Suez, Panama and a flood of memories

DURING my service in the Merchant Navy, I was awestruck by two great man-made waterways of the world — the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal. No one connected with ships or maritime trade can ignore their importance.

The Suez Canal links the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea, shortening the distance between the Arabian Sea and the Atlantic/Mediterranean by thousands of miles. The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, saving enormous sailing time and operating costs. For global trade, these canals represent efficiency, economy and strategic advantage. For me, however, they also hold cherished memories.

I joined the Merchant Navy with India’s pioneering shipping company, Scindia Navigation Company Ltd, shortly after my marriage. One day, while my ship was transiting the Suez Canal, I received a letter from home with the joyous news of my first son’s birth.

Four years later, when I was serving as First Engineer, second in rank only to the Chief Engineer, I was informed about the birth of my second son. From the date and time mentioned in the letter, I realised that I had been passing through the Panama Canal.

It did not end there. Years later, after I became Chief Engineer, I was permitted to take my wife and elder son along on a voyage from Bombay to European ports. Once again, our passage was through the Suez Canal. Later, when my wife joined me with our younger son on a voyage to the West Coast of the US, we discharged cargo and were instructed to proceed to the East Coast to load cargo for Indian ports. Inevitably, we found ourselves transiting the Panama Canal — this time with the very son whose birth I had first learned about while passing through those waters.

When I shared this anecdote with a friend, he jokingly suggested that I should have named my sons “Suez Singh” and “Panama Singh.” Even today, I smile at the thought. Had I truly given them those names, how might they have reacted after they had established themselves in their careers?

My elder son became an Acting Chief Engineer in the Merchant Navy before he had to leave service after being declared medically unfit following an accident at sea. My younger son, an IIT graduate, is now a professor at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. They would certainly have objected to such unusual names — and perhaps even legally changed them! Instead, they bear the names their late mother lovingly chose: Arbinder Lal Singh and Maninder Lal Singh, each carrying a part of my own name.

I often revisit those long-forgotten memories — especially after the recent demise of my life companion of nearly seven decades. I recall how furious she was when I told her about my friend’s suggestion on our sons’ names. Bedridden at the time, she tried to get up — just to scold me.

 The writer is a retired Chief Engineer, Merchant Navy