RIP B Harry (1983-2007)

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brihaspati
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by brihaspati »

RIP B Harry. I did not know about you but the impression I get here is of a sincere and ardent young patriot. May you return quickly again as a son of India.
Cain Marko
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Cain Marko »

Crossposted in the right thread:

Shocked :eek: Not by the news but by the age. I had felt that there was some trouble since Harry simply dropped off from the 3 fora he used to frequent - BR, Keypubs, and ACIG. His inputs were always interesting and informative, I remember a memorable to and fro between him and N (JC) @ Acig years ago on the fulcrum/vajra - excellent stuff!

23 years! What a prodigy, a loss indeed. RIP Harry, God bless.

CM.
Hiten
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Hiten »

R.I.P Harrybhai

Reading your articles have been a highly enriching & a great learning experience. A very big loss.
Rahul M
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Rahul M »

some of his articles

The Radiance of Tejas (Published in Vayu Aerospace Review)
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/downl ... diance.pdf

Indian Naval Aviation - Part 1
http://s188567700.online.de/CMS/index.p ... &Itemid=47

Indian Naval Aviation - Part 2
http://s188567700.online.de/CMS/index.p ... &Itemid=47

I think this article is also by him. artwork is certainly his.
India's flying Testbeds
http://s188567700.online.de/CMS/index.p ... &Itemid=47

A complete collection of ACIG articles on Aero India 2005 (reduce the font size to read properly)
http://www.acig.org/exclusives/aero/Aero_India.htm

Chapter 13 on Tejas, a typical page from the list.
http://www.acig.org/exclusives/aero/acig_aero05_lca.htm

Photo feature on Tejas from AI-07. some images are dead, scroll down to the bottom for those that are still there.
http://www.acig.org/exclusives/LCA/ACIG ... Tejas.html

NAL Saras and HAL Jaguar DARIN-II (unfortunately all image links are dead)
http://www.acig.org/exclusives/saras/AC ... aguar.html

A feature on INS Viraat, in 5 parts
http://www.acig.org/exclusives/viraat/viraat_1.htm

===================
of course I can't possibly link to every possible golden nuggets of info that he posted here or on other forums. I may have missed some of the article as well.
all this before he was 23 ! hard to believe !
Sanjay
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Sanjay »

I am stunned and dismayed. My condolences to his family. He was one of the best writers on Indian aviation affairs around. His work was superb and deserved to have been more widely published.
Tom Cooper
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Farewell to a Friend

Post by Tom Cooper »

I've been missing Harry these two years very much. We have been in regular contact and then he kind of stopped answering at once. Naively, I believed he finally found a job he was hoping to find, and might be too busy, so I didn't insist.

Sincerely, the news about his premature death caused a shock and I feel them as a terrible blow.

I would be thankful if somebody could kindly forward my most sincere condolensces and deep sorrow over his loss to the family.
tejas
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by tejas »

Absolutely unbelievable. Having read so many great articles and seen such great art work over the years I had no idea he was so young. 23 years is to me a baby! What a prodigy and what a loss. Had always wondered who this great source of info was.

RIP.
Gagan
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Gagan »

The absolute youth of Harry is the one factor that has shocked me. Reading his articles all these years, he seemed to come across as stunningly informed and mature.
Harry was a prodigy, with maturity and incredible talent much beyond his years.

Obviously BRF was where he sharpened his teeth. Is it possible for BRF to have a small section dedicated to him and other major BRF contributors as a memorial?
sunilUpa
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by sunilUpa »

Gagan wrote:
Obviously BRF was where he sharpened his teeth. Is it possible for BRF to have a small section dedicated to him and other major BRF contributors as a memorial?
I agree, we should create a section dedicated to Harry! Pool all hios article in to one page.

Damn, I still can't believe he is no more!
Anujan
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Anujan »

RIP B Harry

I am amazed that he was only 23 ! The quality of his writing, depth of information and meticulousness rival the best professional defense writers in India ! His "Radiance of the Tejas" is a must read for any newbie to understand what the program is all about and for a comparison of contemporary fighters.

It is truly a great loss. India and Indian defence reporting would have benefited from years of top quality defence reporting if he had stayed around a bit longer....
Gerard
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Gerard »

I would never have believed he was only 23. The quality of his work, the fantastic photos, I assumed he was a professional working journalist. He was truly a prodigy. And gone far too soon.

A question I asked him on a thread a few years ago remains unanswered to this day:
"Harry, how on earth do you get those amazing photos?"

