Harry Brooks on a song ! ~ England steamrolls at Multan

It was carnage at Multan – before you read further – do you know of the 4^th Test at Kingston in Apr 1930 and a batsman who scored total of 879 runs in his career of 14 tests but made 325 in his last Test !!! – who ?? 

A day after he made history as England’s all-time leading Test run-scorer, Joe Root watched Harry Brook upstage him with an innings of 317 before describing his Yorkshire teammate’s efforts as “a masterclass” and adding: “I don’t think it’ll be the last time we see him with a monster score.” He shared a mammoth 454 run partnership,   now the highest for England in Test cricket, bettering the 411-run stand between Peter May and Colin Cowdrey against West Indies in 1957, also for the fourth wicket. 

A triple century in Test cricket has been scored on 32 occasions by 28 batsmen from eight of the twelve Test-cricket playing nations.  Two Indians are in that elite list – twice it had been scored at Chepauk – Virender Sehwag boasts of 2 300s & Karun Nair made the other (for India) 

A couple of years ago,  Harry Brook was touted as one of the world's most exciting young players with a staggering run of form across formats, most particularly in England's rebooted Test team. After making his debut against South Africa in Sept 2022, Brook travelled to Pakistan and New Zealand with Ben Stokes' team, where he peeled off consecutive scores of 153, 87, 9, 111, 89, 54, and 186 to take his overall tally to 809 runs in nine innings, at an extraordinary strike-rate of 98.77.  If you remember right,   he was snapped up by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 13.25 crore !! 

 

It was a day four that England had dreamed of and Pakistan feared, and the most fascinating one for English fans, the docile Multan pitch offered.  A first Test that was drifting towards nothingness now stands poised in favour of England, who are on the cusp of another famous win in these parts. England's staggering 823 for 7, their third highest total and fourth overall, featuring Harry Brook's maiden triple-century of 317 and Joe Root's new career-best of 262, has laden this match with more history for themselves. Pakistan, meanwhile, plumbed new depths. 

Brook, who was born nine years after Gooch's 333 against India at Lord's in 1990, eventually finished on 317 from a remarkable 322 balls, displaying remarkable fitness and shot-making throughout. The 310 deliveries it took him to reach the milestone made it the second quickest to Test triple, 32 balls shy of Virender Sehwag's effort against South Africa in 2008.  He has thus far scored 4 centuries against Pakistan.    

Paki’s tale of woes was complete with hospitalistion of Legspinner Abrar Ahmed, being treated in a hospital in Multan after being taken ill. Abrar, who bowled 31 overs on day three against England, complained of a high fever and body aches on the morning of the fourth day, and did not take the field with the rest of his team-mates. 

The Test at Kingston in Apr 1930 meandered to a draw – with scorecard reading :   England - 849 & 272/9d;  West Indies (T:836) 286 & 408/5.   Batting first, in a timeless Test, Andy Sandham shared stands of 173 with George Gunn (85) for the first wicket, 148 with Bob Wyatt (58) for the second wicket, and 249 with Leslie Ames (149) for the fourth wicket, on the way to an England total of 849. West Indies replied with 286, but England did not enforce the follow-on, setting West Indies a target of 835 to win. After bad weather prevented any play on the match's eighth day, a draw was agreed with West Indies at 408 for 5, George Headley having scored 223. Andy Sandham’s was the first triple hundred in Tests. Sandham was 39 years and 275 days old, and playing his last Test match.   

England scored runs in a frenzy – 823 came off just 150 overs @ 5.48 !!  - Pak bowlers all have forgettable figures.   Shaheen Shah Afridi: 26-1-120-1; Naseem Shan 31-0-157-2; Abrar Ahmd 35-0-174-0;  Aamer Jamal 24-0-126-1; Salman Agha 18-0-118-1; Salim Ayub 14-0-101-2 !!! England could hardly have rushed any more – after all, only one of the 150 overs they faced was a maiden. They averaged 5.48 an over, a rate bettered only twice in the 3,861 Test innings that have lasted for 100 overs or more  

 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
10.10.2024 

Baratha Nattiyam ~ Salangai Oli !!!

