Spy Story-2

[Rupesh]

thanks Dileep Saar....waiting 4 more

[Dileep]

The acoustic wave travels in water just like it does in air. It is a compression wave that moves forward. The ‘bubble’ like sensor offers a discontinuity in density, hence trapping the energy of the wave. The wavefront that appear would be almost flat, and it hits the circular section of the sensor. The area of the sensor that is furthest gets hit by the compression first. This creates a wave of its own that propagates along the surface of the membrane. This surface is curved, and the wave travels over the curved path. Meanwhile the original wave in water continue to advance, proceeding around the curvature.

The interference between them differs under different radius of curvature. It was simple once the right direction was pointed out.

Compared to the time already spent on this, it only took a little more time to arrive at computational models of the wave mechanics, and predict the response of the cell, given its wall characteristics and geometry. This enabled them to use any of the moulded cells, and use the computational model to obtain scale factors for the readings.

This also helped in the issue of limited bandwidth. The sensor cell could be tuned for a wide range of frequencies by adjusting the air pressure within. All you need is the characterization data of the cell, namely thickness, idle circumference and measured elastic modulii. The computational models calculated the pressure needed.

A controller that drove a set of solenoid valves could set the pressure to any value, so the sensor was made capable of scanning the frequency over a wide range.

[Dileep]

The sensor cells were still being made in-house using tread rubber. It had its own problems, including low yield and inaccuracies. It was very difficult to fabricate consistent cells, and the cells themselves deteriorated by use. The characteristics changed as the cells are cycled through the tests. A better material was needed.

The properties required for the new material was set down. It should be possible to be fabricated into a toroidal shell. It should be impervious to air and water, and withstand prolonged immersion in salt water. It should have a very well controlled elastic modulii, and the plastic deformity should be negligible.

Specifications and RFQs went out to different organizations. Most didn’t show any interest in developing something. Some had the courtesy to inform that they didn’t have any such material. Some offered to import it from abroad, without even realizing that it is not an off the shelf item.

Yasser seriously started thinking about developing it themselves. He even visited a few places that did research in rubber and polymer. It was not really instilling confidence.

Then a team member told him about a company that made golf balls for export. It was a small factory in the export park not too far. The owner is a US returned local, who got a plant set up for his ex employer.

Yasser talked to him. “Anything for the country” was his reply.

[Dileep]

Golf is the most scientifically researched sport. Despite the abundance of hoaxes and scams, if you claim that your ball or club will give you an additional yard of distance, rich men will buy them from you.

The game of Golf itself is simple. You hit a ball with a stick, and get it to fall into a hole in the ground that is far far away from where you start. The lesser the number of hits to do that, the better your game it. In competitive game, the person who cover the eighteen holes in a lesser number of hits, wins. It is a game of the rich, primarily men. They will pay any amount for a ball of a club that is likely to improve their game.

More for bragging, than actually improving the game.

Hence the manufacture of balls and clubs became a big business. Millions of dollars are being spent every year to find new ways of making them, to improve the distance and accuracy of the shot. New materials, new manufacturing technologies and new processes.

And a lot of scams too. You can’t disect a ball and see if it was really made of the “high tension” rubber from the special plantations in Brazil. Nor you can possibly measure the ‘patented’ back kick of the specilly grown wood used to make the club.

M. B. Sports didn’t take part in those scams. It was a subcontractor to Resilience Inc, the manufacturer of professional grade golf balls, located in Burbank, California. The owner, Ramakrishnan, was a polymer scientist, who helped inventing the polymer compound that made their balls fly farther. He owned part of Resilience by means of the generous stock options, and when he expressed his desire to return to India, the owners of the company asked him to start a facility and manage it locally.

Ramakrishnan always joked that the expansion of the name of his company was “Monkey Balls”. Only those close to him knew that it was in fact Maracheril Bhanumathi, the maiden name of his mother.

[Dilbu]

Thanks Dileep saar. Waiting for more.

[Dileep]

Yasser met Ramakrishnan at his office inside the factory of M. B. Sports. He and Sasidharan, his colleague who had made the introduction were sitting in the small conference room. The girl in the front office had set them up there, with an apologetic “MD will be here in a moment sir” and vanished. The room was simple, with a table and chair that was a standard product from Godrej. A whiteboard was built into the partition wall. The only object that attracted some curiosity was the easel with a stack of poster paper on the side.

Someone knocked on the door and entered. Yasser and Sasi rose to face the man. Yasser was surprised to no extent.

A slender man, of around 50 years of age, came in with a wide, brilliant smile. He was wearing a traditional mundu, and a half sleeved shirt. His fair complexion is enhanced by the brightness and energy radiating from his clean shaven face. The simplicity and the elegance thereof spread a very calming air around the person. He folded the hands and made the traditional greeting “Namaskaaram”.

Yasser instinctively returned the same salute, and introduced himself in the local language. English seemed so inappropriate with the man.

While they sat and exchange pleasantries, Yasser was still wondering if this was the same man, who had a PhD in polymer science from Berkeley, and spent a decade and a half in the USA. The local language in its pure form, with no trace of any accent, flowed easily from him, while the technical terms came in English of perfect California accent.

Yasser outlined his needs. He felt a bit of reluctant to seek the help of the man. Ramakrishanan made it easy for him by promising to get back to him in three days.

Ramakrishnan ended their meeting with an invitation for Yasser to his home. He lived in his ancestral property not too far away. Yasser felt almost guilty that he would not be able to invite him to his office.

[Sanku]

Since you asked Dileep, feedback -- its great, do your thing that works out the best, the science looks very plausible too (I did not double check) -- is this a actual known method for measuring low frequency harmonics (not exactly but roughly)?

If that is correct science as well -- of course you are measuring a repeated sound in this scenario, so the response of the inflated polymer in water to a repeated wave would be different from one off sound. Would you also like to build in this difference in the sci part of your story description? Or is it already built in?

[Dileep]

Sanku, thanx.