RIP.
Suraj
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Suraj »

I am shocked to hear that B Harry is no more. My sincere condolences to his family. I saw some of his works before I became a regular on BRF, and to me, he was one of the original group who helped create the contours of this, and several other web fora, with such detailed reports. It is tragic that he was only 23 when he died. Like many others, I thought he was some famous veteran defence correspondent who wished to maintain his anonymity, and I assumed that his silence in recent years was a personal matter, i.e. to prevent his identity being publicized.
Satya_anveshi
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Satya_anveshi »

A model Son of India, RIP! I am speechless to say anymore.
shiv
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by shiv »

K Mehta wrote: Harry passed away in May 2007. Cause is heart attack.

Link to the news item

RIP Harish Balaji K aka B Harry
BRF profile of Harry

It is ironic that he visited BR just 3 days before he died. It is unusual for a slim person of 23 to have a classic "heart attack" from clogged arteries. More likely to be a random cardiac event.
Jagan
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Jagan »

To complete the picture.


Trident, Grandslam and Python: Attacks on Karachi
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Hist ... rachi.html

The Sinking of the Ghazi
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Hist ... nking.html

Loss of the INS Khukri
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Hist ... hukri.html

He was also a regular contributor to my other website WarbirdsofIndia.com Most of the Chennai section was built with his help
Picklu
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Picklu »

It was better not to know :(

RIP
AshokS
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by AshokS »

RIP Harry...

I feared the worst when he stopped posting, though I hoped that marriage, job, or some other duties had taken him away from the forum.

Its a true loss, was a big fan of his work - I was reading his work when was he was just in his teens and myself just graduating from college...its unbelievable such young and accomplished patriots walked amongst us. Hoping that he has spurred many more with the insight that he provided. I chatted with him a few times via PM. Frankly it was because of folks like him and others that I tried to contribute by attending events, though in a much smaller way. I think first sighting of him on the Internet was the 2007 AeroIndia pics, at least I assumed it was him based on some of the photos.

My condolences to his family, and thank you for raising such a patriot and model for young India today. May his work live on and inspire others...God Bless.

I hope an acquaintance can forward these messages to his family to see the impact he had.
Last edited by AshokS on 28 Dec 2009 07:24, edited 2 times in total.
krishnan
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by krishnan »

I am totally shocked. Though i dont known him much, but always liked his articles and posts that he used to make.

R.I.P Bro
Dileep
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Dileep »

RIP Harry, the news shattered many things in my mind, including the image of a man in his thirties lugging his gear around mil hardware.

Yes, BR needs a B. Harry tribute page!
Mort Walker
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Mort Walker »

Wow! My condolences to his family and friends and its sad to see a young man of 23 years lost. My guess is that he may have had a congenital heart defect which went undetected and hope that his siblings have been tested.

I've been following Harry's post for quite a few years on BRF, but he stopped posting. I didn't see posts that looked the same so I figured he left BRF and was somewhere else now. How did K Mehta find out and why so late over two years since Harry's passing are we finding out?
Austin
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Austin »

Harry was gifted writer and a very knowledgeable person , his young age made him very special.

God Bless the departed young soul , My condolences to his family and friends :(
Last edited by Austin on 28 Dec 2009 09:16, edited 1 time in total.
RayC
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by RayC »

RIP, Harry
Nayak
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Nayak »

Sincerest condolences to the family. To lose such a talented individual who is all of 23 years only is too much of a shock. I always imagined him as a 40 year old wizened guy. To have been blessed with such enormous talent at such a young age, BRF was lucky to have him on board. A tragedy to lose a son at such a tender young age.

RIP Harry.
munna
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by munna »

Sad to see the news of another great poster passing away. :(
Prasad
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Prasad »

Such a sad mishap. RIP Harry!
Really wondered why he stopped posting all of a sudden. Like others, imagined him to be a veteran journalist or something but passing away at such a young age is a truly a saddening loss. I wish strength to his parents and family. Sad that we had to learn about it this late.
vcsekhar
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by vcsekhar »

This is very sad news.
I have been a passive participant on BR for a long time and have come across Harry's name many times in ref to his articles. I have read most of his articles that are quoted on the forum.
I was very surprised at his age, I too have been interested in military aviation for many years (since I was less than 10 years old) and have read all the books I could find on mil aviation. However, He really put things together from an indian perspective in his articles and put me straight on the LCA. I had read too many articles in the major papers about how bad the program was etc etc...

I now have a much better perspective on the project and was also able to interact with many people involved on the LCA development and gotten a better idea on the project and the problems that were faced throughout that most people do not know about. We need more people like him who can write good articles and publish them in the general media so that the general public is better informed about the state of our own projects. A great injustice is being done by our so called journalists (DDM ???) who run down indian achievements to further their own and outside arms developer agendas. Let us hope that some of the more knowledgeable people here take up the challenge and write some good articles like Harry and get them published in the popular newspapers.

