Holding on
Prologue
Naina Singh Ahluwalia was finally here at KMA . Ever since her brother enrolled into the academy this was her dream as well. Uniform and the life style always fascinated her and her brother joining the armed forces was just the push she needed. She had topped the entrance exams and the interviews in spite of her being asked a number of questions relating to her brother.
Her brother , her idol was declared a traitor and was killed in an ambush. The investigation going cold. He lived and died but it was the family which had to bear the judgment of being traitors . Naina was 16 when her brother died and her father followed soon consumed by grief. She stood by her grieving mother navigating through harsh words and taunts and insults day in and day out living like outcasts.
Mrs. Ahluwalia didn't want to send her only living child to the academy where her son was accused and then killed in cold blood. But she didn't want naina to leave without her blessings either. If Naina found peace in fulfilling her dreams then she wanted to make new memories with her daughter in this academy. So when Naina's admission was finalised she shifted base to Ambala as well.
Naina knew the insults and taunts will continue here at the academy but was prepared to see how it actually treats her.
Chapter 1
A trainee on admission to the KMA is referred to as a lady/Gentleman Cadet. One reason for this is that the academy expects its graduates to uphold the highest moral and ethical values. Inscribed in the oak panelling at the Eastern entrance of the Chetwode Hall is the academy's credo, excerpted from the speech of Field Marshal Chetwode at the inauguration of the academy in 1932:
The safety, honour and welfare of your country come first, always and every time.
The honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next.
Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time.
The freshman GCs hail from diverse backgrounds with multifarious habits and grooming. The Academy plays a vital role in moulding those differences and helps them anchor into a common bonding. Doing things together bring a sense of fellow feeling. No GC gets preferential treatment, all are allowed to shape up together; together they break bread, together they play and together they receive the same kind of training. This bonding helps them to develop values such as camaraderie, espirit de corps and oneness that go a long way to give a separate identity to the corps of officers in the Army.
It is simply that the future officers are made to acquire the finer graces of life and living which invests them with a personal dignity and a sense of appreciation for those finer pursuits which distinguish man and civilization. KMA encourages a Gentlemen Cadet to reflect on the greatness of India's diversity, her secular foundation and to honour the traditions and customs of the Army. In a nutshell, KMA habitat helps him to become a rounded personality.
From grueling route-marches to photography, painting, seminars, term-papers, tours and sports, the training is an action filled scenario nurturing their mental and physical potential. Each and every GC is allowed equal space for growth within the given time frame. The pace of training at the Academy is fast and intense. Therefore, it is no wonder that it becomes a test of one's mettle and capabilities, and in psychological terms a foretaste of what the trainees would face in the battlefield where there is no room or no scope of explanation and rationalization for failures. The completion of training is therefore, a sort of self-assessment which awakens and activates one's self-esteem, sense of honour and dignity. A GC learns a great deal of values of life during his short stay in the Academy
Kanchanjunga Military Academy or KMA was prepared to receive it's new batch of cadets this evening. The deadline for reporting to the academy was 1700hrs. At 1800hrs the cadets would be given a briefing about their schedule. This year KMA admitted 200 cadets after extensive exams and interviews.
The first thing a cadet encounters is the haircut or the braid for girls . All cadets are allotted a bicycle, a cadet number and a company. The company becomes the home of the cadet for the duration of his training. There are 20 companies and 5 battalions. Each battalion is made up of 4 companies each. The companies compete with one another in the various drills and inter company activities for the end year championship.
The schedule at any military academy across the country was same. Drills followed by 45min break for freshening up and breakfast. After this they had classes for 2hrs and then drills till lunch. Post lunch they again had classes till 1700hrs followed by a tea break and then remedial classes or drills for weak students. Dinner was served at 2000hrs and then lights out at 2100hrs. Anyone found outside after lights out would be punished unless they had a very valid reason. The academy life was strict , disciplined , structured .but for a cadet it was chaotic.
The training is intense just like the training of a jawan so that the cadets when commissioned as officers know the struggles that the jawans under them undergo.
Naina had completed her BE in electronics and communication from the prestigious IIT Kharagpur. Rejected a very prestigious MNC job for the life at the academy. She knew that being Navin's sister she would be an easy target for anything untoward happening at the academy but still she chose it over an easy high paying and comfortable job.
While most of her batch mates from graduation days took admissions for MBA or a post graduate degree or opened their own business or joined the MNC that offered the best pay Naina was standing at the gates of KMA with her bag and baggage.
Reaching the office and collecting her documents she was directed towards her hostel room. Settling down she waited for her room mate to arrive while resting. Just before the deadline was over her roommate came tumbling in with loads of baggage.
"Hi I am Naina Singh Ahluwalia"
"Hiii I m Pooja Seth"
"Let me help you "
Together they dragged the baggage in.
" Don't mind me asking but what have you got there ?"
" Clothes and accessories and and shoes"
" What?"
"yeah har din ke liye"
"Umm we have uniforms Pooja and we have to change 3 in a day for different drills. Where do we have time for civilian clothes?"
" after all the day's activities?"
" ..."
"Chalo let me unpack . "
While Naina wondered how long it would take for Pooja to unpack 4 suitcases she was surprised at how fast and organised Pooja was. To say she was impressed would be an understatement. They had worked in silence as Pooja unpacked.
"Pooja , that was fast and neat."
"Thanks, I like all my clothes , accessories and shoes organised yaar. Usually packing and unpacking doesn't take long ."
"Impressive"
"Are you settled in?"
"Yes, I came in a little over an hour ago and finished setting up my things. "
The academy bell sounded indicating it was 15 minutes to 1800 hrs and all the new cadets had to assemble in the hall for their debriefing in time.