Girls become women….but boys just grow to become bigger boys…..never had I thought in the wildest of my dreams that boys would become men, that too in a span of 3 years …impossible….
But maybe My NDA proved me wrong ….3 years is ample enough to turn even new borns into men
But what’s there in this particular academy that’s not there anywhere else is a thought that had always roamed in my wild mind.. …guess, it’s the SYSTEM (as we call it) that has made the impossible, possible. The system that has stood the test of time and proved itself to be the premier institute to produce such sons of the soil who would put service to their motherland before self….and honestly speaking I just am too proud to be a product of this institute.
When I joined the NDA I was a clueless 18 year old, confused to the core if i had done the right thing by joining the defence forces. But a few days and I was sure, it wasn't a wise decision..
I had joined the NDA not because it was my long cherished dream or something... i just joined cause i had no other option but join....(though after my 3 yeras at nda i regret that i had earlier regretted my decision)
NDA...well it was tough adjusting to the system at first..but i never expected it to be easy because i knew military training just cant be easy...but once i got set into the system...it carried me along smoothly...
The three years taught me a lot... it taught me to survive come what may...it taught me to endure pain...it taught me to adapt and adjust to all situations...it taught me how to cooperate with others..it taught me how a leader should be to his men..it taught me comradery and valour..it taught me how to be a gentleman and an officer....It taught me LIFE.......
As days went by I started loving the system which had engulfed me from all spheres...
I started loving the early morning awakenings...
I stated loving the Drill, PT and the Equitation classes...
I stated loving the academic classes (because we could sleep as much as we want)
I started loving my flying lessons....
but above all i started loving those coursemates of mine whom i count on with my life..and its because of this bonding that the NDA still stands tall and the age old system still remains a sucess..
The Passing Out Parade (POP)...the one thing for which an NDA cadet endures his three years with ease..its the moment of ultimate glory..... for thats the moment u turn fully into a MAN from the boy you were ...
It also marks the culmination of your three year ordeal at the NDA......
At the final phase of the parade , the passing out course marches through A Ceremonial Quarter Deck where the words "ANTIM PAGH"(Final Step) are engraved on the floor.....
Final step...so ironical...for it just happens to be the first step of the whole new world that lies ahead of us....yet to be discovered....yet to be conquered.
12.26.2005
9.25.2005
He was just 21 !?
Mid term breaks are something that everyone looks forward to at NDA,for we get a 5-day break from our routine :
5-days of continuous sleep, 5 days of liberty, 5 days of guests , 5 days of girls, 5 days of sleep (ok I mentioned sleep before but.. then…sleep……its divine for us)
During my fourth semester mid term break she had come over to Pune all the way from Bangalore just to see me. It was her first time in Pune. She wanted to see around the city, do her usual curios shopping , wanted to learn about some tribal painting [she took ‘Indian Culture’ Classes at a school in B’lore] and above all she wanted to see NDA for herself. The NDA about which I had vividly [ to be honest a bit too vividly] described to her.
She came over to NDA on that Saturday morning [beautiful she was as always] I received her at the gate and welcomed her to the cradle of military leadership. Since it was the fourth day of my break and she was to depart the next day to Bangalore I had to take her through a very speedy sight seeing around NDA. I took her to all the buildings and monuments,within the 8000+ acres, rich and vibrant in their grandness and splendid architecture.
I also took her to the Sudan block , the main building of the NDA. The central foyer of the Sudan block is a white marble floored, white marble walled, white marble pillared circular hall. On those shiny white marble walls hung huge portraits of those great alumnus of NDA who had laid down their lives for our nation, along with a description of their gallant deeds.
She went around the hall admiring those portraits and reading about each person with keen interest. All of a sudden she called me and pointed towards the portrait of a very young looking officer and said, "HE was just 21!! , He died so young, how can someone so young……" I acknowledged and said, "yes he was just 21".
But then I noticed something on her face. It was an expression that I had never seen before in those beautiful eyes. An expression I couldn’t understand. I got a very strange feeling. I could not make out what was wrong. I asked her about it. But she said "nothing". It was a kind of anxiety that I had never seen before……she immediately left the room….
After an hour or so she said goodbye and left me all alone…still pondering over that expression I had seen in her eyes…..
But then I finally came to a conclusion….
May be it was because a joker (she always said I was one) who by default was her brother…was standing right in front of her..and he just happened to be 20 years of age, with just a year left for his graduation from the same NDA.
