the internet!
Hello icecoldsipra,
I am happy that the forum has several members who share a common interest in the paranormal. Please contribute anything interesting you have come across. @350Z suggested that we start a new thread on the subject and I think that's a great idea. I am working on it, but honestly speaking, I find I'm lazier than I used to be - the effects of retirement, I believe!
I would be happy if you started a thread on the subject - I'm sure there are many who would contribute to keep it going.
Regards,
Shashanka
 

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