In 1983, my friends had booked a movie ticket [hard to get those days] and gracefully invited me – it was K Viswanath’s classic ‘Salangai Oli’ – Kamal Jayapradha starrer with classic hits of Illayaraja.  I refused as those were the days when Semis & Finals of Wimbledon was to be shown  live .. .. .. my favourite Ivan Lendl was to play John McEnroe.  A few years earlier, I had started following Tennis following  the exploits of Bjorn Borg.  McEnroe defeated Ivan Lendl, played the unseeded Chris Lewis in the finals won in straight sets 6–2, 6–2, 6–2 to claims his 2nd Wimbledon title.   My friends were to make fun of me, not only for missing the movie but also for my unbridled support for Ivan Lendl.  .. .. and there was this comedy of photography !!

 

Bharatha Natyam is classical and capturing moments of the dance is a challenge !!

 

Characterized by precise movements, sharp edges, and expressive body language, this tradition has delighted audiences for generations.  Bharatanatyam is  derived by joining two Sanskrit words: ’Natyam’ meaning dance and ’Bharata’ which is a mnemonic containing ’Bha’ (bhava/emotions), ‘Ra’ (raga/melody), and ‘Ta’ (tala/rhythm). Thus the term Bharatanatyam means a dance that expresses Bhava, Raga, and Tala. 

The distinctive feature in Bharathanatyam is its basic stance or the posture called the Araimandi or the half-sit position- the there are  paadha bhedha (leg positions)  that experts exhibit.  

jeté, a French word – means  ballet leap in which the weight of the dancer is transferred from one foot to the other.  In Bharatham there are Utplavanas – the leaps. 

Alaga: leap forward in aramandi and land in aramandi; open both hands from chest level to above head to shoulder level in shikara. Katari: leap to the side, ending with toes of one leg in front of the other; both hands in katarimuga. Asva: leap forward with right and left legs and and with bent knees before straightening them; left hand on waist and right hand in tripataka depicting a horse  …. .. .. 

Here are some photos  taken by me at Thirumylai Kapaleeswarar temple yesterday.
 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
9.10.2024

  

Arasa Maram and a brown Song bird (Cuckoo) ~ நீலக் குயிலிருந்து நீண்டகதை சொல்லுவதும் !!

Ficus religiosa or sacred fig is a species of fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina  that belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as the bodhi tree, Peepal tree, ashvattha tree [அரச மரம்].  The sacred fig is considered to have a religious significance in four major religions that originated on the Indian subcontinent: Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. Hindu and Jain ascetics consider the species to be sacred and often meditate under it. Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment – do you see anything in this Arasa maram ??

 

 

Kuyil, Koel, Cuckoo – is a songbird – when heard – the sound may not exactly  attract you!  .. common perception is the  Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is jet black in colour resembling a Crow but having  red eyes !  .. .. some Cuckoos have a grey head with a thin, bright yellow ring around their eye, yellow feet and a black beak. They have dark grey plumage on their upper parts and barred plumage below which resembles the markings of the sparrowhawk. Some females are a rusty-brown colour.

 

மஹாகவி சுப்ரமண்ய பாரதியாரின் குயில்பாட்டு, (the songbird Cuckoo)  மற்றைப் பாட்டுகளினின்றும் வேறுபாடானது. கவிஞன், குயிலொடு கொண்ட காதலைத் தானே சொல்வதாக அமைகிறது. விழுமிய பொருளையும் உயர்ந்த தத்துவக் கருத்தையும் மனித வாழ்க்கையை, லட்சியத் துணையோடு இணைக்கும் வகையிலும் அமைந்து, பொருள்நயமும், கவிதை இனிமையும் சேர்ந்த இத்தொகுப்பு பாரதியார் பாண்டிச்சேரியில் வாழ்ந்தபோது இயற்றப்பட்டதாம்.