5-days of continuous sleep, 5 days of liberty, 5 days of guests , 5 days of girls, 5 days of sleep (ok I mentioned sleep before but.. then…sleep……its divine for us)
During my fourth semester mid term break she had come over to Pune all the way from Bangalore just to see me. It was her first time in Pune. She wanted to see around the city, do her usual curios shopping , wanted to learn about some tribal painting [she took ‘Indian Culture’ Classes at a school in B’lore] and above all she wanted to see NDA for herself. The NDA about which I had vividly [ to be honest a bit too vividly] described to her.
She came over to NDA on that Saturday morning [beautiful she was as always] I received her at the gate and welcomed her to the cradle of military leadership. Since it was the fourth day of my break and she was to depart the next day to Bangalore I had to take her through a very speedy sight seeing around NDA. I took her to all the buildings and monuments,within the 8000+ acres, rich and vibrant in their grandness and splendid architecture.
I also took her to the Sudan block , the main building of the NDA. The central foyer of the Sudan block is a white marble floored, white marble walled, white marble pillared circular hall. On those shiny white marble walls hung huge portraits of those great alumnus of NDA who had laid down their lives for our nation, along with a description of their gallant deeds.
She went around the hall admiring those portraits and reading about each person with keen interest. All of a sudden she called me and pointed towards the portrait of a very young looking officer and said, "HE was just 21!! , He died so young, how can someone so young……" I acknowledged and said, "yes he was just 21".
But then I noticed something on her face. It was an expression that I had never seen before in those beautiful eyes. An expression I couldn’t understand. I got a very strange feeling. I could not make out what was wrong. I asked her about it. But she said "nothing". It was a kind of anxiety that I had never seen before……she immediately left the room….
After an hour or so she said goodbye and left me all alone…still pondering over that expression I had seen in her eyes…..
But then I finally came to a conclusion….
May be it was because a joker (she always said I was one) who by default was her brother…was standing right in front of her..and he just happened to be 20 years of age, with just a year left for his graduation from the same NDA.
9.07.2005
Touching The Sky !
Take off path clear
Release brakes & open full throttle
RPM 2500
80 km/hr - nose wheel up
90 km/hr - unstuck
Climb at 105 km/hr
…..and for the first time in my life I had broken that connection with land…I was up & above the whole world…in a whole new dimension……I was FLYING…..
Since the day one at the AFTT (Air Force Training Team of the NDA) I had been preparing for my first sortie, the day I would fly for the first time in my life. I was dearly looking forward for that day. But the monsoons had delayed our flying for long. We were eagerly waiting for the skies to clear up. Each day we would arrive early morning at the AFTT anticipating a clear sky but to our despair.
So we spent all the time memorizing the umpteen checks that have to be carried out before, after and during the flight.
Soon the Gods heard our prayers and the skies cleared up.
Out of the 50 odd batch mates that we were, my turn was somewhere around the 45 mark. So by the time it was my turn, my excitement was boosted up by all those who had flown by then.
I kept gazing at the never ending blue while my course mates played around in the air with their crafts. I kept praying (a thing which I had not done for quite some time, but maybe I felt I would be getting closer to him than ever before) for clear skies when my turn would come.
It was a fine Monday morning. We reached the AFTT by around 6.15 am. By then all the "6 beauties" were lined up in the dispersal area ready to take you for a ride high up among the clouds. We checked the flight schedule and lo!, mine was the second sortie of the day.
I started memorizing all checks again and again. It is said that a good pilot should have all the checks at his fingertips. I was confident about my checks but then..i don’t know why?...maybe it was the anxiety working up in my mind. A mixed feeling of excitement & fear with a dash of thrill was brewing in my mind when I saw my aircraft come back after the first sortie.
7.30am : it was time for me to take on the skies. I went and strapped up in the cockpit. Within 5 minutes my instructor(Sqn Ldr NKBala) came and strapped up besides me. I started off with the checks. I did all my checks with perfection or so I thought. I missed a thing or two here and there. I was nervous (it had never happened before but I was nervous..maybe it was ok to be nervous when its your first flight…)
Within 10 minutes I was taxying her (we always address the aircraft as "her") out of the dispersal area to the far end of the runway. Once we were lined up for take off SqnLdr Bala told me "now you just sit back and enjoy the flight"
He released the brakes and opened full throttle. She rushed ahead with full power. At 80km/hr he lifted her nose wheel up. At 90km/hr he unsticked and she took off into air…once airborne she climbed steadily at 105 km/hr till an altitude of 3500 ft…then we leveled out and maintained the same altitude.
From then on SqnLdr Bala gave me a running commentary of all the features that we were seeing. Everything looked so tiny from up there. Even the enormous Sudan block seemed like a small box with a dome on top. Then he explained to me the functions and uses of all controls and instruments that occupied more than half the space in that small cockpit.