He was already missed and will be missed in the future for sure. My sincere condolence to his family. Although this is so late in the day.
bodhi
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by bodhi »

RIP Harish.
ssaravanan
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by ssaravanan »

Words failed me on hearing this shocking news. I have been a passive member of this forum for quite some time and had the opportunity to read almost all of his articles. I was thinking that he has moved on in life and is active in some other forum. It is great loss to all of us. Hearing about his death after 2 long years is simply unimaginable at this age of internet and e-communication.
My condolences to his family and friends. RIP Sir.
andy B
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by andy B »

RIP Harry B...in your absence your tremendous contribution to Indian Defense Journalism and your brilliant articles will live on.
At 23 years of age your achievements are indeed very significant in the fields you choose. It was an absolute pleasure and privelage to read your work.
ArmenT
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by ArmenT »

RIP B. Harry.
Philip
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Philip »

What a loss!

Dear Harry,like a comet did you appear in our firmament,streaking across the horizon,showering us with your sparkling pics,posts and insight into India's aerospace and defence.You have now passed on,charting your way into the Cosmos leaving us mortals behind,stunned and saddened at your all to brief illumination,but with fond,wonderful memories of your light and lustre.Streak on dear soul!
SandeepA
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by SandeepA »

Didnt notice this thread till today.
RIP Harry...know that you were loved and respected in this little corner of the world called BR. We deserved more of you but fate decided otherwise..
I surf a lot on the BR fora and the name Harry was synonymous with that forum for a long time. Cant believe he last posted at midnight and passed away in the morning.
gashish
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by gashish »

RIP Harry! My condolences to his family. His age and cause of death are truly shocking.

Internet fora like BRF,Acig etc were probably important part of his young journalistic career..the cruelty of internet-era age is such that these very fora get the news 2 years after his death!
wig
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by wig »

i used to read his very informative posts and articles as a lurker. never guessed his age. tragic that such a gifted person had to leave at such a young age. May God Almightly Grant peace to the immortal soul and strength to cope with the loss to those he left behind
maitya
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by maitya »

RIP Harry.

You'll certainly be missed. :cry:
kit
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by kit »

I always imagined Harry to be a much older guy in his 40 s who was into professional military journalism.The quality of his writings and drawings are simply amazing.I would say its a lot better than most of the defense reporting i have ever come across.Indeed he would have been one of the best reporters out there.We have lost a great talent.My sincere and belated condolences to his family.RIP Harry.God bless your soul.
Why is this news in the Pakistan defense forum as well ?
kit
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by kit »

Rahul M wrote:some of his articles

The Radiance of Tejas (Published in Vayu Aerospace Review)
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/downl ... diance.pdf

Indian Naval Aviation - Part 1
http://s188567700.online.de/CMS/index.p ... &Itemid=47

Indian Naval Aviation - Part 2
http://s188567700.online.de/CMS/index.p ... &Itemid=47

I think this article is also by him. artwork is certainly his.
India's flying Testbeds
http://s188567700.online.de/CMS/index.p ... &Itemid=47

A complete collection of ACIG articles on Aero India 2005 (reduce the font size to read properly)
http://www.acig.org/exclusives/aero/Aero_India.htm

Chapter 13 on Tejas, a typical page from the list.
http://www.acig.org/exclusives/aero/acig_aero05_lca.htm

Photo feature on Tejas from AI-07. some images are dead, scroll down to the bottom for those that are still there.
http://www.acig.org/exclusives/LCA/ACIG ... Tejas.html

NAL Saras and HAL Jaguar DARIN-II (unfortunately all image links are dead)
http://www.acig.org/exclusives/saras/AC ... aguar.html

A feature on INS Viraat, in 5 parts
http://www.acig.org/exclusives/viraat/viraat_1.htm

===================
of course I can't possibly link to every possible golden nuggets of info that he posted here or on other forums. I may have missed some of the article as well.
all this before he was 23 ! hard to believe !
A great talent , Rahul., if ever there was one !

ps : I for one would be very happy to know if he is still alive ! Is that news source reliable ?
Rupesh
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Rupesh »

RIP Harry.
Jaeger
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Jaeger »

Truly unbelievable. His age, his knowledge, his passing. All unbelievable.

RIP B Harry.
Purush
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Re: RIP B Harry

Post by Purush »

What a tragic loss. :(
RIP, Harry.
We will miss you and your excellent posts. :(
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