 

காலைத் துயிலெழுந்து,காலிரண்டு முன்போலே

சோலைக்கிழுத்திட,நான்  சொந்த  உணர்வில்லாமே

சோலையினில் வந்து நின்று,சுற்றுமுற்றுந் தேடினேன்,

கோலப் பறவைகளின் கூட்டமெல்லாங் காணவில்லை.

மூலையிலோர் மாமரத்தின் மோட்டுக் கிளையினிலே

நீலக் குயிலிருந்து நீண்டகதை சொல்லுவதும்   !!   ,...

 

                    புதுச்சேரியில் கடல் அலை எழுப்பும் ஓசை கவிஞருக்கு வேதப் பொருளை உரைத்ததாம்; கடல் அலைகள் மட்டுமல்ல  ~   குக்கு குக்கூவென்று குயில் பாடும் பாட்டில் தொக்க பொருளெல்லாம் தோன்றுகின்றது அவரது சிந்தைக்கே. 

 

Cuckoo, (குயில்)  of the family Cuculidae,  designates some 60 arboreal members of the subfamilies Cuculinae and Phaenicophaeinae. Cuculids range in length from about 16 cm (6.5 inches) in the glossy cuckoos (Chrysococcyx and Chalcites) to about 90 cm (36 inches) in the larger ground cuckoo.  Koels have long, graduated tails, usually with the individual feathers tipped with white. The bill is rather stout and somewhat downcurved.

 

This morning inside the dense Peepal leaves saw a multi-coloured bird, later realized it resembled a dove but perhaps is a Cuckoo.  A brown Cuckoo !!!

 

The brown cuckoo-dove (Macropygia phasianella) is a dove in the genus Macropygia found in Australia from Weipa and Aurukun in the north to Bega in the south, and most inland at Atherton and Toowoomba. It is sometimes called the "brown pigeon" or "pheasant pigeon".  The brown cuckoo-dove was formally described in 1821 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck from a specimen collected near Port Jackson in New South Wales, Australia. He coined the binomial name Columba phasianella.  The specific name is a diminutive of the Latin phasianus, meaning "pheasant".  The brown cuckoo-dove is now placed in the genus Macropygia, which was introduced by the English naturalist William John Swainson in 1837. 

The feathers of brown cuckoo are a rich rusty-brown colour, and the short wings, long tail and back are darker. The males tend to have a slight rose/green colouration on their nape and neck. The call of this dove is a very loud "whoop-a whoop" with some differences depending on the subspecies involved. 

Hoping that  this beauty would give another appearance and present itself to be photographed closer !!

 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
7.10.2024 

Marina airshow ! - out of focus !!

 

All eyes on skies and all roads lead to Marina beach  -  a  spectacular aerial display showcasing the prowess and manoeuvrability of the Indian Air Force (IAF) aircrafts. 

Few lakhs of people thronged the beach and every road leading to it was choked with vehicles – it was an ordeal to walk even.  At least 60% of those who saw the event took to social media posting photos and videos  !!

 

~ and this is what I got trying to catch Suryakiran on my camera !  Crow out of focus with Suryakiran in the background !

.. .. few minutes later, Suryakirans were performing breath-taking acrobatic loops – but the crow continued in the focus frame  !!!

 
S Sampathkumar
6^th Oct 2024

Alchemy, Time-travel, Age reversal and gullible people losing money !!

While people ask many Qs to understand and accept Science, there are always people who are ready to accept, gullible, they fall prey and lose money !!!  ~ volunteering themselves to get cheated !?!  

Can you imagine that there was an Indo-American film directed by William Berke, starring Rod Cameron, Cesar Romero, Marie Windsor, released in 1952 in which the actors speak English, while villagers speak in Tamil.  .. ..  yes, a Tamil movie, MN Nambiar too acted in that – ‘Kaadu – the Jungle’ – a Science fiction movie. 

