Vice Chief of Army Staff and Army Chief Designate, Lieutenant General Manoj Naravane said that his favourite subject in school, Engineering Drawing, helped him immensely in his career to visualise the problems and translate them into operationally successful outcomes. Lt Gen Naravane was speaking after being felicitated by his school Jnana Prabodhini on the occasion of the golden jubilee of the school. Dr Dhananjay Kelkar, noted surgeon and medical director of Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, who is also an alumni of the school, was also felicitated on the occasion. After the felicitation, addressing the gathering, Lt Gen Naravane said, “This honour bestowed upon me is not mine alone, but it’s an honour of the entire class of 1976 and all the students of Jnana Prabodhini, who have excelled in whichever field they might be. The award is a recognition of our collective efforts.” He added, “Some days ago, one of the reporters asked me about my school days, my favourite teachers. I thought it would be unfair to single out any particular teacher, but I said I will tell which was my favourite subject. My favourite subject was Engineering Drawing. I liked the entire concept of being able to visualise things in three dimensions, being able to see things from different perspectives, find out what are the angles involved, get a holistic view of the problem. And having done that, to be able to translate it into drawing and actually apply it on ground, on paper. I think that has helped me immensely in my career to be able to visualise what are the problems, translate them into operationally successful outcomes. I think that is the greatest teaching that I have got from the school. Not only that but somehow I liked the clean lines of engineering drawing, everything in a straight line, which the army is famous for. Everything at right angles with each other, line after line, which somehow appealed in the military mind in me.” On December 17, the government named Lt Gen Naravane as the next Chief of Army Staff. Lt Gen Naravane’s family is from Pune. His father Mukund Naravane retired from the Indian Air Force. His mother Sudha Naravane was a writer and news broadcaster with the All India Radio in Pune and passed away last year. He was a student of Jnana Prabodhini before joining the National Defence Academy in Pune from its 56th course.
