MUSTER BY OPEN LIST !

There has been a buzz on board since morning ! A special routine has been promulgated and announced . Nobody has time to wait for anything and are on the move making themselves ready for the event . The haircut has been taken a day before , shoes polished , a relatively new uniform meant for special occasions has been washed and pressed a day early and is ready to be worn . Few stragglers have crowded around the ship’s Dhobi trying to search for their uniform; others are waiting in the Barber shop for ‘last minute touch up’! An early quick breakfast has been taken and the ship’s galley is busy preparing lunch . The deck has been cleaned and rust marks removed from the common areas . A shining new flag is flying on board and a smart look is seen of the ship from a distance . The married personnel are hurriedly walking up the gangway and will change into an ironed uniform on board . Our ship is not alone in this activity; all the ships , submarines and shore establishments in the station and the command and the Navy are focussed on the same activity . It is called ‘Muster by Open list’ !The announcement has been made for the Captain’s arrival who too has arrived a little before the scheduled arrival time. The ‘officer of the day’, Quarter master and Side boy are ready to receive the Captain as the Executive officer ( second in command ) rushes to take his post to receive him too on this special day . The captain's steward and coxswain are in attention and ready in front of his cabin to greet him and his new uniform with shining new stripes is hanging in his cabin , a new set of white shoes are also ready . As soon as the Captain lands on board and walks to his cabin the Quarter master sounds the pipe on the main broadcast and announces ‘out pipe’ and says –‘ Ship’s company assembles on Quarter deck for- Muster by Open list! ‘.Well! ‘Muster by Open list’ is conducted in the Indian Navy on the last day of each quarter by the Commanding officer personally in that he checks each person and his identity card in a parade where all the officers and men assemble on upper deck at a suitable place . The Captain stands behind a tall table in front of which the sequence of reports to be made by each sailor is written : personal number / Name /Rank / Ration /Married or Single. When all officers , senior sailors and junior sailors have assembled in separate platoons the Executive officer calls them to attention and then makes a report to the Captain ‘Ship’s company ready for ‘muster by open list Shriman’ . The Captain acknowledges the report and arrives to commence the proceedings . Prior to commencement of the proceedings the Executive officer again seeks his approval – ‘request permission to commence -Muster by Open List Shriman ‘ which the Captain approves by stating ‘Please’. Thereafter each sailor starting from senior-most to junior-most in a sequence promulgated before , run /march in front of the ‘Captain’s Table’ , stand in attention , salute and extend their right hand to right to clearly show their identity card clutched to the palm. As the sailor is rattling his particulars the Captain is confirming the same from the list in front of him and ticks his name and says ‘very good’ and the sailor pulls down his hand salutes and walks away relieved and retires to the mess.During my service I have observed with much admiration and amusement many a young junior sailor , dressed smartly in white half sleeve shirt and half pant , well polished boots and blue stockings run smartly with scary dilated eyes in front of the Captain , salute him and stutter or fumble the report even though they have been memorising it since a day before and the same is written in bold in front of them . Some Captains look smilingly some sternly and few ask them to repeat slowly and not to be scared of their first appearance . A standard report by a junior sailor who is unmarried and non vegetarian would run like this : Number 32567D, N Ram , Sea 1, S ( non veg ) ration , single Shriman!Not all pass muster clean! Many are checked for poor turn out , unpolished shoes , incorrect salute , torn identity card , faded photo, temporary identity card . The Divisional officer is standing on one side and he observes the identity card which the sailor flashes and makes note . There is a Gunnery instructor standing to observe the drill and some sailors are asked to wait and later are either admonished or asked to report for drill to correct their salute etc. All the observations regarding the identity card are being noted down by the Regulating staff such as being old, faded ,torn , temporary etc . Observations on turn out and drill are being noted by the Gunnery instructor . The atmosphere is tense and all wish it to complete soon . Even some experienced and very senior sailors freeze or forget their lines repeated on so many occasions during their career when they stand in front of the Commanding officer .Probably , they get so overwhelmed by the seriousness of the occasion! The most relieving thing is that it does not last long and has no after effects.The time taken to complete the exercise ranges from thirty minutes to three hours or even more . This depends on the size of the ship and the strength of the ship’s company ranging from a crew of 50 of the missile boat to about 1500 of the aircraft carrier. Over the years the system has been modified and the Commanding officer of Aircraft carrier checks the identity cards of only the Master Chief Petty Officers ( Subedar Major) and the rest are by the various Heads of department . Those who miss the muster on account of being on duty have a ‘Mismuster’ in the afternoon taken by the Executive officer. The identity cards of the officers are checked and verified by Regulating staff on a register which is signed by both. A detailed report is rendered to the Command Headquarters and follow-up action on anomalies and temporary identity cards is initiated.Well ! An outsider observing the above may wonder what was all the fuss about! The entire exercise could be done by digital means very quickly . Indeed quite relevant , however the purpose of the exercise is beyond the routine verification of identity cards. The exercise instils discipline , method , order , system , meticulousness and above all Regimentation - the ‘Hall mark’ of the Armed Forces. It gives the Leader a first hand human picture of his ship , the men he commands , the force that shall deliver.The ceremonies and rituals play a very important part in our lives in binding us with our family , our ‘Kutumb’ be they religious or celebratory . These restore and reinforce the family , community , village values . Their repetitiveness and regularity reiterates and reinforces our beliefs . The ‘Muster by Open List ‘ has the same purpose: invisible and potent.Often recollection of ‘Muster by Open list’ makes me smile and I tell myself that the crux of the Navy is ‘S’ ration single Shriman!Disclaimer: Views expressed above are the author's own.