I wrote the science because it seemed plausible to myself, and the swimming pool event actually did happen to me. I have absolutely no clue if it is being used in any form in reality.

The repeated sound will have effect, only if the natural frequency of the cell is near equal to the inverse period of the pattern. I hadn't thought about it till you mentioned it. I have only analyzed the single event.

One funny thing about the cell is that it has two sensing mechanisms. The primary one is the wave transfer on the polymer wall. the secondary one is the compression of the air mass. The former is based on the pressure differential, and the latter on the absolute pressure.

I broke my head on the engineering issues of building a pressure controller. None of it seemed useable for a story.

The science part is kind of finalized now, but I am not discounting the chance of including this idea as well.

[Sanju]

Dileep,
Very well done. It has been over 20 years since I ran away from Physics or anything to do with the Physical properties of material objects - but even I am compelled to read it. Its that interesting.
And "Onaashamsagal" to and your family. Make good use of the holiday (by writing more of this )!
Jai Hind,
Sanju

[Dileep]

The third day, Yasser received an e-mail from Dr. Ramakrishnan. He believed that he might be able to make some suggestion of materials. But there was a catch.

Some of the materials would need end use certification. Since he knew it was for use by NRE, he will not be able to buy it through his organization. Secondly, he can not use the equipment in his plant to do any manufacturing, because it is owned by Resilience. The testing lab, however, belongs to him, and that can be used.

Yasser greatly appreciated the honest approach of the man. He agreed to get the materials through the regular channels of DRDO. They still would have to find equipment to do the fabrication though.

Then there was the small question of commercials. Yasser had a limited freedom to hire external consultants, and a still limited budget. When he ventured into the subject, Ramakrishnan made a hearty laugh, and said.

“You can’t probably afford me. So, forget about money.” Then he added half jokingly. “I would be glad if you can get an autograph from your ex big boss.”

The ex boss was now occupied the highest office in the country. Ramakrishnan has no misgiving that the director of an insignificant unit of DRDO would have any means to get one. It was an innocent joke.

In due course, Ramakrishnan provided the exacting combination and process of making a cocktail of polymers, and the tooling and production details on how to do the fabrication to achieve the set requirements of thickness and modulii.

A few weeks later, a thick envelope arrived at the office of M. B. Sports. It contained a personal letter addressed to Dr. Ramakrishnan, thanking him and appreciating his service to the country, printed on stationery that held the golden seal of the highest office, and signed by the occupant himself.

[VikB]

.....
A few weeks later, a thick envelope arrived at the office of M. B. Sports. It contained a personal letter addressed to Dr. Ramakrishnan, thanking him and appreciating his service to the country, printed on stationery that held the golden seal of the highest office, and signed by the occupant himself.

Saar, this is brilliant. The last line had the desired effect of giving the goose bumps. Science/knowledge combined with writing skills is great combo. Just awesome. Thank you.

[Dileep]

The cells made using the material and processes recommended by Dr. Ramakrishnan worked like a charm. But soon enough, another problem surfaced.

The piezo sensors were still being attached to the cells using glue. After they moved to the new polymer cells, the glues didn’t stick well. They tried different glues. Some stuck well, but they interfered with the expansion of the membrane. The elastic ones never stuck on the cell.

Yasser had to get back to Dr. Ramakrishnan on that. What he asked for was a glue, but when the purpose was explained, he had to mention that he is sticking a PVDF strip onto the cell wall. Ramakrishnan suggested a co moulding setp to build the PVDF strip right into the cell wall.

Yasser had to find his piezoelectric expert who had been transferred out, and bring him for a few days to work with Dr. Ramakrishnan.

PVDF did not have piezoelectric properties when fabricated. They need to be stretched, or subjected to electrostatic field for it to attain the property. The process used till now was to make the strip by applying a solution of the polymer onto a glass sheet and drying it. The deposited film is then heated in an oven keeping between two electrodes, which are subject to extra high static charges from a Van De Graf Generator. The heating made the polymer to soften, and the charge oriented the molecules in the proper direction.

If the PVDF is co-moulded, the static charge need to be applied when it is formed. This was a tough process. Also, the machines that can do the co moulding was not available in India.

Another problem was the electrodes. Both sides of the PVDF film needed to have electrodes to connect to the sensing circuit. If the PVDF is co-moulded, this would not be possible.

Finally a new scheme was arrived at. The PVDF strip, with printed electrodes, will be ultrasonic brazed to the shell. Four extra holes had to be added to the toroid, but that was a small price to pay.

[armenon]

PVDF,Van De Graf Generator,ultrasonic brazed,toroid

Holy Cow.. where do u come up with such gems. Initially i had a nagging suspicion that you keep all the buzzwords separate and after the paragraph is complete , you will add it to the mix and shake well. Now i am reading this with a search engine window open side by side. It takes sometime this way but adds to the joy of reading. Jolly good.. Please continue..

[Dileep]

I have manufactured PVDF Piezo devices. I have been electrified by a Van de Graf generator. I have designed many toroids. I have used ultrasonic brazing.

Al firsthand info onlee..

[Dileep]

With the new polymer cells with brazed sensors, most of the problem were solved. It was seen that by proper process control while fabricating, much of the complicated characterization steps could be eliminated. This reduced the cycle time for the tests and data collection.

The next challenge was to get the sensor working under various depths. The obvious thing to do is to increase the pressure of the air within to balance out the water pressure. But it was not that simple.

The first thing was that the gain and frequency response characteristics of the system changed with the change of pressure. However, this was predictable from the computational models. With the addition of a transducer that measured the water pressure at the location of the sensor, the computer could accurately control the air pressure, maintaining the frequency tracking..

But the bigger issue was the rate of change.

A submarine goes up and down in the water. The pressure changes when it does. The pressure also changes with water temperature. The sensor cell is a delicate object. If the inner pressure is too high, it will burst. If it is too low, it will get crushed and crumpled. In both cases, it will be distroyed.

When his colleagues brought him a burst open cell, complaining that they took it out ‘slowly enough’, Yasser knew he had a problem.