 

Netru Indru Naalai (transl. Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow) starring MG Ramachandran, Manjula and Latha, directed by P Neelakantan was released in 1974 and ran packed houses.    Another movie with jumbled name and order -  Indru Netru Naalai (transl. Today, Yesterday, Tomorrow)    directed by R Ravikumar, starring Vishnu Vishal, Miya, Karunakaran hit the screens in 2015.   It was a very interesting movie with story revolving  around two men getting a  time machine and abusing it for their own benefit, leading to chaotic consequences.  It in fact was the feature debut for the director.   The movie theme was on time-travel.  

In 2065, a scientist invents a time machine. To prove its capability, he sends it back in time to 2015, programming it to return within forty seconds. However, the machine does not return. The time machine is seen by three people in 2015 — Elango, an aspiring entrepreneur whose ideas are rejected by all and who is struggling to maintain his relationship with his rich girlfriend Anu, who is embarrassed at the fact that Elango is unemployed; Elango's best friend Pulivetti Arumugam, a fake astrologer; and an inventor Giridhara Parthasarathy, who makes a living by repairing home appliances. The three of them are involved in an accident and witness the time machine while recovering from the shock. While Parthasarathy decides to keep the time machine for himself, he suffers an electric shock and ends up in a coma, prompting Elango and Arumugam to steal the time machine.   The duo use the time machine to make Arumugam's astrology practice seem successful by going back in time and finding things lost by people under the guise of astrology. Elango further uses the machine to impress Anu's industrialist father Rajarathinam by going to the future, obtaining the stock market results and successfully "predicting" them in front of Rajarathinam and his company's board of directors.   

Things go smoothly until Elango and Arumugam inadvertently thwart an encounter to kill Kuzhandaivelu, a dreaded gangster and extortionist who is targeting Rajarathinam, during one of their trips to the past to find yet another item for Arumugam's client.   

The concept of Time Travel is pretty old.   A Victorian Englishman, identified only as the Time Traveller, tells his weekly dinner guests that he has experimental verification of a machine that can travel through time. He shows them what he says is a small model, and they watch it disappear. He says he has a big machine nearly finished in his laboratory, in which a person could travel through time. At dinner the following week, a weary, bedraggled Traveller recounts to his guests what he experienced on his journey to the future.  In the new narrative, the Time Traveller goes into the future, observing things moving in quick motion around him. He sees his house disappear and turn into a lush garden. The Traveller stops in A.D. 802,701, and meets the Eloi, a society of small, childlike humanoids. They live in small communities within large and futuristic yet deteriorating buildings, and adhere to a fruit-based diet.

 

The above was the theme of ‘Time Machine’ -   1895 dystopian post-apocalyptic science fiction novella by H. G. Wells about a Victorian scientist.     It is believed that Wells' depiction of the Eloi as a race living in plenitude and abandon was inspired by the utopic romance novel News from Nowhere (1890), though Wells' universe in the novel is notably more savage and brutal. 

They were all Science fiction and Cinema – now a real occurrence.   A couple in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur has duped dozens of elderly people of ₹ 35 crore by promising to make them young through an "Israel-made time machine".  Rajeev Kumar Dubey and his wife Rashmi Dubey opened a therapy center - Revival World - in Kanpur, with claims of using a machine brought from Israel to transform a 60-year-old into a 25-year-old, police said. 

They promised their customers that they could restore the youth of the elderly through "oxygen therapy".  The couple, who lived on rent, deceived people by telling them that due to polluted air, humans  were ageing rapidly and that the "oxygen therapy" would transform them within months. "They offered packages for ₹ 6,000 for 10 sessions and ₹ 90,000 for a three-year reward system,"  and people fell easily in that trap.  One of the victims of the massive scam, filed a police complaint alleging that she was cheated of ₹ 10.75 lakh. She also alleged that hundreds of people were duped of about ₹ 35 crore.  Based on her complaint, Police registered a cheating case and are on the look out for the couple, who had fleed away and are suspected to be living abroad now. 

