It was cold, numbing my nerves, sending a shiver down the spines. Yet the cold was not evil. A mist settled over the corn fields on the right. A cottage held against the gale which shook the very foundations of the county oak. I stood strong, staring into the gale and holding my own. Even the gale seemed friendly. A wisp of smoke rose through the meager chimney which stuck out of the cottage roof. Across the lawn on the left, the lush greens waved to the wind as I turned to face the sunset. A cup of tea conjured out of no man's land in my hand accompanied that perfect picturesque view. A short dark skinny man came up from the rear and called "Dada".
I awoke with bloodshot eyes from my deep slumber. Geetanjali express however did not feel a thing as she shot along the thickets of Jharkhand. A voice yelling 'kharab se kharab (worser than worse)' chai (tea) befuddled me. The morning sun was quite above the horizon. It hadn't been a bad dream after all. I had a solid 12 hour sleep on the upper berth which had me geared up for the rigours of the day. It was after all the day of January when I returned back to resume my second innings ala the second semester. I stopped the man and beckoned him to fill me up a cup. The tea wasn't that worse as its maker put it to be. In fact, I readied myself, Kharagpur was 3 hours away and we were approaching the station of Tatanagar.
It was amazing how the past month and half had flown past. The highlight of the past month had been the 10 day NCC camp followed by the royal treatment I received while I recovered from the rigours of the camp. MS hall management had not disappointed by requiring every boarder to empty his belongings in the hall common room before going to the camp. Endsems had been perfect as I had fired enough answers to make sure I did not have to wait in the summers.
It began as preconceived on the 30th of November a day after the endsems. We set off huddled with our bedding and luggage (dead weight of 14 kilos) to the Gymkhana gate. The travel vehicles (trucks) were ready. We set off for the Camp base in Kalaikunda another sleepy town just in the neighbourhood. I will not disclose the location due to security reasons and also the fact that it was a classified area :).
The living facilities were not five star, there were billets, twenty five of us in each. The floor and the decor was very simple and unflattering. Caterpillars and black ants crawled across the walls, the floors and even the roof. The people at NCC were dead serious about making this camp a real experience. Further then, the toilets (aarghh) were less than simple. A total of six toilets for three hundred of us. Needless to mention, bathing facilities were simple too, water arrived at three in the morning and five in the evening. It was our onus to make sure the essentials were completed before it finished. So much for the fact that the prospective future chieftains of India inc were shown that they would not get special treatment.
The camp was the most simple, all you needed to do was to follow the orders and you would be fine. Now the orders were as intelligible as the numerals 1 - 9. You woke up in the morning at 4.30 when the sentry (one of us) would be sent banging a plate with a spoon to serve as an alarm. You would then assemble, and go for a jog and excercise for a couple of hours. You would then come back, have breakfast and then go for the day's drills under the wonderful sun. Afternoon time, there used to be a quick lunch and it would then be followed by 'technical seminars'. The evening would be wrapped up by another couple of hours of excercise. Lights would be switched off by 10.00 pm, so if you had things to do, you would better equip yourself to seeing in the dark.
There were memorable instances during the camp. I particularly (and not fondly) remember answering nature's call at 3.30 am in the morning (I could be sure of water). The toilet did not have a light, so I had to assume things. The latch could not be relied upon so I held the door shut. During the process, I realised I was not alone. This sent shudders down my back, could it be a snake in the dark? Thankfully, it turned out to be a couple of frogs (perhaps answering nature's call too).
The second particular incident was about firing shots from a rifle that had been in use since the pre independence era. I had been looking forward to this and as we were led to the firing range to practice, there was a sense of excitement amongst our group. We waited as the first batch (6 guys) went to have their turn. The first shot was deafening, we hopefully enquired about ear plugs, Captain planets were having nothing of that. Their message was clear, take the gun, take the rounds and fire all at the bulls eye, Simple and easy! There was also a short lecture which instructed us about the conservation of linear momentum principle; simply put, the gun would recoil when the shot was fired, hence no nonsense attitude to make sure you and others came back in one piece. My turn arrived, I took position and fired those rounds. 9 of them went close to the bulls eye. Others had done better, some others had done worse (especially when the commanders found that there were less bullet holes in their targets than the number of rounds supplied and that their neighbours targets had more holes than could be feasible).