[Dileep]

There were not too many choices to solve the problem of protecting the sensor from extreme pressure changes. The sensor cell itself don’t offer much options. It need to be a flexible and elastic bubble. The only way to protect it is to shield it from the pressure.

The obvious thing to do is to mount the sensor in a water tight box, and close the box before any drastic movement is made. After it reaches another stable point, the pressure inside could be slowly changed to match that of the environment.

But the effect of the box on the wave that is being sensed need to be considered. The experiments had been being conducted in water that is free all around. If you are going to use this sensor in a submarine, you need to think about mounting and protecting it.

To begin with, the sensor was mounted in a cylindrical box, made by welding a sheet onto a section of steel pipe. It was mounted in the pool and a test was run.

Obviously, that failed.

Meanwhile, the computational modeling team had developed the software to run simulations. It started with an infinite plane behind the sensor. Anything within a diameter of the sensor was causing interference in the readings.

They have tried various shapes, including an array of pyramids. That too didn’t work the way they wanted.

Meanwhile, the idea is raised that the sensor is more or less like a sound system, so the design elements of loudspeaker enclosures, especially sub woofers, could give some ideas. That was followed up in earnest by some of the team members.

Finally, the solution came from the sea itself. From the mollusc family.

Research literature shown that the the shape of a conch shell is an ideal sound matching device. The chamber would be in the shape of a cone, and it will be would around in a spiral. This was successfully being used in speakers.

They decided to try it. A shape was moulded using fibre glass material. It was mounted on the backside of the old cylindrical pipe. The sensor was mounted in front and the system tested.

They got response remarkably better than the other tries, but not anywhere close to the original ones. This mechanism was named “Paanchajanyam” by the scientist who built it, in reference to the conch of Lord Krishna. And the name got stuck.

One improvement was suggested, inspired by the scene from a TV program on the coral reefs. It had shown the numerous tentacles of the Anemones swaying in the flowing water. This mechanism was expected to absorb the wave energy. A big roll of surgical rubber tube was procured, and pieces of that were painstakingly stitched onto pieces of canvas. The inside of ‘Paanchajanyam” was lined with this canvas. With this improvement, the response became good enough for use.

The basic design of the sensor was made, as a cylindrical section of steel pipe, with a ‘Panchajanyam’ in the rear. The sensor cell will be mounted close to the open mouth of the pipe. Signal and air connections will be taken out through grommets on the pipe body.

The engineering of adapting this to the architecture of the ship was left to its designers. For testing purposes, a simple box was constructed that housed the entire sensor assembly. A watertight door in the front protected the sensor from pressure changes.

A set of guidelines was developed for the safe operation of the sensor.

1. The sensor to be operated between near surface to 100M depth only.
2. It should be open to the sea only when the ship is stopped.
3. It should be closed watertight before moving, or changing the depth. The door should be opened only after the automatic pressure controller self-adjusts.

And the system was officially cleared for testing in open waters.

[Dileep]

The Net

Nasser was a bit surprised seeing the customers who walked into his shop. The man was wearing short khakis and a sleeveless top. The woman was wearing skin tight black capris and a tight fitting sleeveless top of red silk. She was carrying a baby around 2 years. All had round, yellowish face with narrow slits of eyes.

The Manipuri Bhais, which is the name given by the local people to the migrants from the north east states, are all single and young. He has never seen a couple from that lot. For a moment, he thought they maybe Chinese tourists, but that was laid to rest when they spoke to him in Hindi.

Nasser helped them with selection of clothing they wanted, while the salesmen, and some of the other customers ogled at the woman, whose parts of the body were desperately trying to get out of the silk top. It was similar to the gowns sold at the Chinese craft shops. It looked pretty good on the yellowish fair skin of the woman. She was wearing makeup, which was getting a bit washed out by the ample prespiration. She definitely appeared to be affected by the severe heat outside, and relished the air conditioned inside of the shop.

She seemed to ignore the ogling, and went busy selecting salwar sets, after handing over the child to her husband. Salesmen too busy looking at the new spectacle, ignored the other customers. The women customers felt angry and guilt, while the men seemed not to mind the bad service at all.

Migrants with mongoloid features were not uncommon at the place. Initially people called them ‘Chinese’ but later realized that they are from the north-east states of the country, so the moniker ‘Manipuri Bhai’ was given to them, irrespective whether they came from Manipur or not. There was a little confusion on what to call the womenfolk. Some who knew the use of gender used Manipuri Kutti, but decided the former to be in fact gender neutral.

They were not the first of the migrant population.

Initially it was the labourers from Tamil Nadu that flocked to the city. They took over the difficult and dirty manual labour, like moving dirt and digging ditches. The construction boom provided more employment, so people from other states, especially Orissa, Bihar and West Bengal also came. The latest addition was the people from the north-east

They did not take up manual labour. They took jobs in shops and eateries. They manned hair salons. They went as tourist guides and drivers. They rented better places to live, and wore clean clothes. They carried themselves a bit above the people from other states, who did manual labour and lived in shanties.

People liked to employ the Manipuri Bhais, because they worked well, and did not create headaches. Most were young boys, but they carried themselves well in the social setup. So, they did not have problem in basic things like renting a house or getting store credit. They paid their dues in time, and supported local economy. Mobile stores sprang up. Vegrtable stores started carrying new items. The fish vendors sourced freshwater fish.

In a nutshell, people liked the Manipuri Bhais.

While chatting with the couple, Nasser found out that the man has just joined a software company, and his wife is planning to open a dress boutique.

“Manipuri Bhais are taking over”. He joked to his assistant.

But there were people who saw that not as a joke.

[Dileep]

Almost an year ago, a report from the intelligence wing of the state police had reached the office of the agency. This was about the increased migrant population at the City. The focus if that was the people from Bengal, and the some Bangaldeshis joining as well. If anything uncommon happens, the first response is to look for involvement of the neighbours to the west, and the religion they claim to represent. Bangladeshis had been under the magnifier for a long time, and more than a few of them congregated at any place would make the flags go up by default. The seizure of explosives, the apprehension of local lads in Kashmir, and allegations that terror trainings were being conducted in the state all made the filed sources jittery about the Bangaldeshis.