Alchemy, time machine, age reversal  ~ all possible in Science realm but not in reality, day-to-day life; yet people were willing to lose money in the ‘age reversal scam’ – one has to necessarily blame those who willingly lost money !!

 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
5^th Oct 2024

 

  

BHaratiya Vayu Sena rehearsal at Marina beach

 

Bharatiya Vayu SEna  -    rehearsal - troopers landing by parachute ✈

IAF Sarang helicopters dazzling display

Bharatiya Vayu Sena - full rehearsal at Marina beach

March, April, May are the real Summer months of Chennai or so one thought ! – it is October, yet, today was very hot.  Standing in the Sun was oppressive, it was sweating profusely, no sea-breeze, yet thousands braved hot Sun and were enthralled by the awe-inspiring display of  Bharatiya Vayu Sena, today at Marina from 11 am to 1 noon. 

 

Commemorating,  92nd Air Force Day Celebrations —  Seventy-two aircraft, ranging from the IAF’s oldest to its most modern fighter jets and helicopters, will take part in aerobatic displays and flypasts, on Sunday.  Today it was a full rehearsal and it was so exciting to be standing in the Sun and watch   IAF pilots display professionalism, speed, precision and might manoeuvering the magnificent machines. 

It started with the Akash Ganga team, India’s premier military parachute display team, displayed exciting  free-fall at speeds close to 200 kmph and landing on the sands of Marina.  Looking at the aircraft at such a height was difficult, but the jumping commandos made it to the spot with precision and ease.  The roaring sound of the LCA Tejas (the pride of indigenous power), Rafale (game changer), Sukhoi 30 MKI (the flanker that rules the sky), Jaguar, Mirage 2000 and Mig 29 – all provided unbounded enthusiasm and happiness to the Chennaities, gathered in large numbers on the Marina Beach to witness the final rehearsal of the dazzling air show organised by the Indian Air Force (IAF). 

There were many a different types of Aircrafts, Helicopters and acrobatic display of Sarang helicopter team and the dazzling manoeuvres of Suryakiran team displaying various formations.  The news release states that two-hour spectacle on October 6 will feature impressive aerial drills and demonstrations of India's air power.   The grand finale on October 8 will mark the official Air Force Day celebrations, as the IAF continues to uphold its legacy of excellence and strength.

 

Come to Marina beach (near Vivekananda House) and witness this rare event of display of might of Bharatiya Vayu Sena.  Here are some photos taken by me today.

 
With regards – S  Sampathkumar
4.10.2024 

31 year old resigns !! ~ dancing Horse and a leggie !!

A post on some dance and on a Cricketer – today comes news that a 31 year old player has announced his retirement from Cricket, coming as it does after Babar Azam's resignation from white-ball captaincy.  

உங்கள் கல்யாண ஜான்வாச ஊர்வலம் எப்படி நடந்தது - திறந்த மோரிஸ் அல்லது பிளைமவுத் கார் அல்லது குதிரை மீதா !!  வட இந்தியர்களின் கல்யாணங்களில், குதிரை மீது மாப்பிள்ளை, பேண்ட் வாத்தியம், குழுமி இருப்போர் நடனம் என சிறப்புற வந்து இறங்குவார்.  தமிழகத்தில் வசதி படைத்த பெரும்பாலானோர் வீட்டு சுபநிகழ்ச்சிகளில்,  நாட்டியக் குதிரைகளின் ஆட்டத்தைப் பார்க்கலாம்.  இந்த பாடலை கேட்டு ரசித்தது உண்டா ??

