Considering the rave reviews I received for my previous post on the inimitable Cadet JAM, I am presuming that most of you readers are well familiar with the gentleman. Other than reminding you that amongst his countless sterling qualities, the ones that stood out were his resourcefulness, presence of mind…
Tag: NDA
NDA Cadet’s Life and the Art of Sleeping Anywhere — Even While Standing
Shakespeare says sleep is nature’s nurse. And while I, with my limited acquaintance with his work, often feel that he just strings some highfalutin words that sound impressive but mean nothing, I can’t argue with him on this one. Sleep is indeed aNurse, a Nurse that comforts, relaxes and restores. Maybe…
Military Service Reflections. What is the Fundamental Guiding Principle in the Forces?
Remember Colonel Hathi from Junglebook? Remember the scene where he lines up his troops and asks for volunteers for a ‘special mission’ – to take one step forward? Every member of his gang of course, hurriedly takes one step back! And why am I alluding to this? Well, if there…
Life in the Services. ‘Cross country runs’ are Hell!
This post about an NDA Cadet’s life, is also dedicated to our dear departed course-mate, the ever smiling, ever positive, Joginder Chandna. Chandna was born to run and was, to my amazement, happiest when participating in Marathons, burning up the miles with his graceful and fluid running strides. May his…
A Witty Military Story. The First Punch and All Goes Black!
As I have mentioned in some previous posts, training at the National Defence Academy lays considerable emphasis on physical fitness. This emphasis sees the Academy organising a large number of activities such as PT, swimming, drill, troop games, etc. This post relates to one of these activities, viz, Boxing. Boxing…
Military Chronicles. You think jumping is easy? Think again!
I had made a passing mention of jumping from the 7 m board into a swimming pool in an earlier post here, being an integral part of training at NDA (National Defence Academy). Well, this post aims to delve deeper into this life altering experience. To recap – Training at…
Military Memories. Swimming is Fun. Learning, not so much
Swimming training at NDA is, as with most things related to the Armed Forces,not the place to seek logic. Just like the system of privileges that seniority bestows. Within the Squadrons (hostels) at the National Defence Academy (NDA), there are marked (some would say silly) differences in how one dresses,…