But the report also mentioned the numbers of the north-east people, as a matter of statistics.

Some of the more paranoiacs in the agency maintained that if China want to put some probes around, they could use a backdrop of people who look like them. In fact, this coer strategy had been known to be used at some areas in the past. So, at least some in the agency maintained the view that the congregation of the north-east people should also be watched. The poor folk who goes there for the prospects of better jobs and better lives, might be unknowingly aiding the sinister plans of the enemy.

They had set entries in the linguistic filters to trap any report with matching attributes. They were not happy with what they saw.

But not everyone shared this view. They contended that China don’t need that kind of a cover to work their interests. They believed that the normal channels of counter-intelligence is sufficient, and no special action is to be taken on this.

But upon insistence from the hawks, a compromise was reached. It was agreed to move some of their own hands down there to mingle with the crowd and keep a watch.

And one of them saw “Adung Takhom" and his family go shopping for clothes. He knew the guy, and he knew it means trouble.

[Dileep]

“Adung Takhom has landed” was the message that reached the northeast desk in the ‘agency’. This simple message has stirred a hornet’s nest there. A meeting was called with the big boss, and the people who handled the northeast, south, and southeast regions.

Adung Takhom had been tagged six months ago. He didn’t leave enough trails to take any action yet, so the agency was just keeping track of him. He is believed to be working on the militray formations around, while doing a cover job as a software engineer in Imphal. His wife seemed to be also involved in the ‘business’. He was known to be a very smart operative. The only mistake he did was to make one trip too many to China, which alerted the ‘agency’. A basic check started stinking a bit, and he was under the glass ever since.

It was known that he was moving. At last the confirmation come from the field hands in the City that he has, in fact arrived and seem to be setting up a home there.

There were only two possibilities. Either he is running, after learning that he was tagged. Or he got a new assignment.

The man who handled the southern region told in a confident voice that it must be the latter. He was monitoring a lot of ‘chatter in mandarin’, which is the term used for communication by the Chinese spies, in the area.

“But what is there of interest in City? What could be he looking at?” Asked the guy from north-east.

“Well, there is the Naval station. And there is the DRDO unit. Lot of IT companies are also there. Then there is an ISRO unit around”.

“Forget the IT companies. We are not paid to protect them. Navy have their ‘intelligence’, and we don’t interfere there either. Ask the DRDO and ISRO guys if they have anything of interest going on there.” Said the big boss. He rose to end the meeting.

“Oh, and plan to find someone who can spar with that Adung guy meanwhile. I feel we might see a game or two there” He added as they walked out.

[Dileep]

Link to The Past*

The jewel of the middle east was loosing its luster. The huge machinery at what was termed as the world’s biggest construction site was being rendered silent one by one. The humans who made them run, mainly people from the poorer parts of Asia, suddenly found that their own little dreams are being crushed along with the big grandiose ones of the men in white robes who visited their workplace in their chauffeured bentleys. An exodus, which has not found any mention in the media who are more worried about the love life of bollywood stars, had begun. Villages and small towns, far far away from the place, felt the pains. Families were being re-united with their men, but instead of cries of happiness, wails of pain and anguish about an uncertain future marked those meetings. Men came back to homes almost empty, without the customary crowd of relatives. The big suitcases filled with gifts were also absent. They sat with their eyes focussed at infinity, instead of going through the hectic schedule of family visits.

They were back home, trying to pick up pieces of their shattered dreams and lives themselves.

Most of them were skilled labourers, trained in modern techniques of construction. Some were welders. Some were aluminium fabricators. Some were joiners who made interior furnishing. There were electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians.

But the jobs they could get at or near their native place was limited. As a small comfort, the economy of their country had not suffered major setbacks, and construction field had suffered only a small setback. Some did get jobs at those sites, but the influx of people was much more than what the local industry could absorb.

A dullness has fallen, and stuck, around the regions where most of these people hailed from. Shops that depended upon their money had to close. The colourful boards and flexos that adored their facades got torn. The stock of imported sweets, and such expensive groceries caught dust, and went way past expiry dates. Computers used to do billing were never turned on.

*Remember Spy Story – 1?

[H.B.Krishna]

Hi Dileep,

The scenario is top class ! I relish Shankarosky's and Vivek(s). Yours is a different genre altogether, with lots of technology stuff. Enjoying every bit of it !

Adi poli saare

[Dileep]

As the fortunes of the big city that was in a reckless race to be the world’s playground waned, it was those businesses that depended upon the construction activity that suffered first. Labour contractors, food suppliers, transportation operators, even laundry operators suffered. The lucky ones with some business relationships outside the real estate boom had managed to keep themselves afloat. Many were not as lucky.

Muhammad Ali, who owned one such outfit was a worried man. He was the active partner of a firm that ran laundry and cleaning services to various concerns in the city. He had joined the line of business a decade ago, as a helper who sorted out the incoming dirty clothes. With his enthusiasm, honesty, and uncanny ability to attract anyone with his way of pleasant conversation, he has moved up, and when his mentor, who owned the concern wanted to move out, bought a part of the business and became the active partner. Mustafa, the original owner, still remained a partner, but he was focussing his other businesses.

Muhammad Ali had taken advantage of the construction boom in many ways. Apart from extending his laundry and cleaning services, he has also helped his brothers-in-law to become owners of labour supply companies, who got workers from his native place for the construction sites. Business was good, as the fronds of the palm shaped islands took shape, and the tallest building in the world went up.

And it all comes back to bite him now.

Not only the contracts of his own company has shrunk, but the companies of his brothers-in-law are wiped out almost overnight. Being a good man he was, the fact that all those young men whom he helped to bring in are jobless now, hung like a heavy weight on him. Even his own brothers-in law, the husbands of his sisters, are out of job and out of business now. His own company has shrunk a lot, so there is no way he can accommodate anyone.

