TR/ MARINE RECALLS
On Social and Reading habits in earlier times-60s-70s.
Social and Reading habits in earlier times-
Reading was a great hobby & pastime with most of our generation in the 50s, 60s, 70 -80s especially.
I was usually able to get the honorary post of Ship's Librarian on most of the ships that I worked on. In any case, I really depended on Reading to spend my spare time-after duties s we had long voyages of 32 days some times-and sailing was for a full year. before leave was sanctioned..Recreation on open sea passage, was then very limited to a few deck games in good weather only; mostly only Chess, draughts (checkers), or cards (bridge, rummy, teen patti- with a select few.Can you ever imagine playing Carroms in rough seas on board a ship tossrd about with men & equipment ? A guitar or mouth program made all the difference at social meets.
The Radio was only good for local or coastal areas and any Broadcast was limited ;did not reach out seawards to the open sea. -The alternatives were few and we did not have any music system like Cassettes -Videos- TV-DVDs/CDs or any Music even in 60s.Tape recorders of spool type lke SONY TC 250, a great buy, came in only around 1969-70 , but weighed a Tonne!!When I purchased one and brought it home, the whole neighbour hood came to see it for a great mind blowing event viz. A "Sony Music Sound Demo"-an event in 1969-on TC 250 with Chai or Lime juice!!. (Portable Cassette tape recorders came in by 1972 and were a blessing).
So Books & Magazines it was mostly -Time, Newsweek, Readers Digest, Film fare,illlustrated Weekly, Sport & Pastime and a few more, would be purchased in ports before sailing out of India to last the voyage-or next port where it was available. (Singapore, US ports only on my route in GESCo.) Add in select novels and we had quite a range to select from Fiction inc. thriller, detective, adventure and all from those wonderful writers of the 60s-ad 70s.These publications had a budget, but as we pooled in, managed well.I would go ashore and purchaseand stock the ships Library. In some cases the selection was 2 copies of each and then to circulate them.
Readers Digest -a magazine that nurtured us all in youth, with such a good choice of Reading- was much loved and for the whole year treasured; Old copies would be read over and over again till it was dog eared, tattered and torn and often stapled in parts, in bits to be read by us. A condensed book series in every copy was like a reading a novel itself. Humour, Quotes, lessons on Life , adventure, Drama in Real Life, Quiz etc was all much appreciated.(I was saddened when the Readers Digest ran into financial difficulty, a few years ago;Why- I never will understand). Since then I do not subscribe also as the print is small and I have limitations -but it us now said to be available On line later.
It was all a part of the ship's recreation and ship board culture then.
Readers Digest's brilliant series titled "Lives like That"-actually connected people and places before Social networking like Facebook, Blogs, Twitter etc came. This recall idea came to my mind on seeing the advert on I-Phone and on line Reading and esp --seeing Books-Browsing today at Book Fairs -now in Chennai too in January each year.
Rgds
TR
Pic of Jag Laxmi, GESCO, 1965-68
Reading was a great hobby & pastime with most of our generation in the 50s, 60s, 70 -80s especially.
I was usually able to get the honorary post of Ship's Librarian on most of the ships that I worked on. In any case, I really depended on Reading to spend my spare time-after duties s we had long voyages of 32 days some times-and sailing was for a full year. before leave was sanctioned..Recreation on open sea passage, was then very limited to a few deck games in good weather only; mostly only Chess, draughts (checkers), or cards (bridge, rummy, teen patti- with a select few.Can you ever imagine playing Carroms in rough seas on board a ship tossrd about with men & equipment ? A guitar or mouth program made all the difference at social meets.
The Radio was only good for local or coastal areas and any Broadcast was limited ;did not reach out seawards to the open sea. -The alternatives were few and we did not have any music system like Cassettes -Videos- TV-DVDs/CDs or any Music even in 60s.Tape recorders of spool type lke SONY TC 250, a great buy, came in only around 1969-70 , but weighed a Tonne!!When I purchased one and brought it home, the whole neighbour hood came to see it for a great mind blowing event viz. A "Sony Music Sound Demo"-an event in 1969-on TC 250 with Chai or Lime juice!!. (Portable Cassette tape recorders came in by 1972 and were a blessing).
So Books & Magazines it was mostly -Time, Newsweek, Readers Digest, Film fare,illlustrated Weekly, Sport & Pastime and a few more, would be purchased in ports before sailing out of India to last the voyage-or next port where it was available. (Singapore, US ports only on my route in GESCo.) Add in select novels and we had quite a range to select from Fiction inc. thriller, detective, adventure and all from those wonderful writers of the 60s-ad 70s.These publications had a budget, but as we pooled in, managed well.I would go ashore and purchaseand stock the ships Library. In some cases the selection was 2 copies of each and then to circulate them.
Readers Digest -a magazine that nurtured us all in youth, with such a good choice of Reading- was much loved and for the whole year treasured; Old copies would be read over and over again till it was dog eared, tattered and torn and often stapled in parts, in bits to be read by us. A condensed book series in every copy was like a reading a novel itself. Humour, Quotes, lessons on Life , adventure, Drama in Real Life, Quiz etc was all much appreciated.(I was saddened when the Readers Digest ran into financial difficulty, a few years ago;Why- I never will understand). Since then I do not subscribe also as the print is small and I have limitations -but it us now said to be available On line later.
It was all a part of the ship's recreation and ship board culture then.
Readers Digest's brilliant series titled "Lives like That"-actually connected people and places before Social networking like Facebook, Blogs, Twitter etc came. This recall idea came to my mind on seeing the advert on I-Phone and on line Reading and esp --seeing Books-Browsing today at Book Fairs -now in Chennai too in January each year.
Rgds
TR
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