(MIS)ADVENTURES FROM THE MID TERM BREAK

Ever since I had answered “ Adventure “ as one among many reasons for choosing the profession of Arms, during the SSB interviews, the Gods and Goddesses have been extravagant in blessing me with what I craved for, so much so that it has lead to some embarrassing situationS arising out of comedy of error.

The EODE courses were recently given few days of mid term break to get over the shock of the Phase test-I results. And thanks to Wright Brothers ( God bless their departed soul) despite hailing from Coimbatore, which is quite far away for a touch and back journey from Pune, I did choose to visit home.

It was an amazing trip, especially the trip to the Niligiris, along the 18 hair pin bend Ghat Road, surrounded on either sides by the thick green tea plantations whose aroma penetrated deep into one’s soul through the nostrils. The exquisite South Indian Biriyani served in the traditional Banana leaf, and an opportunity to witness the tribal dance of the local inhabitants- the Todas were indeed sweet unforgettable memories. But surpassing all these was the joy of being with my Mom, Sis, Dad and Grandma who had recently turned 98. (Yes that is no typing error, she is ninety eight and can give a good fight to my mom-her daughter in law, even till date)
On the last day of the break, I bid adieu to my family and took my flight from Coimbatore to Chennai to switch planes for Pune. There was a four hour break in between and I spend most of it ‘Bird’ watching in the Chennai Airport. Seldom, did I realize then that it was the beginning of a life time (mis)adventure at the airport.
After the security checks, I went across Gate No 03 to board my flight to Pune. Normally they arrange a Bus which drops the passengers right till the aircraft from the gate, but as luck would have it, there was no bus, and all passengers were walking towards their flight. The crowd had suddenly grown in number, since those from other gates too were walking towards their aircrafts. I approached my carrier, an Indigo flight showed my boarding pass which was checked ( Just Like that JLT – Type ) by a ground staff and I boarded the flight. My seat No was 15-F and I was overjoyed to see a young girl in seat no 15-E. My joy however was shortlived, as a very complex individual dressed like Mr I K Gujral came over and told me his seat No was 15-F too.
We called in the Air hostess, Anushka Kaur, showed her the two boarding pass. I have read about blonde Jokes, and seen some videos in youtube too, but Anushka was the mother, correction, Queen Mother of all Blondes. After staring into the boarding pass for over a minute and having sunk into an ocean of bliss and Nirvana, she excused herself and went to the Intercom panel along with other air hostesses.
Meanwhile like good old Indians that we are, the Gujral look-alike wasted no time in blaming our system, and I was quick to second him. We should sue them perhaps, he suggested, wait until the media hears about this, I added. Almost the entire crew and passengers had their eye fixed on us, staring at us with awe.

Anushka returned with an amazing blush that would have made any bachelor Guy drop down his jaws. My tough mental training of NDA helped me control my emotions and my desire. With a Golden smile she spoke – Shyam this boarding pass is for the Chennai- Pune flight, this is the Delhi flight you have boarded accidentally sir. I wanted to ask her, - “Can I have your Mobile No sweet heart “, but all I could utter out was a “ Oh…!!!” followed by a long pause.
And so it began and there it ended, the flight to Pune was delayed for 30 mins thanks to me, the Unlucky Girl at seat No 15-E, missed out on a wonderful company of a Gentleman like me, and not to forget the embarrassment of taking your luggage and de boarding a flight escorted by a gorgeous girl whose blush kept growing exponentially, making it seem that I was an object of ridicule.
Luckily, I did manage to reach the premises of my Alma Mater, “ where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection “ and avoid the ghosts of the endurance run that lurks at every corner (a recent phenomenon), waiting to catch and squeeze out all the midterm mood out of me.
Cheers!!!
Capt S Shyam Saseethar
EODE- 109