Thinking about the problems apparently doesn’t solve any of them. His office in the basement of the big warehouse was almost deserted. The machines that hummed 24 hours, cleaning the dirt left by the luxury of the city, are all silent. The high capacity systems he got installed can now handle the entire load in half a shift. The silence, broken only by the hum of the air conditioner, and the fans of the computer on the table of his assistant, seemed unbearable.

Muhammad Ali decided to pay a visit to an old accomplice, who was his boss on a side job he did some time back.

[Rahul M]

Even his own brothers-in law, the husbands of his brothers

[Dileep]

Even his own brothers-in law, the husbands of his brothers

Thanks for pointing out, but given the region and community he comes from, can't say even that could be too far fetched.

Post edited.

[Dileep]

The lady who ‘manned’ the front desk at the small office in Al Hamria is known to Muhammad Ali. She was there when he first went there. The only change was the reddish hue in her hair, and the increased harshness in her manners. Still, she was friendly with Ali. No one could help otherwise. She even seemed a bit happy about seeing him, as she made a casual “hows things” in the language they shared.

The office looked a little bit on the gloomy side, like most businesses are at the moment. The front office seems deserted. Earlier there used to be a host of people who come for something or other. Phones used to ring often, but now, it is all gone. Even the water fountain looked gloomy, with the pet bottle looking more frosted than transparent.

Without asking him, the lady pushed a button on her console, whispered something into the handset of the pbx, listened and nodded to Ali to go right in.

Anil Nambiar sat behind the same desk as usual, with a bright grin, welcoming his old colleague, and forever friend. Muhammad Ali was one of the best field hands he ever had, and it was not with some reluctance that he let him go from his service. Ali has served him, and his country, well, and when he wanted to build his business, Anil couldn’t say no. They still kept in touch, and Ali’s local contacts, and remarkable acumen in figuring out people has helped Anil in several occasions in the past.

But a visit from Ali was a bit surprising to Anil. He hardly ever did that, except when he gave Anil a lead that led to the foiling of a major terror attack on a city. The memory of that sent a chill down Anil’s spine.

“Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. I just felt like meeting you” was Ali’s answer. Anil noticed the lack of the normally cheerful tinge in his voice, and he let the fact known to Ali.

Ali went on talking about his troubles, interspersing it with other newsbits, and his own consolations that all is not bad. Meanwhile, tea and biscuits were served and consumed.

“I too am leaving the place soon Ali”, told Anil.

“Why is that? Fed up with the place?” smiled Ali, thinking that the bad times had caught up with the organization as well.

“Well, that too, but head office wants me transferred.”

“Where to? China?” Ali made a feeble try of a joke. To be truthful, he was a bit shocked on the news.

“No. China already have plenty of people. I am going back home.” Anil said with a sly smile.

“Home? You mean Tellicherry?” Ali knew where Anil hailed from.

“No. the Big City. Where I grew up”.

“What is there for you to do? Isn’t the place well covered?” It didn’t make sense to Ali.

“That is true. Maybe I am getting a punishment transfer, because my work here was not good.” Anil said half jokingly. He was in fact not happy with himself recently, especially after the big ‘event’ that happened at Mumbai. It was not really his failure. He missed a day acting upon some unimportant case, which accidentally yielded valuable information that came a day too late to foil the attack. Even though there was no indication that it would have helped anyway, Anil couldn’t help taking blame on that.

“No. That is not possible” Ali interjected earnestly. He liked Anil, and had great regard for his work and abilities. “Maybe there is something serious going on there”.

“I hope so”. Sighed Anil. He had to report to Delhi to meet his boss. He hasn’t met good old O.P. for some time now. O.P. Hadn’t indicated anything, positive or negative about the change. He just asked Anil to meet him.

“When do you leave?” Asked Ali.

“I haven’t decided yet. I will fly to Delhi tomorrow to see the boss. Further action I will decide after that”.

They continued to chat for some time. Ali forgot all about his own troubles, and indulged in the discussion of shifting the home of Anil. He forcefully volunteered to take care of everything, and to send his cousin up from Malappuram to help Anil set up his place in City. This was vehemently opposed, but there was no convincing of Ali.

The friends parted at last, with Ali giving a hug to Anil. Both the men had moist eyes, but tried hard not to show it.

[Dileep]

Formation

A sensor doesn’t make a weapon system. It is just a component.

Everything comes down to the objective. What helps or enables a commander to execute the mission to achieve the objective is the system that matters. You can have a sensor that can detect and track a formation 200 km away, but unless it presents the information in a timely and comprehensible manner to the commander, it has no use.

The Extreme Low Frequency Acoustic (ELFA) sensor was no different. It was shown to be capable of detecting slow moving vessels, that are impossible to be detected using passive sonar. But it has a lot of miles to cover before it can be actually made into a useable system. The sensors need to be integrated to the hull. Hardware had to be designed and manufactured to military specifications. There was a lot of engineering to be done.

The small facility of NRE was not capable of executing any of those. Once the demonstration of target detection was complete, plans were made to proceed with ‘weaponization’, with a target of operationalization in the new indigenous submarine.

NRE had no skills or capability in designing or manufacturing a weapon system. All they had was the sensors, PC based instrumentation cards that processed the received signals, and a cluster of PCs running the algorithm intensive detection software. All those equipment was laboratory grade commercial off the shelf product. That is not going to work in the real application. Someone need to make system design, from the military qualified processing platforms, to the rugged consoles suitable for shipboard use. And all those need to be manufactured as well.

And that too by the time the new submarine, that didn’t even exist as per official position, is launched.

The bigger organization in the outskirts of the City was tasked with design of the instrumentation units. This would go into one or more LRUs. The choice for the DSP, Data Processor(DP) and Graphics Processor (GP) design was given to the legacy sources of DRDO.

An open architecture was already in place for the regular Sonar systems under development. Specifications existed for the common Multi Function Display, and its Graphics engine. No separate GP was needed. Several DPs can talk to the GP over a 10G Ethernet network, and display the information on the MFDs. This protocol was flexible and also extensible to fit the needs of the ELFA system. Real design was needed for the DSP and DP alone.