There was a beautiful cloud formation right above us. Sqn Ldr Bala took her right through the cloud through a hole in it. Above it was heaven or so I felt. I could see tiny whiffs of clouds flying beneath me. They seemed so soft & delicate. Water droplets were striking against the face of the cockpit and flowing in streaks to the rear. But the best was yet to come. There was a rainbow about 500m ahead. My instructor said. "Ok, now you have the controls…do whatever you want but take me to the pot of gold beneath the rainbow"
It took me quite some time to get used to the controls. But once I got the hang of it, I was on top of the world…I could now say that I was really FLYING…
Now it was time to land. We headed back to the runway. As we were nearing it SqnLdr bala told me "hang on" and opened the air brakes. She went into a nose wheel dive. It was like going down a vertical fall in a roller coaster ride. He then aligned her for landing. Landing is the toughest part of any flight. The runway grew broader and broader as we approached it and finally we touched down.
After taxying her back to the runway SqnLdr Bala left instructing me to carry out the post flight checks by myself.
I sat there in the cockpit for another 3-4 minutes just relishing my reverie which had come true.
I HAD TOUCHED THE SKY !!
Release brakes & open full throttle
RPM 2500
80 km/hr - nose wheel up
90 km/hr - unstuck
Climb at 105 km/hr
…..and for the first time in my life I had broken that connection with land…I was up & above the whole world…in a whole new dimension……I was FLYING…..
Since the day one at the AFTT (Air Force Training Team of the NDA) I had been preparing for my first sortie, the day I would fly for the first time in my life. I was dearly looking forward for that day. But the monsoons had delayed our flying for long. We were eagerly waiting for the skies to clear up. Each day we would arrive early morning at the AFTT anticipating a clear sky but to our despair.
So we spent all the time memorizing the umpteen checks that have to be carried out before, after and during the flight.
Soon the Gods heard our prayers and the skies cleared up.
Out of the 50 odd batch mates that we were, my turn was somewhere around the 45 mark. So by the time it was my turn, my excitement was boosted up by all those who had flown by then.
I kept gazing at the never ending blue while my course mates played around in the air with their crafts. I kept praying (a thing which I had not done for quite some time, but maybe I felt I would be getting closer to him than ever before) for clear skies when my turn would come.
It was a fine Monday morning. We reached the AFTT by around 6.15 am. By then all the "6 beauties" were lined up in the dispersal area ready to take you for a ride high up among the clouds. We checked the flight schedule and lo!, mine was the second sortie of the day.
I started memorizing all checks again and again. It is said that a good pilot should have all the checks at his fingertips. I was confident about my checks but then..i don’t know why?...maybe it was the anxiety working up in my mind. A mixed feeling of excitement & fear with a dash of thrill was brewing in my mind when I saw my aircraft come back after the first sortie.
7.30am : it was time for me to take on the skies. I went and strapped up in the cockpit. Within 5 minutes my instructor(Sqn Ldr NKBala) came and strapped up besides me. I started off with the checks. I did all my checks with perfection or so I thought. I missed a thing or two here and there. I was nervous (it had never happened before but I was nervous..maybe it was ok to be nervous when its your first flight…)
Within 10 minutes I was taxying her (we always address the aircraft as "her") out of the dispersal area to the far end of the runway. Once we were lined up for take off SqnLdr Bala told me "now you just sit back and enjoy the flight"
He released the brakes and opened full throttle. She rushed ahead with full power. At 80km/hr he lifted her nose wheel up. At 90km/hr he unsticked and she took off into air…once airborne she climbed steadily at 105 km/hr till an altitude of 3500 ft…then we leveled out and maintained the same altitude.
From then on SqnLdr Bala gave me a running commentary of all the features that we were seeing. Everything looked so tiny from up there. Even the enormous Sudan block seemed like a small box with a dome on top. Then he explained to me the functions and uses of all controls and instruments that occupied more than half the space in that small cockpit.
There was a beautiful cloud formation right above us. Sqn Ldr Bala took her right through the cloud through a hole in it. Above it was heaven or so I felt. I could see tiny whiffs of clouds flying beneath me. They seemed so soft & delicate. Water droplets were striking against the face of the cockpit and flowing in streaks to the rear. But the best was yet to come. There was a rainbow about 500m ahead. My instructor said. "Ok, now you have the controls…do whatever you want but take me to the pot of gold beneath the rainbow"
It took me quite some time to get used to the controls. But once I got the hang of it, I was on top of the world…I could now say that I was really FLYING…
Now it was time to land. We headed back to the runway. As we were nearing it SqnLdr bala told me "hang on" and opened the air brakes. She went into a nose wheel dive. It was like going down a vertical fall in a roller coaster ride. He then aligned her for landing. Landing is the toughest part of any flight. The runway grew broader and broader as we approached it and finally we touched down.
