At a scenic beach spot along India’s eastern coastline last month, local cadet Dileep Palla was fast becoming friends with the young Iranian sailors he was assigned to show around.
The young men played music and posed for photos as they finally enjoyed some down time after participating along with 70 other countries in one of the world’s largest naval exercises. Using Google Translate on their phones to overcome the language barrier, the Iranians peppered Palla with questions about the local shopping scene.