Feet five feet high, my face staring down the ground, sweat slowly making its way, I start to dream of the ‘guy’ I was, the cadet I am, and the soldier I meant to be.
Ruffled hair, baggy jeans, a smart phone in hand and a party on mind, I would go to ‘early’ morning classes at 9 am. I would care a damn what I present to the world, my jeans soiled, my flipflops out of place and eating habits terrible.
My legs slowly starts sliding down the wall, my arms started to strain under the pressure. Before I am yelled at and loose a little more face, I garner more strength from the dark pocket of endurance I never knew existed within me.
Washing and ironing clothes meant a futile exercise to me until we were taught of the importance a crease and the blunder of having a wrinkle. Serving in the armed forces is a matter of immense pride, where people from all walks of life look up to you with awe. The clothes we wear, be it uniform or just civvies, need to have the same amount of smartness and precision as our march and speech. Back then, gossip and talking shop were a part of every conversation, until you are taught how a crisp answer, a straight question and faster action can be more productive. Every unnecessary adjective and pronoun can have grave consequences.
Running a kilometer or two was more of a joke than a possibility. Today, even a 12 Km run hardly seems long. The ruggedness of the camps, taste of mud, cruelty of the sun’s heat have carved a man of steel in us from the clay like figurines crying even with the fear of pain.
The ever craved ‘play station controller’ changed to a rifle, a pistol or a carbine at times. The aim I would take at the computer target at home became a live round slicing through the silence around finding its target. Being strong meant, to have a pack of abs and wrestler like muscles, it’s true meaning dawned upon us when you pull that extra mile with a limping leg, carry a drum with a broken hand or be ready for the next day with vigor even without the night’s sleep. A man of war like anything tough, is only made under the toughest of situations. Tested mentally and physically under the most rigorous conditions is to make each one of us shoulder the responsibility of a hundred men in the time of war because “The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war”.
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When the horse gallops and the wind zips past your ears, you are taught to synergize with the beast inside you , work in tandem with the animal, make it run the way you think and jump when you want. Passing your Equitation Training Team test instills the sense of achieving one of the world’s most forgotten but elite sports.
Back home when I’m with family and friends I have a million stories to share, each heard like a warriors tale. Mountaineering, parasailing, firing and the tales of camps seem like flicks of a movie to them. Dumbfounded and refusing to believe, they are awestruck by the magnitude of change in me.
Friends are made with a burger; a few laughs and a lot of gossip, in the academy bonds are made of true blood, sweat and tear. A course mate is someone you are incomplete without you jump, fall, work, lose and win together. You with a sense of complete trust can lay your life in his hands knowing he would do the same with you. Once you begin a journey, you are aware; either first or last, complete it or not he will not leave you behind. The true meaning of espirit de corps touches our hearts and settles in our minds forever as it is the oxygen for the armed forces.
After twenty minutes I’m secured, I walk up to my cabin, change and close my eyes with a sense of pride for all that I have achieved and the unflinching commitment to the service I would for my country in the years to come.
– Krishna
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8 Photos Showing The Life Of Indian Navy Cadet At Indian Naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala
