"On behalf of all those who served on board the INS Vikrant during the 1971 Bangladesh Operations, this memento, sculpted from the intrinsic parts of the iconic aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, which played an iconic role in the Bay of Bengal during the 1971 Indo-Pak War, is presented to the Deputy High Commissioner, Bangladesh on the occasion of the 50th victory celebrations on December 16, 2020.” So read the keepsake presented by Cmde Medioma Bhada (retd) to Bangladesh diplomat Md Lutfor Rahman on that occasion, at Hotel President.
Cmde Medioma Bhada (retd), right, with Md Lutfor Rahman
"I used this opportunity to present (the) memento, created by (sculptor) Arzan Khambatta from the few pieces left from the scrap of the Vikrant,” Bhada told Parsiana on December 18. The veteran had participated in the Operations whilst posted as a pilot on board the aircraft carrier. "We carried out air attacks on the airfield at Cox’s Bazar (in erstwhile East Pakistan) and other ships and installations in the enemy harbors,” he stated. "During my talk I highlighted the uniqueness of this war… At the culmination of which a new independent country has been created, carved out of the vanquished territory…Something our nation can and should be proud of,” he wrote in an email to Parsiana.
After the Vikrant was decommissioned, "we were unable to preserve her for posterity and she was finally put under the hammer to be sold to the highest bidder as scrap,” rued Bhada. "I was fortunate to acquire some select parts from the scrap and erect a memorial within the heritage precinct of Kala Ghoda, designed and sculpted by Khambatta, known to bring life to metal,” he reminisced (see "Bringing a legend alive,” Parsiana, February 21, 2016).