 

'நாட்டியக் குதிரை நாட்டியக் குதிரை!!  நாலாயிரம் பொன் வாங்கலியோ'

சாட்டையைப் போல காலு; சவுரியை போல வாலு

நீட்டமான குதிர  …. ..  வாட்ட சாட்டமான குதிர

 

It was a hit song from an iconic movie ‘Chandralekha’ produced and directed by S. S. Vasan of Gemini Studios released in 1948.  Starring TR Rajakumari, MK Radha and Ranjan, the film follows two brothers (Veerasimhan and Sasankan) who fight over ruling their father's kingdom and marrying a village dancer, Chandralekha.   The excellent sound track was composed by S. Rajeswara Rao, with lyrics by Papanasam Sivan and Kothamangalam Subbu.  The background score was composed by M. D. Parthasarathy.  The movie had 11 tracks in the original Tamil version. M. D. Parthasarathy  was an  music composer and actor, a "Sangeetha Bhushanam" of Annamalai University.   After completing his course in the early 1930s, Parthasarathy flourished in the early talkies with his sound training in Carnatic music.   

Horses are attractive ! – dancing horses captivate people’s attention.  In Pushkar and other fairs they command fairly a high price.  The Nation, Peru, has dancing horses, walking trees, llamas and alpacas.  For those of us addicted to Cricket in 1980s, he was a dancing bowler.  He jumped, danced, swiveled, rotated his arms and did everything and made the ball talk too – he revelled in the art of leg spin, googly.  

Subash Gupte, VV Kumar, BS Chandrasekhar, MV Narasimha Rao, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Narendra Hirwani, Anil Kumble, Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla, Yuzvindra Chahal  ……….all leg spinners – who played for India.  Across the border, there was a legend with a different action, springy jump, landing the ball near leg and turning it big .. .. .. he played 67 tests took 236 wickets and 132 wickets in 104 one dayers.  Qadir had an ordinary Test debut against England in December 1977, where he scored 11 with the bat and took a solitary wicket of England’s No. 11 Bob Willis.  However,  had a  brilliant ODI debut against New Zealand at Edgbaston during the 1983 WC. With his all-round performance of 12-4-21-4 and 41 not out, also the top score of Pakistan’s innings, he was adjudged the man of the match, albeit in a losing cause.  

In 1980s, he was the torchbearer of the art of wrist spin, doing it in style.  He had a fiery temperament and mysterious style.  Read that before  the 1982 tour to England, captain Imran Khan asked him to grow a French beard to enhance the aura and it worked: England were his favourite victims through his career, including the best bowling in an innings by a Pakistani, 9 for 56, in Lahore.  Qadir's action was a wonderfully extravagant routine, and he admitted more than once that it was contrived as a spectacle to distract batters. Variety was the key;  In Nov 2008, Qadir was appointed Pakistan's chief selector, but he resigned after a little over six months in the job. He died of a heart attack a few days short of his 64th birthday in Lahore. 

 

Remember seeing him bowl at Chepauk in Feb 1987, which I would remember ever for that magnificent century by Krishnamachari Srikkanth.  In Reliance World Cup 1987,  it was the last over,  Pakistan needed 14 runs off the six.  Abdul Qadir who had done nothing of significance with the ball in that match turned it on, hitting a two and then launching a straight six that drew the crowd roaring to its feet. Two were needed off the last ball,  Walsh ran in to bowl the last ball and pulled up without delivering: Jaffar, at the non-striker's end, was well out of his crease, heading up the wicket. Walsh could have run him out comfortably but chose not to do so and headed back to bowl the delivery again. Qadir scored  the necessary runs off the last ball. Pakistan were through, Qadir was a hero – Walsh though earned a name for being a sportsman, let his side badly down and West Indies’ downslide started around that time. 