When I came out, it took half an hour for me to start hearing things again. It was a chastening experience as I lent my thoughts to our soldiers on the front who were facing the real thing. I saw Pandit afterwards, he had a massive ring around his right eye which was a mixture of dark crimson and blue. Apparently he had not been attentive when the conservation of momentum principle was being discussed.
The food was excellent, the short breaks consisting of tea and five crack jack biscuits were forgettable. As it happened, we were also supposed to peform sentry duty as cadets at night, guarding the mess utensils. My turn arrived and I took guard at 2.00 am in the night. The cold was inexplicably getting too my skin and even the thick army jacket was not enough to keep it out. At 4.00 am we set out for the day's purchase of rations, food for around 300 people. The Kharagpur railway market was the source for those. It is an amazingly big market, The journey to and fro was an experience. I shall remember fondly the scenes of some stunning greenery and sunrise across the realms of Bengal where the mists covered the fields. However enjoying those was not the agenda, six of us had to carry sacks of potatoes, tomatoes and the other vegetables for the day to the truck. This was a heavy duty excercise. We got rewarded for it as well, A dozen bananas! While coming back, I was amazed to count the number of temples and Telugu schools around Kharagpur. If only I had a handycam, a worthwhile documentary could have been easily shot.
After 10 days, there were remarkable changes in me (and others) following these simple instructions. My hands and legs were swollen but strangely I was not able to feel them. My face had changed colour except at the forehead due to the tan imparted to my skin during the daily drills. I must have jogged 15 km a day for each of those 10 days.
Life seemed so changed when we came back to MS hall after the camp, nice snug rooms, clean toilets and no need to wake up in the morning and run like hell. The journey home was heartening as usual. 10 percent of my IIT course had been completed, it seemed like a milestone at that time. Those ten days of camp had established a bonding among us that no other induction party would have been able to. It made me appreciate my life and all that I had.
It was 11.30 am and Geetanjali express approached Kharagpur railway station. I had arrived to start the next 10 percent of my term.
I awoke with bloodshot eyes from my deep slumber. Geetanjali express however did not feel a thing as she shot along the thickets of Jharkhand. A voice yelling 'kharab se kharab (worser than worse)' chai (tea) befuddled me. The morning sun was quite above the horizon. It hadn't been a bad dream after all. I had a solid 12 hour sleep on the upper berth which had me geared up for the rigours of the day. It was after all the day of January when I returned back to resume my second innings ala the second semester. I stopped the man and beckoned him to fill me up a cup. The tea wasn't that worse as its maker put it to be. In fact, I readied myself, Kharagpur was 3 hours away and we were approaching the station of Tatanagar.
It was amazing how the past month and half had flown past. The highlight of the past month had been the 10 day NCC camp followed by the royal treatment I received while I recovered from the rigours of the camp. MS hall management had not disappointed by requiring every boarder to empty his belongings in the hall common room before going to the camp. Endsems had been perfect as I had fired enough answers to make sure I did not have to wait in the summers.
It began as preconceived on the 30th of November a day after the endsems. We set off huddled with our bedding and luggage (dead weight of 14 kilos) to the Gymkhana gate. The travel vehicles (trucks) were ready. We set off for the Camp base in Kalaikunda another sleepy town just in the neighbourhood. I will not disclose the location due to security reasons and also the fact that it was a classified area :).
The living facilities were not five star, there were billets, twenty five of us in each. The floor and the decor was very simple and unflattering. Caterpillars and black ants crawled across the walls, the floors and even the roof. The people at NCC were dead serious about making this camp a real experience. Further then, the toilets (aarghh) were less than simple. A total of six toilets for three hundred of us. Needless to mention, bathing facilities were simple too, water arrived at three in the morning and five in the evening. It was our onus to make sure the essentials were completed before it finished. So much for the fact that the prospective future chieftains of India inc were shown that they would not get special treatment.
