When Mahindra Singh Pujji left his native India in 1940 to answer a call from Britain's RAF for pilots to help their defence against Germany, it was not politics, but rather an appetite for adventure, that motivated him.
Twenty-four years old at the time, he was one of the first 24 Indian pilots to be accepted by the RAF. Of the original 24, 10 were killed in action or in flying accidents. But Pujji had luck on his side: in total, he served in five theatres of war, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Palestine and Asia, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
His first action was with the 253rd (Hyderabad) Squadron operating a Hurricane (his plane bore the name "Amrit", the name of his fiancée at the time, later his wife) in a series of sweeps across occupied Europe accompanying British bombers. Rather romantically, he initially mistook the anti-aircraft fire directed at the planes for a field of flowers. Fatalities were high: "On my first day there were 30 pilots at breakfast," he recalled. "And we were never 30 again." The first to be shot down was Pujji's roommate. Yet Pujji never admitted to any fear. Rather, he was avidly curious, and in turn was regarded as something of a novelty by his fellow officers. In his first week on the job, he almost broke the record of running from the room where the pilots sat waiting to be called: he was out of his seat and up in the air in 20 seconds.
At the end of 1941, he was posted to North Africa, where he said he found the food particularly unappealing. In England he survived on chocolate and was provided with extra rations, together with a daily breakfast of two eggs. In North Africa, his diet consisted of biscuits: "You needed a hammer to break them," he recalled. He was sent to Cairo every weekend, where he would treat himself to a decent meal.
His next posting was to India, where he was assigned to the North West Frontier, the most dangerous portion of his career. A fellow RAF pilot who was shot down and fell into the hands of Sarhaddi rebels was "literally cut to pieces". A period in Burma followed, in which he took over a squadron going up against Japanese Zero fighters. Up until the 1960s, he insisted on wearing the turban, which was mandatory to his Sikh religion, even though it was somewhat impractical in a cockpit. Although he credited the six feet of wound fabric as a life-saver, absorbing the impact of his crash-landing after a fight over the English Channel, his son, Satinder, also remarked that the turban had cost his father a lung, damaged at high altitude, as the squadron leader could not wear his headgear and an oxygen mask simultaneously.
Invalided from service in January 1947 after a diagnosis of tuberculosis, and given six months to live, Pujji left the Royal Indian Air Force and took up the position of Aerodrome Officer at Safdarjung Aerodrome in Delhi. He continued to fly in a civilian role, becoming a prominent figure in the nascent gliding movement in India. He taught two young women aerobatics on gliders who were as committed to wearing their saris throughout as their instructor had been insistent on wearing his turban.
The son of a senior government official in Simla, Pujji read law at Bombay University and learned to fly at Delhi Flying Club, receiving his 'A' licence in April 1937. His first job was as a line pilot with Himalayan Airways, but he moved to Burmah Shell the following year to work as a refuelling superintendent. In 1939, with the outbreak of the Second World WAr, the newspapers carried advertisements inviting applications from 'A' licence holders for a volunteer reserve commission in the Indian Air Force.
Although Pujji found the British most welcoming when he arrived in 1940, he later expressed regret that Indian members of the RAF had received no special commendation for their participation in the war effort. His loyalty to Britain remained undimmed, however, and he lived in London, and then Kent, until his death.
Born August 14, 1918. Died September 18, 2010.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
UAE v West Indies
First ODI - Sunday, June 4
Second ODI - Tuesday, June 6
Third ODI - Friday, June 9
Matches at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. All games start at 4.30pm
UAE squad
Muhammad Waseem (captain), Aayan Khan, Adithya Shetty, Ali Naseer, Ansh Tandon, Aryansh Sharma, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Ethan D’Souza, Fahad Nawaz, Jonathan Figy, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Lovepreet Singh, Matiullah, Mohammed Faraazuddin, Muhammad Jawadullah, Rameez Shahzad, Rohan Mustafa, Sanchit Sharma, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan
Emirates Cricket Board Women’s T10
ECB Hawks v ECB Falcons
Monday, April 6, 7.30pm, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
The match will be broadcast live on the My Sports Eye Facebook page
Hawks
Coach: Chaitrali Kalgutkar
Squad: Chaya Mughal (captain), Archara Supriya, Chamani Senevirathne, Chathurika Anand, Geethika Jyothis, Indhuja Nandakumar, Kashish Loungani, Khushi Sharma, Khushi Tanwar, Rinitha Rajith, Siddhi Pagarani, Siya Gokhale, Subha Srinivasan, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish
Falcons
Coach: Najeeb Amar
Squad: Kavisha Kumari (captain), Almaseera Jahangir, Annika Shivpuri, Archisha Mukherjee, Judit Cleetus, Ishani Senavirathne, Lavanya Keny, Mahika Gaur, Malavika Unnithan, Rishitha Rajith, Rithika Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Shashini Kaluarachchi, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Vaishnave Mahesh
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
The specs: Aston Martin DB11 V8 vs Ferrari GTC4Lusso T
Price, base: Dh840,000; Dh120,000
Engine: 4.0L V8 twin-turbo; 3.9L V8 turbo
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic; seven-speed automatic
Power: 509hp @ 6,000rpm; 601hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 695Nm @ 2,000rpm; 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.9L / 100km; 11.6L / 100km
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Healthcare spending to double to $2.2 trillion rupees
Launched a 641billion-rupee federal health scheme
Allotted 200 billion rupees for the recapitalisation of state-run banks
Around 1.75 trillion rupees allotted for privatisation and stake sales in state-owned assets
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.
The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.