Army, Cops and a Biased Media

The officer to men ratio in the Indian Army is approximately 1 is to 160, however during the Kargil conflict the ratio of the casualties was 1 is to 10. These are not mere statistics but speak volumes of the quality of the officer cadre that led their men-from the front. Leading from the front requires raw courage, undying zeal and relentless enthusiasm. How do these boys, no more than 23 years old , an age when their counterparts in the civil society have not even figured out what they want to do in life, are able to muster such a strong sense of purpose as to lead men into fire? This comes from the rigorous training that they are made to go through, toughening the mind, body and spirit. An aggressive spirit is ingrained in them that makes these men to lay down their lives for the cause of a forgetful and ungrateful nation. The case in question is the recent unfortunate turn events took in Pune resulting in confrontation between the Defence Forces, egged on and catalysed by the media. The aim is not to discuss the events but to give an insight into their cause. Owing to operational and security reasons the defence forces are generally shrouded in a cloud of mystery evoking curiosity and speculations. This not only provides the media with a sea of unexplored opportunity to dig their nose into any issue concerning the Armed forces but also places on them the responsibility to exercise discretion in the publication of any such issue. Care should be taken to ensure that the media’s role does not jeopardise the security of personnel or information and most importantly tarnish the image of the Forces. A country’s Defence Forces symbolise not only its strength but also the character of the nation. A blow served to the image of the Defence Forces not only lowers the morale of the force but also the faith of the common man in them, the biggest boost for the morale of any soldier. No denying the fact that the course taken by the Army officers in this case was not the best one, neither the wisest-but a careful analysis of the facts will reveal that the belligerents were all young officers in their early twenties. When these officers initially introduced themselves as ‘Army Officers’ all it implied was that they deserved to be treated in a dignified manner, they really were not asking for too much. These men spend months and years of their lives in god forsaken places guarding our frontiers or training-totally aloof from civilization, the only communication to the outside world being occasional letters from near and dear ones. So when a person declares himself as an ‘Army personnel’ it does not mean that he considers himself above rule of law, it only means- - I have been living far away from civilization in a place you could hardly spot on a map for months so that you can stand here without fear, grant me that respect. - Expect me not be conversant with the changes that have taken place recently or new signboards that you may have put. - I have no permanent home and neither does my family and every some years it’s a new town or city I’ve to call home. - I will someday put my life in peril for you and all my countrymen, expecting nothing but respect and gratitude in return. - I put my life so often in peril that I know no fear( often misinterpreted as arrogance). These young men lacked thoughtfulness agreed and with some provocation got aggressive but remember here that these men are trained to be such. A seasoned and reasoning man lacks the spontaneity to jump in the way of fire without heeding for personal safety for no personal gain of his own. It is these young men with this aggression who led the Indian Army to historic victories and for God’s sake not criminals. A matured handling of these officers by the police and subsequent handling of the issue by the media could have averted tarnishing the image of the Armed Forces in the eyes of a gossip happy nation.

Chapter Two -Adventure Hike to 3 EME center Bhopal

STATION: D'DUN
CABIN NO 3 – Z COY
24 MARCH 2008

Having arrived at Bhopal, after a journey that saw us enjoying every stretch of NH-59 and a sleeper journey through one of the slowest trains in India, it came as a real shock to me once we entered into the 3 EME Center. After an unexpected Musical welcome by the unit band, and introduction to the officers, we were addressed by the commandant Brig Joshi. It was after listening to him that I realized that this was not going to be just another boring visit to some military establishment. It was supposed to be an adventure hike and 3 EME Center was all set to give us an adventure of a life time.

The very next day, we were going to proceed on a bike hike to Sanchi a distance of 55 Kms. We were not going to be given the ‘Pulsars’ and ‘Thunder birds’, but what we ended up getting was something far better. The latest version of the famous fire fox cycles, with a top speed of 80 kmph, known for their light weight, easy handling & most important of all – STYLE !

As dawn came, I was ready like all my mates, in our Games Rig with Sanchi in our minds. There were only 12 fire fox cycles and the rest were mountain bikes. The hike strength was 42, and so having shared with us the danger involved in handling fire fox as an amateur, volunteers for the fox were told to separate out.

I was indeed lucky to find, all my mates of NDA in the elite group, all set to embark on an adventure of a life time. We were send in batches of six, I was lucky to be in the leading file too, and within minutes after the flag off I was whizzing past the trees lining the road at an incredible speed. At times we were forced to slow down for others to catch up, yet I enjoyed the new morning breeze of the country side, the beautiful cane fields that were waiving at us merrily and of course the totally dumb struck villagers who clapped for us and cried- Bharath Mata Ki Jai!

Frankly, for the first time in my life I realized, what it means to be a Fauji, as the feeling of Pride and Honour grew in me and in others around too around me. This I guess was the moment which no MNC’s can give in their package.