The camp was the most simple, all you needed to do was to follow the orders and you would be fine. Now the orders were as intelligible as the numerals 1 - 9. You woke up in the morning at 4.30 when the sentry (one of us) would be sent banging a plate with a spoon to serve as an alarm. You would then assemble, and go for a jog and excercise for a couple of hours. You would then come back, have breakfast and then go for the day's drills under the wonderful sun. Afternoon time, there used to be a quick lunch and it would then be followed by 'technical seminars'. The evening would be wrapped up by another couple of hours of excercise. Lights would be switched off by 10.00 pm, so if you had things to do, you would better equip yourself to seeing in the dark.
There were memorable instances during the camp. I particularly (and not fondly) remember answering nature's call at 3.30 am in the morning (I could be sure of water). The toilet did not have a light, so I had to assume things. The latch could not be relied upon so I held the door shut. During the process, I realised I was not alone. This sent shudders down my back, could it be a snake in the dark? Thankfully, it turned out to be a couple of frogs (perhaps answering nature's call too).
The second particular incident was about firing shots from a rifle that had been in use since the pre independence era. I had been looking forward to this and as we were led to the firing range to practice, there was a sense of excitement amongst our group. We waited as the first batch (6 guys) went to have their turn. The first shot was deafening, we hopefully enquired about ear plugs, Captain planets were having nothing of that. Their message was clear, take the gun, take the rounds and fire all at the bulls eye, Simple and easy! There was also a short lecture which instructed us about the conservation of linear momentum principle; simply put, the gun would recoil when the shot was fired, hence no nonsense attitude to make sure you and others came back in one piece. My turn arrived, I took position and fired those rounds. 9 of them went close to the bulls eye. Others had done better, some others had done worse (especially when the commanders found that there were less bullet holes in their targets than the number of rounds supplied and that their neighbours targets had more holes than could be feasible).
When I came out, it took half an hour for me to start hearing things again. It was a chastening experience as I lent my thoughts to our soldiers on the front who were facing the real thing. I saw Pandit afterwards, he had a massive ring around his right eye which was a mixture of dark crimson and blue. Apparently he had not been attentive when the conservation of momentum principle was being discussed.
The food was excellent, the short breaks consisting of tea and five crack jack biscuits were forgettable. As it happened, we were also supposed to peform sentry duty as cadets at night, guarding the mess utensils. My turn arrived and I took guard at 2.00 am in the night. The cold was inexplicably getting too my skin and even the thick army jacket was not enough to keep it out. At 4.00 am we set out for the day's purchase of rations, food for around 300 people. The Kharagpur railway market was the source for those. It is an amazingly big market, The journey to and fro was an experience. I shall remember fondly the scenes of some stunning greenery and sunrise across the realms of Bengal where the mists covered the fields. However enjoying those was not the agenda, six of us had to carry sacks of potatoes, tomatoes and the other vegetables for the day to the truck. This was a heavy duty excercise. We got rewarded for it as well, A dozen bananas! While coming back, I was amazed to count the number of temples and Telugu schools around Kharagpur. If only I had a handycam, a worthwhile documentary could have been easily shot.
After 10 days, there were remarkable changes in me (and others) following these simple instructions. My hands and legs were swollen but strangely I was not able to feel them. My face had changed colour except at the forehead due to the tan imparted to my skin during the daily drills. I must have jogged 15 km a day for each of those 10 days.
Life seemed so changed when we came back to MS hall after the camp, nice snug rooms, clean toilets and no need to wake up in the morning and run like hell. The journey home was heartening as usual. 10 percent of my IIT course had been completed, it seemed like a milestone at that time. Those ten days of camp had established a bonding among us that no other induction party would have been able to. It made me appreciate my life and all that I had.
It was 11.30 am and Geetanjali express approached Kharagpur railway station. I had arrived to start the next 10 percent of my term.
Those were some days. .changed me a lot
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