After taxying her back to the runway SqnLdr Bala left instructing me to carry out the post flight checks by myself.
I sat there in the cockpit for another 3-4 minutes just relishing my reverie which had come true.
I HAD TOUCHED THE SKY !!
8.18.2005
MEHTA SLEEPS AGAIN !!!
MEHTA SLEEPS AGAIN !!
NDA-The cradle of military leadership. Rightly called the cradle cause SLEEP is what the cadets would do given a chance.We are a special breed. Trained to slog continuously for over a week without a blink of the eye. We can roam over the vast extents of the Sahyadri ranges for days and nights together, in rains, slush and the scorching sun without a moments break.Rest is poison for us - a second of it and the NDA cadet is asleep. He sleeps like a baby, totally unaware of his surroundings, because we get close to being human only when we sleep.
Academic classes are a boon, you are entitled to sleep through all classes cause tradition has been so for the past 50 odd years. Most of the instructors have been teaching in NDA for over 20 years. So they have reconciled to the fact that it's a futile attempt to try and awaken the resting souls. But then there are some like our Political Science teacher - Ms.Sreelekha - who devoted more time trying to awaken the sleepy hollows than drive a thing or two into their hollow nuts.
Mehta was her favourite. Not because he topped in her class but because she couldn't make Mehta remain awake for more than 30 seconds. But that was the case not with Ms SL alone but with all other instructors. No one could AWAKEN Mehta. He was the champ. Hail Mehta!. He slept like a log through all classes, even the one odd interesting lectures {interesting because of the beautiful lady instructor-NDA is devoid of girls but that's another thing I'll write about later}Getting back to Mehta, he was the one, tried and tested through his three term stay at nda. He could sleep under any condition in any position. Legend has it that Mehta could sleep even while swimming. There was not a soul who could move him.
All instructors had given up on Mehta. But Ms SL was adamant. Maybe her spinster-ship josh added onto it.So the Pol Sc classes were literally a low intensity conflict {excuse my military terminologies} between SL madam and Mehta. Maam trying her best to keep Mehta awake and Mehta trying his best to extract maximum sleep out of that 40 minutes.
The other day Mehta was a bit too sleepy- thanks to his unscrupulous seniors who had tormented him the previous night. Right from the first lecture Mehta was busy in his trans-world and as always no one bothered to wake him up.Pol Sc period: Ms SL came in puffing her usual aura. Without acknowledging our respectful demeanors she went straight to Mehta and broke his trans-state. Mehta was ordered not to sleep. The moment she turned around Mehta's head was on the desk. She turned back and thundered "Don't sleep Mehta". This continued 3-4 times, each time a sleepy Mehta acknowledging "Yes Maam" ….. but the poor chap…it was not his fault. He just couldn't help it. He fell asleep.
He was asked to stand up at his place but he bend down and slept.
He was asked to stand at the back of the class but he leaned against the wall and slept off.
He was asked to stand in the centre of the class away from the wall but the moment madam turned to write on the board, Mehta's head was sagging.
That was it. Maam had lost the battle. But she was not one who gave up so easily. She asked Mehta to stand on the bench. This was not quite common in NDA as it was considered something not suitable for the Gentleman Cadets. A verbal war broke out between Ms Sreelekha and the cadets (we pleading for the still drowsy Mehta) at the end of which the Lady with authority emerged victorious.
The judgment was passed for Mehta to stand up on the bench which the poor chap had to accept. Mehta slowly climbed on the bench and stood there his eyes filled not with tears but SLEEP. Maam was smiling, evidently because she had achieved the impossible. She could AWAKEN Mehta !!Had our tormentor won over our hero?Had the legendary Mehta finally met his match?Had the sky high pride of our class mixed to dust?
With an evil grin maam turned towards the board to ensign her victory in white over the black surface"THUDDD…."
The loud noise put all our doubts to rest.
We won.
Mehta sleeps again.
7.06.2005
a play called MY LIFE
Mind is like a parachute...it will work only when its open....this was said by a very wise man before he started delivering a lecture on some usual topic.....but his opening statement...comparing mind to a parachute..well that was what caught my attention....but then i kept thinking throughout the lecture as to how do i open my mind? hey ! ive never tried it out....shud be interesting...thought i shud give it a shot....so i set out on an attempt to open my mind ....but which way did i want the door to my mind open? i kept pondering over this...if it open inwards like the wise man wanted then that would again fill up the very little space left in there...so i decided to let the door open the other way round....let my pent up feelings and desires come out and atand in front of me....i wanted to liberate my mind...free my own self.....guesss wat im doing right now is jus an act of huge play that ive planned out for myself to enact ..rather a monoact...."MY LIFE"
6.19.2005
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