We arrived in Sanchi at 1100 Hrs and I could see in the eyes of all my comrades a great sense of achievement. Our tryst with adventure continued in the days ahead, whether it was the Hot Air Ballooning or the wonderful Cruise in the Lake. The party in the Officer’s Mess and the Holi celebrations were the tipsy pudding to our visit.

But at the end of the visit, the most memorable moment of my life, still continues to be the Bike Hike. Me-My Fire Fox-The Fields-The Villagers-The Cheering-and of course the Tears (which I made sure no one around me got to see)

Chapter One - Encounter with an Angel

STATION: D'DUN
MILITARY HOSPITAL
07 MARCH 2008

Well what can I say? It seems I have one of those Infatuation phases all set to enter my life once again. The last two days have been very pleasant thanks to the wonderful dreams I keep having about Love and Romance.

This girl just keeps entering my imagination every time I am idle, and guess what, having been admitted in the Military Hospital, I guess I am free 24 X 7..!

I met her or rather had a chance encounter two days ago in the out patient dept. She came with her younger brother, who had some sort of fracture in his wrist. She was wearing something Light grey for my eyes, but it did not matter what she was wearing, what captivated me was her innocent, cute and charming looks. Every feature, I felt was carved to perfection. I almost had an intuition that perhaps I was seeing the Goddess of beauty for real.

And when she smiled, My God, I almost had a heart attack, I couldn’t breathe for a while, my limbs were paralyzed and I felt an uneasy numbness throughout my body. I just couldn’t wait to hear her voice, and guess what , My stars were helping me get a seat straight ahead of her, and before I knew I listened, mesmerized physically & spiritually to the sweetest voice ever created in the Universe. Every expression in her face was accompanied by a wonderful blush that sends shivers through my mind and spine.

All of a sudden, I felt I was completely cured of all the fractures and contusions. The whole world became haze and I entered into a dream world, where the only things that existed was Me, Her and Nature- Both so delicate yet so fragile.

All this and more I was imagining without talking my eyes off her, and just then she realized some cadet is staring at her for a long time. I guess she was shocked and surprised and that actually made me lose my wit and I started to panic too. I have had this inherited defect of being a wuzzo when it comes to relationship and/or just a plain conversation with someone from the opposite sex after having dreamt and imagined about them.

So here I was, a to be officer in the world’s Second Largest Army, scared and Shivering. She just kept staring at me for a while and must have noticed that I would have glanced at her around twenty times in a minute, for some reason or the other. She on longer felt suspicious. Besides I was not a stranger to her, I wasn’t a stranger to anyone. Everyone knew an IMA cadet, especially in the Military Hospital, we were treated like Officers.

I am sure she must have by then deduced that I was Maroing line on her. She blushed a little, bends her head down and gave glances now and then. I almost felt like having a non verbal two way communication with her. While all this was happening her appointment with the doctor had finally come and as she stood up, I just couldn’t dare to look anything else but her, the force of attraction was impossible to overcome, and I saw a tall, slim and the most perfect girl ever in my life. As she came out after her appointment, it was my turn to go in, knowing that she may or may not be outside when I come back, I decided to enjoy and savor my last moment with her.

As I was about to enter the room, involuntarily I turned back in a moment of impulse and our eyes met – In her I saw my whole world.

Eventually I was diagnosed for a low backbone injury, and I lost track of the beautiful girl in Grey- My dream Princess who almost captivated me to follow her unto death.

Well, as I refresh my memories, I feel funny and happy, - happy because of the wonderful time and the sweet memories and funny because of the mystic human emotions. Only a feeble mind like ours could device an emotion called love, which can change a person’s attitude, his perception of things, and in bizarre cases his very life. As I close my narration, I remember the Bible and I quote, “….So three things exist, Faith, Hope and Love-the greatest among them being Love!”

FOREWORD

I have always dreamt of writing my very own book, since I have been having an extraordinary personal life not less than a totally weird Hollywood flick, but being an amateur in this field and having no literary experiences I have decided to have a humble beginning in the form of Anecdotes.

“Memoirs of a Young Soldier " is a collection of small incidents that has influenced my perception of things, the way they are, the way I see world. In short it is a real life experience of a young youth-Me. Set in the lush green Dehradun valley... In the Indian Military Academy, each of these incidents has kindled some adrenaline movement in my veins and am sure would indeed touch your heart too.

Happy Reading....!!!