16 Jan is the NDA (National Defence Academy) raising day.
The Academy was set up as the Joint Services Wing (JSW) on 01 Jan 1949 at Clement Town, Dehra Dun. The first course had commenced on 09 Jan of the same year; the Academy was shifted to the present campus at Khadakwasla, Pune in Oct 1954. The NDA was inaugurated by Morarji Desai, the then Chief Minister of Bombay on 16 Jan 1955.
Am reminded about my first day at the NDA, 47 years ago!
Am reminded about my first day at the NDA, 47 years ago!
I'd joined the Academy, as a first termer of the 49th course, on 10 Jan 1973. Pune, of today, used to be called Poona and I remember the train that I was travelling by - the Madras-Dadar Express - had pulled into the station around a half past 8 in the morning (It was a bright sunny one at that). We - there were a few others along with me - made a beeline towards the reception point on platform no.1. There was a fairly sizeable crowd by then to report at the Academy, that day. Captain Bhupinder Singh Dhadwal was the staff officer - later came to know that he was one of the instructors at the Engineering and Drawing Department in the Science Block - who shouted, "I say, what sort of guys are joining the Academy these days? Don't you guys know that you're supposed to be wearing a tie?"
We literally dived into our black, steel trunks and fished out our ties to quickly wear them. After the muster, we were told to board the fleet of gleaming, olive green NDA buses and started our journey to the institution that was going to be our home, for the next three years. As the vehicles charged through those approximately 14 km, the city had soon receded and the forlorn hills and dales that cradled the Academy came into view. Traffic sign boards saying that the NDA was 10 miles from now..5 miles from now....passed by before we saw the imposing layout of the Academy in front of our eyes as the vehicle was atop a hill, near the Garware House, short of the Pashan Gate. A while later, we'd fetched up before the Cadets' Mess to be welcomed by an imposing and handsome personality with a booming voice, none other than Commodore Ronald Lynsdale Pereira, the then Deputy Commandant of the NDA!
After a steaming cup of drinking chocolate and cream biscuits, the DepCom touched upon fragging by the seniors which would facilitate us to learn the ropes at the shortest possible time and welcomed all of us, newcomers in front of the central mess. I was slotted into the eighth out of twelve squadrons and before long, found myself trudging towards 'H' for Hunter Squadron with the orderly, Hari Singh - a huge and burly figure - carrying my trunk on his head and my airbag slung on his shoulder. Barely had we traversed about a 100 steps, our roles were reversed with me carrying my luggage and the orderly designated to receive me, walking by my side rather imposingly - a quick glance around, I found that this 'change over' had happened to the others, too, proceeding to their respective squadrons! I, soon, reached the Squadron and after having offloaded the luggage, was asked to front roll on the longish corridor by a senior - he was Divisional Cadet Captain Goli Ravindra Babu, as I came to know about his identity, later in the course of the day - for no rhyme or reason. He was particularly harsh on me because a senior school mate of mine had taken him to task in his earlier days!
These are some of the things that had happened during the course of the day as I remember them through the haze of my memory:-
(a) Lunch, that had a liberal spread of salt at the behest of the seniors (The appointment holders of the senior term - the 44th course - and the retest types drawn from all courses) in attendance; we, first termers had joined a week before the Academy was to reopen.
(b) A crew cut at the Squadron Barber Shop (Brought about an outright change in my personality and must confess, I felt lighter!).
(c) Issue of personal bicycles at the MT Pool - H 73 was mine, for the entire 1st term.
(d) More rolling on the Squadron's corridor which resulted in my throwing up twice. Was asked to clean up the muck with my handkerchief, wash it away and to continue doing so from where I'd left last.
(e) A whirlwind tour of the Academy - the Academy 'darshan' - in buses.
(f) A senior - came to know of his identity much later - asked me to chew on my tie, which he'd rolled and put into my mouth. I was hit on my abdomen because I'd shammed on the chewing bit and the sudden assault got me angry enough to chew the tie out of shape.....it was reduced to a miserable blob of mass...and the epitaph to an expensive tie that I was fond of!