The design specifications given out to the other units were very carefully prepared so as to provide no indication of the underlying technologies. The name ELFA itself was classified ‘taboo’. The official name for the project was “High Frequency Sonar” (HFS). Unlike the term ATV that everyone knew, ELFA had successfully maintained its secrecy.

NRE was expected to build the sensors, including the “Panchajanyam”, the cell with the piezo strips, and the pressure enclosure that houses them. The flaring on the enclosure was designed to interface with an opening on the hull. A pair of hydraulic actuators were provided to link to the cover that would close the enclosure to protect the sensor. The covers themselves were the responsibility of the hull fabricator.

A small team of mechanical designers were moved from the ATV team into NRE to work on the enclosure. They brought in expertise and domain knowledge from the target platform, so that the design could progress smoothly.

Meanwhile, effort was underway in refining the algorithms to improve the detection characteristics. Even though the development had progressed a lot, the Navy had not really ‘bought’ the idea yet. For that NRE had to demonstrate that their device could reliably detect and track a submarine at a distance of 20 NM.

Yasser gladly took the challenge.

[Dileep]

12-July-2008

INS Agatti was back after another stay at the dry dock across the channel. The spider legs, after some modification to them, were back on her. The superstructure is modified. The quarter deck is extended by several metres, and nice looking interiors were done at that space. A new coat of paint was given, but that turned up to be a feeble attempt, and the ship looked like the ageing movie stars trying to look younger. She had been going on test missions in the past few months, but today it is different.

This time, she was going to host more number of dignitaries. Apart from the men who participated in the earlier demo, it will also have the Naval Chief, the commanding officer of the naval command, and the top guys from DRDO. There were also people from the other DRDO units that participate in the project. It was the formal demonstration of the new ELFA (known as HFS) system.

NRE had taken the challenge of detecting a submarine at 20NM range. They had been working on that, refining the processing and detection algorithms. INS Vagli, a Foxtrot class submarine, was moved to station to serve as a test target. Initially, she spent time in the harbour, while the NRE team took measurements. After the Agatti came back from retrofit, test missions were ran, with unknown results. The date for the demo was fixed earlier, given the need for the availability of the dignitaries. It was unclear whether the system is really ready or not.

Yasser Ayoobi was at the centre of the spotlight, and he used his smile, peeking from behind the ample facial hair as an answer. But people close to him knew that he was tense from his body language. The small group from NRE, consisting of Yasser himself, and a few select others, were expected to board the ship half an hour before the dignitaries did. Yasser went to his room around half an hour before that.

When his assistant entered his room to remind him about the time. He found the man, kneeling on the small carpet, deep in prayer. He was sweating a bit, despite the air conditioning.

[Dileep]

It was close to an hour after Agatti had came to position at the usual place, which is around 20NM from the shore, around 5NM to the north of the shipping channel. The sensor are all put into position by extending the spider legs. The NRE team was working on the system for some time.

The navy brass were housed in one of the new cabins, and the DRDO guys in the other. Lt. Commander Vikas Sonde, the commander of Agatti took good care of his senior officers and the other guests. The bar was well stocked, and the navy brass were a happy lot by that. The happy bunch of old boys didn’t really care much about the time.

The DRDO team, on the other hand, were not so happy. Most hated going to the sea, and wanted to finish the mission and get to land. As time passed they started expressing their pessimism as well. The fact that much of them were kept in the dark didn’t help the attitude either.

Finally, the call came that the system is ready to demo. The dignitaries and others went to the room where the equipment was kept. There was a projector this time, which currently showed the background screen of the system. After everyone was assembled in the tight space, Yasser took a step forward and turned to the Naval Chief.

“Permission to start the Demo, Sir”. A hushed laughter went up in the room. Strangely, the Admiral was not amused by this. Maybe he was irritated by this little civilian imitating a Naval tradition.

“OK, Go ahead”, was the reply. Yasser was a bit taken aback with that.

His assistant clicked something, and the magnified image of the screen came up on the projector. A vector display was on screen, along with a window with textual information.

Code: Select all

S# ID      Dist   Bearing  Speed Vector Conf
1  FOX     25     200      1.2   180    100%
2  SURFH   18     240      4.8   100    NA
3  SURFL    8     120      6.3   100    NA

“The Vagli is at 25 NM, bearing 200 Sir” Yasser said in a matter of fact tone.

The Admiral nodded, and looked at the commander of the Agatti.

“That is affirmative, Sir” was the reply.

Everyone, except the top naval brass, clapped, but it died down after noticing the serious countenances of the Admirals.

The base commander made a gesture with his face to the commander of the ship. He bowed and exited the room.

“How long does it take for the information to update?” Asked the Admiral.

“Right now, every minute, Sir”. Yasser answered.

“Let us watch it then.” The Admiral went back to his serious face. Everyone else looked quizzically. The man who operated the console whispered something to Yasser. He nodded and shown the gesture with the little finger, meaning ‘wait’.

It took two and a half minutes to figure out what is going on. The text on the window changed to

Code: Select all

S# ID      Dist   Bearing  Speed Vector Conf
1  FOX     25     200      10.4   130    100%
2  SURFH   18     240      4.8   100    NA
3  SURFL    8     120      6.3   100    NA

“The Vagli is speeding up and turning, Sir”. Yasser reported with a sly smile.

The Admiral made a broad smile, took a step forward, and shook Yasser’s hand.

Applause reverberated in the room.

Yasser lifted his right hand. As the room fell silent, he said.

“There is a bit more, Sir”

The Admiral seemed a bit startled.

[Mihir.D]

Yasser lifted his right hand. As the room fell silent, he said.

“There is a bit more, Sir”

The Admiral seemed a bit startled.

Please give us the "bit more" now

[Dileep]

Yasser motioned to his assistant. He clicked another button, on which some text was already printed out.

