On board a battleship

“This is a very rare opportunity, but it holds an important history lesson. I’m glad my daughter got a chance to see this ship, which helped India fight the Indo-Pak conflict of 1971,” said Shailesh Gupta, a 38-year-old sales executive who drove from Thane to Ballard Estate so that his 10-year-old daughter could walk on to Indian Museum Ship (IMS) Vikrant on No TV Day.

“This is a very rare opportunity, but it holds an important history lesson. I’m glad my daughter got a chance to see this ship, which helped India fight the Indo-Pak conflict of 1971,” said Shailesh Gupta, a 38-year-old sales executive who drove from Thane to Ballard Estate so that his 10-year-old daughter could walk on to Indian Museum Ship (IMS) Vikrant on No TV Day.

HT Image

The ship is otherwise accessible only during Navy Week, once a year.

A total of 2,400 visitors joined the Guptas in taking advantage of this rare opportunity to walk into the innards of a battleship, see actual fighter planes on its deck and sit in a simulator that allows you to experience a real cockpit.

“I’m from Rajasthan and this ship has always been on my Mumbai bucket list,” said college student Kaizar Mallu, 20. “It was very interesting to see the jets and the ammunition. I came here with a group of nine friends and we have had a great time. I would recommend it to anyone.”

Added publishing executive Muralidhar Panicker, 45: “I made a conscious decision to spend No TV Day here with my son, so that he could learn about India’s wars and defence system. But I was surprised to find that this is an interesting trip even for an adult of my age. It’s just great to walk onto this giant ship, and you get a really nice view of Mumbai from the deck.”