International Fleet Review 2016

 

The Hon’ble President of India being the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, once in his/her term, reviews the Indian Naval (IN) Fleet as part of the ‘President’s Fleet Review’ (PFR). This review aims at assuring the country of the Indian Navy’s preparedness, high morale and discipline.

Many leading nations of the world use the opportunity provided by the Fleet Review to enhance mutual trust and confidence with their maritime neighbours and partners by inviting their ships to participate in the review. Normally called ‘International Fleet Review’ (IFR), this event then allows the host nation an occasion to display its maritime capabilities and the ‘bridges of friendship’ and trust it has built with other maritime nations. The last IFR was conducted in January 2001, off Mumbai with participation from 29 countries. This earned the country widespread appreciation and goodwill.

The Indian Navy will be conducting an International Fleet Review from 04 – 08 February 2016, off Visakhapatnam. The IFR-16 is proposed to be done at a much larger scale than ever done before.

Writer of the day - William S. Burroughs

 

William S. Burroughs

For book lovers and aficionados, the name William S Burroughs needs no introduction of sorts. For the rest, Burroughs was one of the seminal writers of the Beat generation, his works being culturally influential and politically insightful. In his lifetime, he wrote 18 novels and novellas, six collections of short stories and four collections of essays, which have left a deep impact and influenced popular cultures and literature. Interestingly, most of his works are semi-autobiographical in nature, wherein he gives an account of his personal experiences of heroin addiction. Right from his debut novel, ‘Junkie’ he tasted success. His third novel ‘Naked Lunch’ catapulted his position in the literary circles. However, it created a lot of controversy as well and was the last major book to be prosecuted for obscenity in the United States. Over the years, he has not only been an influential novelist for budding writers but a prominent personality for musicians such as Roger Waters, Patti Smith, Genesis P-Orridge, Ian Curtis, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Tom Waits and Kurt Cobain. In 1983, he was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and a year later was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France. 

Childhood & Early life

• William S. Burroughs was born on February 5, 1914 to Mortimer Perry Burroughs and Laura Hammon Lee in St Louis, Missouri, United States. He was the youngest son of the couple. While his father was an antique and gift shop owner, his mother came from a prestigious family and was daughter of a minister.
• Academically, he first attended John Burroughs School, later on moving to Los Alamos Ranch School in New Mexico, finally completing his high school degree from Taylor School in Clayton, Missouri.
• It was while at John Burroughs School that he wrote his first ever essay, titled ‘Personal Magnetism’ which was published in John Burroughs Review in 1929
• In 1932, he enrolled at the Harvard University to pursue a degree in arts. During his summer vacation, he took up the job of a cub reporter for the city newspaper, St Louis Post-Dispatch, covering police docket. He graduated in 1936.
• During his years at the Harvard, he made frequent trips to New York City. It were these voyages that opened gateways of the city’s gay subculture, lesbian joints and underground homosexual clubs.
• With a guaranteed allowance of $200 coming from his parents, he was free from the pressure of earning for a living. The allowance allowed him to forgo employment and live life according to his own wish.

• Awards & Achievements

  • In 1983, he was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.
  • In 1984, he was the proud recipient of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France. 

    
    

    Personal life & legacy

    • He married Ilse Klapper, a Jewish woman much against his parents’ wishes. However, the alliance was basically intended to provide her with a US visa. Eventually, the two separated and remained lifelong friends.
    • In 1944, he was in a relationship with Joan Vollmer Adams. Three years later, he was blessed with a son William S Burroughs Jr (Billy) from her. Vollmer was accidentally murdered in 1951.
    • An alcoholic, Billy was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis and underwent a liver transplant operation. However, he continued taking alcohol and breathed his last in 1981.
    • Burroughs Sr. spent the better part of his life battling with drug addiction. Despite undergoing several rehabilitation programs and treatment, his addiction relapsed.
    • He breathed his last on August 2, 1997, from complications of a heart attack. He was buried in the family plot in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.

      Trivia

      He was a seminal writer of Beat generation who authored the much-controversial novel, ‘Naked Lunch’.