Code: Select all

Heuristic Target Identification Analysis..
Target Params:
Target ID: 18
Distance: 13 NM
Bearing: 340
Hull Speed: 3 KNOTS
Screw: 7 Element
Screw Rot: 4.2

Time Domain Parameters:
Bow: 0
Discontinuity 1 : 33s : 22 Metres
Discontinuity 2 : 51s : 33 Metres
Chaff 1: 98s : 64 Metres
Screw: 110s : 72 Metres
Stern: Undetected.

No surface turbulence detected.
No radiation detected.
END.

“We found an interesting target around, so we ran the heuristic analysis tool on that target. The user interface is not yet done. We only have numerical data.”. Yasser spoke directly to the Admiral, with his eyes in direct lock with the Admiral’s.

“As you can see it is 13 NM away, bearing 340. It is moving at 3 knots. Its hull is no longer than 72 metres in length, and there is a feature that disrupts the flow in the middle. It is 11 metres long, and placed at 22 metres aft of the bow.” Yasser paused for a moment. He saw the admiral’s green tinted iris start to expand, and a smile begin to appear at the corner of his lips.

Yasser withdrew his gaze from the admiral, and looked around, at the eager faces. Then he said, with a delebrately de-emphasised tone.

“And it is ‘submerged’, according to the turbulence reading.

The room broke out in gasps.

[Dileep]

The room reverberated with clapping from a single pair of hands. The Admiral was clapping ina delebrate manner. He took a step forward, turned around and faced Lt. Cmdr Sonde.

“Vikas, my boy. What do you make of this?”

“I beg your pardon, Sir?” He was startled.

“Which vessel is 72 metres long, has seven blade screw, and can be submerged?”

“Sir, A Kilo, if I am not mistaken.”. A smile started to appear on his face.

“And do you know if any of them being around?” The Admiral was visibly excited.

“The SindhuVijay, Sir”. Vikas finally understood what is going on.

“To hell with dramatics!!” The Admiral turned to a visibly shaken Yasser. “Congratulations Mr. Ayoobi. You hit the bull’s eye on both tests”. He shook hands with Yasser, and then his team. The room burst into laughter and applause. The DRDO top guys shook hands among themselves and congratulated each other.

“Both tests, Sir?” Yasser couldn’t help asking.

“Yes. Since Vijay was here on a visit, I asked her to be loitering around, just to see if your gizmo will pick her up. To tell you the truth, I didn’t believe for a moment that you could.”

When they were back in the cabin, the Naval Chief exclaimed to the base commander. “Would you believe it? A Kilo at 13 NM!! That too going at 3 knots. Do you know what it means?”

And both men drank to their heart’s content on the finest whiskey the galley offered.

[RamaY]

Great scenario and brilliant write-up Dileep-ji. Kudos!

[ramana]

Dileep, In the next episodes can you add more details like the whiskey brand, the type of glasses, pewter or crystal etc.

[Dileep]

Dileep, In the next episodes can you add more details like the whiskey brand, the type of glasses, pewter or crystal etc.

Didn't get it

[Sanju]

I think what Ramana meant was that more details on the type of Whisky ( Single Malt, Double Malt), Brand (Peter Scott or McDowells), mugs (standard steel mugs military issue or cut stem glasses). IOW adding specifics to immerse the reader in the experience of the moment with the two Naval officers in the privacy of their galley. A fly in the wall if I may use that oft repeated phrase.

Keep up the good work. More payasam to you!!!

[Dileep]

The Snakepipe*

“High Frequency Sonar!” Adung Takhom kept repeating the phrase, as he was browsing the internet. He was reading up on various articles about Sonar. His basic education was Mechanical Engineering. He knew a pretty good amount of software, the business application kind that is. The military technology field is rather new to him.

And there is no point in asking Meiji, his wife. The only thing she knows and cares for is fashion apparels. That skill set is pretty useful in their trade, but the technology part he need to do himself.

Both of them didn’t like the move. He had reasoned, pleaded, and even begged his boss, Mr. Lee, not to send him away from Imphal. He loved the city. He even liked the remote village that is shown as his birthplace in his passport.

Those were his roots, after he was pushed across the boarders, never to return. He would never visit the place he was actually born. He will never hold a passport of his citizenship by birth.

But like an umbilical cord that bound you all your life, he is tied to that country by unseen bonds. He has no attachment to the country he lives in, other than the passport he holds.

And maybe the salary he gets from his cover job.

Still, he liked living in Imphal. It was not hot like this city down south. He knew the local language, and he liked the local cuisine. Here none of those sorts is even palatable. The language rings like a grinder biting into iron. The food is hot like hell, and the stink of coconut oil and ghee makes one nauseous.

And the temperature!! That is the killer. There seems to be only one season here. Hot!! He is always drenched in sweat, and he can’t wear anything other than the sleeveless vest. When he dress up for work, he felt like he is in an oven.

He had no clue on how the boys handle it.

Maybe because they are not really the same stock as himself. They have somewhat similar facial features. But they are definitely not the same race. Maybe that is what makes them cope. They even seem to like the local cuisine.

He can’t stand it at all. He can’t stand the coconut. He can’t stand the milk fat. When eating out, he can only eat Chinese.

Chinese food is a great misnomer here. If food is cooked in a wok with soy sauce, does that make it Chinese?

The locals seem to believe that. None of the so called Chinese dishes seem to honour that name. All are bast ardized to suite the ghee slurpers here. For food that is somewhat palatable, one had to go to the three star place where they employ a real Chinese, who can cook the real stuff under special order.

Is he part of the team? Maybe he is. You never know. The way the setup worked is, that anyone could be a part, and you will never know. They bosses will introduce you if it is needed.

Enough complication already. There are enough people to worry about right now. But none of them really qualified to understand the technical stuff.

“High Frequency Sonar!!” Most of the boys will not know the difference between that and Sambar, the despicable dish that the locals slurp up with their rice. Yuck!!

But poor Adung got to deal with it, because his job is to spy on that thing. Not on the Sambar.
And the only thing he knew was the building where it is being made.

