Earning a Rank.

Experiences of the NDA kind!

They told me he was coming to the station. I was dying to meet the General I had been hearing about, ever since my marriage. He was a hero, envied by some and respected by most of his course mates. A veritable legend of his time at the National Defence Academy, 'General' Mago had earned his rank with the sweat of his brow, with great courage and ingenuity.

While there were several official tabs and stripes that the cadets could earn by their exemplary behaviour and bravado, most cadets revered the unofficial ranks of a 'Brigadier' and a 'General'. A cadet became a 'Brigadier' when he was relegated for a term and a 'General' when he was relegated twice.

Anil Mago had set out to bag the highest rank. Those were the days when Commodore RL Pereira was the Deputy Commandant of the NDA. He later went on to become the Navy Chief. A veritable terror, Commodore Pereira was ingenios in devising traps to ensnare the rule-breakers. Surprise checks and stealthy approaches were his forte. One of his favourite ploys was a sudden visit to the squadrons after the fall-in of the cadets.

A number of local boys worked at the Academy. It was their job to keep the rooms clean and polish  the brass and the shoes. Usually, the civilian batmen cleaned up the rooms after the cadets had left for their classes. One morning, after a specially gruelling duty, Mago decided to sleep off his fatigue.

It was the cleaning and the cadets had gone for their classes. The batmen were busy collecting the shoes and their shoe-shine boxes at the end of the corridor. Mago was whistling merrily when Commodore Pereira made his surprise visit to the squadron.

Quick to react, Mago sat down in the corridor and began polishing the shoes stacked by the batmen. He even dared to offer a shine to the Commodore's boots. The offer was taken up. Commodore Pereira's shoes were given a beautiful shine and Mago earned a tip for his efforts. On learning about the incident, the cadets congratulated the hero at having escaped unscathed and Mago's reputation went up by a few notches.

Another morning, Mago decided that he needed to skip the routine and rest his weary limbs. He instructed his batman to lock him from outside. The entire complex was deserted when Commodore Pereira began stalking the corridors, in search of a prey. Since a cricket match was on, the Commodore was walking around with his transistor. Mago heard the commentary and assuming that a batman was around, he shouted from within the confines of his room - "Score kya hai?"

The Commodore halted in his tracks and listened through the door. Mago shouted again - "Abe suna nahin, score kya hai?"

I leave the rest to the imagination of the readers. Let me only say that Mago earned his rank of a 'Brigadier' after this incident. How he earned the 'General's' rank is another story.

- Tanushree Podder

My take

Only an individual who's passed through the portals of that great institution can find mirth in such trivia but very much relevant to his existence!

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by 10. 

Got the feedback about Kurup kochachhan's medical condition from Maman and Indira kunjamma who'd visited him at the Tayabji Hospital. It's my fond hope that he recovers at the earliest.

The responsibility of the receipt of the LPG refill has been handed over to Suma. There was a bit of a suspense that Shenoy Care had not called up to confirm Lekha's appointment with the doctor tomorrow. Finally, it had come around 1700 hrs!

The Quarterdeck was systematically shut down after 9 months, in the evening.