A couple of years later in 1989 when India toured Pak with Srikkanth at helm, a 16 year old Sachin Tendulkar made his debut – an onedayer at Peshavar was washed out and a festive match was played.  In an interesting anecdote when Sachin walked in – India  needed 69 runs in five overs or so. He had a go at Mushtaq Ahmed who had taken two wickets and hit him for a couple of sixes. Qadir then came up and  said, "Bachchon ko kyon mar rahe ho? Hamein bhi maar dikhao" ("Why are you only hitting the kid? Hit me too.")  In that 20 over match  Pakistan had  put on 157 and India got closer thanks to an 18-ball 53 from a 16-year-old Sachin Tendulkar. One over from Abdul Qadir read: 6, 0, 4, 6 6 6. It announced Tendulkar to the world.

 

Decades have passed by, Qadir is no more.  In between his son made debut and at that time, there were some criticism that he has been pampered because of his father.  Life moves on and now Usman Qadir has announced his retirement from Pakistan cricket at age 31.  Usman Qadir played for Pakistan in 26 international matches, 25 of which were T20Is and one ODI.    Prior to making his debut for his country, he played for Western Australia and Lahore Qalandars, the latter of which resulted in a contract with the Perth Scorchers. Following his triumphant stint in Australia, he declared his intention to represent the country. 

The dancing horse is a marvel, so was the delivery stride of Adbul Qadir.
 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
3^rd Oct 2024. 

might of IAF on display at Marina ~ interesting Ilyushin !!

Thousands thronged Marina beach today too – people are excited and elated, heads are looking up into sky and people blur out names of Aircrafts! – all the buzz as Indian Air Force special airshow is to be held coming Sunday, and there have been rehearsals with aircrafts flying at supersonic speeds over Marina beach, Triplicane.

 

The Motto of Indian Air Force  is :  Touch the sky with Glory, which  has been taken from eleventh chapter of the Gita, the Discourse given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra during the Great War of Mahabharata. 

As the sky is dotted with fighter aircrafts, people reel out the names of : Sukhoi,  , Jaguar, Mirage,  indigenously manufactured state of the art Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Light Combat Helicopter Prachand and Heritage aircraft like Dakota and Harvard – then .. .. all are waiting to see ‘Rafale’.   Suryakiran is a formation aerobatic team, and Sarang   is a helicopter aerobatic team, - simple overawing !! 

On a simplistic note, we have stood in long queues in Petrol pumps especially when heavy vehicles drivers went on strike.   Decades ago, people owning Lambretta, Luna mopeds would go on panic mode, stocking up before the budget !  -  imagine an aircraft that is special, that provides Aerial refueling

 

Aerial refueling  is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft are in flight.  The two main refueling systems are probe-and-drogue, which is simpler to adapt to existing aircraft and the flying boom, which offers faster fuel transfer, but requires a dedicated boom operator station. The procedure allows the receiving aircraft to remain airborne longer, extending its range or loiter time. A series of air refuelings can give range limited only by crew fatigue/physical needs and engineering factors such as engine oil consumption. Because the receiver aircraft is topped-off with extra fuel in the air, air refueling can allow a takeoff with a greater payload which could be weapons, cargo, or personnel: the maximum takeoff weight is maintained by carrying less fuel and topping up once airborne.   

The public joint stock company Ilyushin Aviation Complex,   is a former Soviet and now a Russian aircraft manufacturer and design bureau, founded in 1933 by Sergey Vladimirovich Ilyushin.  One of the aircrafts on display is ‘Ilyushin”. 

The Ilyushin Il-78 [NATO reporting name Midas) is a Soviet/Russian four-engined aerial refueling tanker based on the Il-76 strategic airlifter. The Soviet Union's first dedicated tanker aircraft were variants of preexisting bombers, like the Tupolev Tu-16 and Myasishchev M-4. Their performance was deemed insufficient, especially so since new bomber models were slated to enter service.  Indian Air Force  has more than half a dosen  Il-78MKIs delivered in   operated by No. 78 Squadron at Agra AFS.

 

Here are couple of photos of Ilyushin, other aircrafts  and dare-devilry of helicopters – crossing at close range too !!

 
Hail Indian Air Force ! 
 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
2.10.2024