*The flue like instrument (been) used by snake charmers. I couldn't find any bettrer English name

[Srivastav]

dileep sir, this is just awesome.

[Dileep]

Vijaya Baskar could not take his eyes off from the pretty Chinese lady. The traditional off white dress, with the amply gold thread work was perfectly worn. The crimson coloured blouse was of perfect cut, sensuously covering the bosom. The gold work on the shoulder strap gave a remarkable contrast to the highly toned skin of the bare shoulders. The silk material glistened, as the light reflected from the curves, as it faithfully covered them, without a hint of a wrinkle.

Unknowingly his mind was making contrast with his own wife who sat a few chairs beyond the lady. Somehow, Chitra always failed to get a blouse sewn to correct fit. The wrinkles ran around from the armpits to the back. And the projecting shoulder blades made the fabric to stretch across like a tent.

And she never wore sleeveless blouses. The saree itself was always gathered up for the pallu, not pleated. The light blue didn’t suit her darker complexion.

And no one would look at her. Most of the menfolk were looking at the new face.

It was Diwali. The residents of the ‘colony’ have gathered at the clubhouse to celebrate. There was a cross section of the people from all over the country there, but the Chinese looking couple stood apart. They were the new tenants to one of the houses, and moved in only recently. When the Diwali program was mentioned, they were very excited, and took part in it very actively.

They were from Manipur. It was for the first time that someone from the north-east states came to the neighbourhood. There were lots of residents from other states though. Since the newcomers were different in features, there was an excitement initially to meet and make friends with them.

And making friends they did. They have practically visited every household in the colony and established contacts. The man was easygoing, and had the knack of maintaining interesting conversation, and the men folk liked him. The women folk on the other hand grew a bit jealous and suspicious on the woman. She always appeared well dressed and well made up. That was enough reason to be worried. But she also used apparel that were a bit revealing, which made the womenfolk really uncomfortable.

The colony was originally launched by a real estate developer, who made a joint venture with a land owner who bought the land when it was very cheap, and the place was a godforesaken corner. When development came that side, land prices shot up, and the developer levelled the land and divided them into plots and sold them. The employees of the nearby government facility purchased a number of plots with intention of building homes. As years went by, it became a colony, with the majority of residents working at that concern. People also rented houses there, because of the convenience of being close to work.

Eventually it became almost like an ancillary colony to the government facility as the outsiders, be it owners or tenants, being a minority. Since the employees came from all over the country and from all religions, all festivals were celebrated with vigor and everyone participated in them.

The new residents, Adung and Meiji Takhom, merged right into the community. The Diwali was a good chance to meet and know people.

To know a bit deeper, if they worked at the government facility.

[Dileep]

Meiji noted with a strange satisfaction that the eyes of the men came back to her, despite the various activities they were involved in. She also knew that the womenfolk sitting around her were not exactly happy about it. She didn’t let it known, and wholeheartedly participated in the running conversation about the proposed opening of the state’s largest jewelry showroom at the new mall. They were slyly sizing up the simple, but elegent necklace that Meiji wore. She claimed to have bought it from Hong Kong. Her husband, being the owner of a software firm with business there, makes often trips there and to Singapore.

The women all made exciting remarks, while cursing their husbands, and the government jobs they have.

The plump woman in blue saree rose and walked away, towards the area where the men sat. As her eyes followed her, Meiji realized that she is walking towards the balding man with the bushy moustache, who never let his eyes move away from her. The plump woman seemed to be his wife. She made a dirty look towards Meiji before making a little conversation with her husband. Then she dragged him to the area where the children played. The poor man had to pick up their child and look her after.

Still, his eyes kept returning to Meiji.

When it was time for food, Meiji took a plate and moved to a side, close to a window. She again noticed the man eyeing her. She turned and smiled at him. He was a bit surprised, and took his gaze back.

Still, his eyes kept coming back to her often.

Meiji slowly walked around to Adung, and had a small chat.

Later, Adung found himself in conversation with the man. He was Vijaya Baskar, a scientist at the government facility.

Adung called his wife over, and made a formal introduction. Chitra too was called into join, despite her obvious discomfort.

[Dileep]

Babu Jacob was way far down in the hierarchy, where the designations have alphabetical suffixes. He was no in that class. He was a temporary employee, a technician, who came in through the employment exchange. Normally, such a person wouldn’t find a place on the serious projects. They are relegated to the non critical jobs, like repairing PCBs. Getting involved in the fabrication of equipment that gets into active service is something that never happens to his kind. It took the combined effect of government lethargy, bureaucratic foolishness, and human stupidity to make that happen.

His service was indispensable with two projects, namely HSP and HDP. Expansions of the names were never offered. These were boxes with plug in cards on one side and connectors on the other side. Some of the cards had components that needed certain highly specialized physical operations to be performed on them. This is a job of a skilled technician. It requires a lot of training and practice to execute. It is difficult to find people with the skill, and even more difficult to hire them into the government service. It was when things came to a desperate situation, that the details of Babu Jacob came through the employment exchange.

Babu used to work at a company in Pune that does contract manufacturing of products that use this specific skill. Since it is not taught anywhere, the company hired regular ITI holders in electronics, and trained them in the operation. Training took a few months, and it took a lot of practice to perfect the skill to do the operation without permanently damaging the component. Babu passed the training reasonably well, and started working as an employee.

For reasons not fully disclosed, Babu has quit that job and came back home. He abhorred to talk about it. After coming back home, he did odd jobs as an electronic technician. Then as a godsend, he was called for the current job via the employment exchange. Even though the job was in a sensitive organization, his appointment was cleared as a low level job, even without verifying his previous job. The mandatory police verification was done, the only purpose of which is to make a poor police constable a bit richer.

So, Babu Jacob started work, and soon became an indispensable fixture in the setup where he worked. He did work of decent quality, and the product he built worked fine. All were happy about him. He got involved in many projects.

Still, he was a temporary employee. No one really thought that as a problem.