(g) The stripping of the clothes for the 'Academy bath' - where everyone washed themselves in the raw without feeling awkward about each other's nudity at close quarters - was a painful affair as my back had abrasions, thanks to the rolling that I'd done thus far.
(h) The supper was another salty affair and I hated the butler-in-attendance - Balam - who seemed to be enjoying my discomfort but he'd quietly slipped a well endowed sandwich into my trouser pocket which I gobbled once within the dark confines of my cabin, on return from the Mess. Balam, God bless his soul, became my good friend in the Mess, during meals, as he regaled me with stories about the seniors. (An oft repeated yarn that he used to narrate was the friendship of 'chakku', 'talwar' and 'bandook' for Chacko, Talwar and Bandhu!).
(j) There was some more of fragging, into the night, with us standing in the cold weather on the bicycle stand in our underwear after a warm shower, with our cycles slung on our shoulders!
I remember returning to my cabin - no.16, on the ground floor at the central lobby of the squadron. In fact, all the first termers were housed at the ground floor - around midnight. To my utter discomfort, I found that I couldn't lie on my well-made-bed with white sheets, along with a thick blanket by the avuncular Ram Singh, my orderly for the term as my back had a series of abrasions thanks to the repeated rolling, in the course of the day. Since I was so exhausted, I didn't know when I'd passed out.......but believe me, with no hard feelings towards anyone.
My first day in the Academy was long over and I was left with another 1,094 days. The metamorphosis from a rookie boy to a man had begun in right earnest!
Tailpiece.
Had got up at our usual time, gone through the chores and was ready well in time. It was yet another quiet day.
(a) Lunch, that had a liberal spread of salt at the behest of the seniors (The appointment holders of the senior term - the 44th course - and the retest types drawn from all courses) in attendance; we, first termers had joined a week before the Academy was to reopen.
(b) A crew cut at the Squadron Barber Shop (Brought about an outright change in my personality and must confess, I felt lighter!).
(c) Issue of personal bicycles at the MT Pool - H 73 was mine, for the entire 1st term.
(d) More rolling on the Squadron's corridor which resulted in my throwing up twice. Was asked to clean up the muck with my handkerchief, wash it away and to continue doing so from where I'd left last.
(e) A whirlwind tour of the Academy - the Academy 'darshan' - in buses.
(f) A senior - came to know of his identity much later - asked me to chew on my tie, which he'd rolled and put into my mouth. I was hit on my abdomen because I'd shammed on the chewing bit and the sudden assault got me angry enough to chew the tie out of shape.....it was reduced to a miserable blob of mass...and the epitaph to an expensive tie that I was fond of!
(g) The stripping of the clothes for the 'Academy bath' - where everyone washed themselves in the raw without feeling awkward about each other's nudity at close quarters - was a painful affair as my back had abrasions, thanks to the rolling that I'd done thus far.
(h) The supper was another salty affair and I hated the butler-in-attendance - Balam - who seemed to be enjoying my discomfort but he'd quietly slipped a well endowed sandwich into my trouser pocket which I gobbled once within the dark confines of my cabin, on return from the Mess. Balam, God bless his soul, became my good friend in the Mess, during meals, as he regaled me with stories about the seniors. (An oft repeated yarn that he used to narrate was the friendship of 'chakku', 'talwar' and 'bandook' for Chacko, Talwar and Bandhu!).
(j) There was some more of fragging, into the night, with us standing in the cold weather on the bicycle stand in our underwear after a warm shower, with our cycles slung on our shoulders!
I remember returning to my cabin - no.16, on the ground floor at the central lobby of the squadron. In fact, all the first termers were housed at the ground floor - around midnight. To my utter discomfort, I found that I couldn't lie on my well-made-bed with white sheets, along with a thick blanket by the avuncular Ram Singh, my orderly for the term as my back had a series of abrasions thanks to the repeated rolling, in the course of the day. Since I was so exhausted, I didn't know when I'd passed out.......but believe me, with no hard feelings towards anyone.
My first day in the Academy was long over and I was left with another 1,094 days. The metamorphosis from a rookie boy to a man had begun in right earnest!
Tailpiece.
Had got up at our usual time, gone through the chores and was ready well in time. It was yet another quiet day.
No comments:
Post a Comment