Clubbing Delights

When I joined NDA I was prepared for a tough regimented life with no time for any other activity. So, I was pleasantly surprised when in first term we were asked to choose a club to join.

I never expected NDA to allow us to go to clubs, being a fauji kid clubs had been a part of my growing up, and here again I was getting an option to join a club..... That’s what I joined fauj for..... Party Time... Ya ya

But....... There always is a but in fauj....... these clubs were not what I was hoping for, they were hobby clubs that we had to opt for. Another balloon of hope went kaput.

These clubs were held on Saturday afternoon and we were allowed to join them only after passing the Drill Square Test (DST). There were a variety of clubs to choose, ranging from equitation, water sports, Gliding to photography, dramatics, ball room dancing, you name it and NDA had a club for it.

Polo with a twist

After I passed my DST I was called by the CSM (an appointment) to his cabin and he asked me to volunteer for a club and before I could say Jack Robinson I was allotted(or should i say i was volunteered)  "Cycle Polo club" and an entry was made in a register.

"Now wait a minute!!!" what the hell was this, who had ever heard of cycle polo. Why the hell would anyone play polo on a cycle..... and, if I could play polo on a cycle, then why the bloody hell were they teaching me horse riding. I could have been safer playing cycle polo, at least I knew how to ride a cycle and the cycle did not have a bad attitude.

Army was suddenly making sense....... my head in a spin, I was about to request for some other club, but refrained after seeing the force with which the register was closed by the CSM..... Ab itna bhi spin nahi hua tha head.

Then came the fateful day when I finally cleared my DST and was eligible to go for cycle polo club. For a 1st termer it was a dream to have a functional cycle which had not been borrowed by a senior. So here I was, allotted cycle polo club and no cycle to carry to it.

I found out that the cycle polo club was held in football field no-12. It took me an hour’s walk and jog to finally locate the field and to my surprise I found it empty.

I was standing there looking and feeling lost when I heard a voice from under the bushes "Oye, are you also looking for cycle polo club", I answered in the affirmative and entered the bushes. There in a nicely hidden clearing were lying 8-9 cadets, all in various stages of sleep. The one who had called out to me said "yar, this is the club house and don't worry no officer has been detailed for this club. Just relax"

I looked around and could not see a single cycle. I also joined the relaxing gang. Thereafter Every club day, in 1st term, was spent sleeping in the bushes and none was wiser about it. 

This was my initiation to the clubbing at NDA.

To soar with the birds and the cows

In my third term I managed to opt for Gliding club, I had suddenly rediscovered my passion for flying. I was mildly surprised that I got my choice without any fuss or having to battle it out with someone else wanting the same. I always thought that something as unique as gliding club would be in great demand....... The Punjabi in me kicked in and I declared "Mainu ki".

Gliding club was held in the Gliderdrome,  which was an Aerodrome with a small grassy landing ground. The Gliderdrome was known to everyone more as the place from where our x-country run started and ended, than as a place to fly. It was near the entrance gate of NDA, a little distance from the equitation line, which translated into a large travel distance and time.

On the first day of the club I reached the Gliderdrome and found around 9-10 cadets waiting there. An Air Force corporal was filling their details in a register. After doing this he asked us to sit in a class room and wait for Sqn Ldr K Singh as he was the officer in charge of this club........ S/L K Singh, known for his love for taking cadets to task at the drop of a hat and his innovative methods to achieve the same.

 Gayee bhains pani mein!..... Now I knew why no one was opting for this club..... Why did I ever declare "mainu ki", it was now "why mainu".

Sqn Ldr K was a little late for the club and as he entered the class, he asked loudly "why am I late?"

Now, who in his right mind would ever answer that, without waiting for an answer he thundered agan

"because, none of you Jokers deserve my time, now move out of the class and get rolling on the road”,  Bhai, agar roll hi karwana tha toh aise hi order kar dete, hum kaunsa explanation mangte.

He called us in after we had atoned for our sins for 45 minutes. As we sat down, he asked "happy now?", and like pre programmed computers we all shouted "yes sir" to which he remarked

"ooh, so NDA cadets want to feel happy, get out of the class and go running around that tree".

 The next 1 hour was spent going around every possible landmark that he could see...... That was day 1 of the club, over and out.

I dreaded a repeat of the same on the next club day. But lucky for us S/L K was busy with some work and the sergeant there took our class. He tried his level best to teach Aerodynamics to tired and sleepy cadets, all that he said glided far above our heads. The next couple of club days was spent in attending such classes, the content of which was a mystery to all.

Our lucky run ended when one fine day S/L K came to the club. As usual, he entered the class and said

"I have been told that you have had some classes of Aerodynamics, now who will tell me what is lift?",

 ......"Lift!!!!" Where had we heard this.

Seeing our blank faces he shouted

"why am I wasting my time, ok, do you all see that hill where some cows are grazing",

we all replied in the affirmative,

"I want all of you to go running to the top, count the number of cows there and come and tell me. The first two to come back will relax, while the rest of you will go again"

The damn hill was almost a km away.... But who had ever asked a cadets opinion, so we ran towards our objective and we could see our instructor spying on us with his bino’s.

We reached the top and tried to count the cattle, who had already started running away seeing us approaching. We all decided on a common answer and returned back. When he asked us the number of cattle we all gave the same reply, he gave a crooked smile and said

"ok, so how many male cows and how many female cows",

..... In our minds ran Amitabh Bachan's voice from Kaun Banega Crorepati "Afsos, iska jawab aapke pass nahin hai"..... and thus we were back on our way to count the male and female cows. On our way back we reminded ourselves to not call the male cow a bull, just to avoid a bull run on our health.

This was how most of our classes progressed. We did get to fly a couple of launches in the Glider, which was the highlight of our time spent in this club.

I was very happy as the term ended and we had to opt for another club next term, but my happiness was short lived as we were told that there was a change in policy, due to which, anyone who had Gliding club in one term will have to go for the same club in the next term also, as the officer in charge of the club (S/L K) had floated a noting that one term was insufficient to teach gliding...... Teach!!...... Was he joking!!......

This time I put my foot down and was allotted................. Gliding club........ and off I was again, to count the male and female cows on the hills of the Gliderdrome.

Gliding on water

In my sixth term I managed to get myself into water skiing club..... Wow, a dream club..... How I longed to feel the wind and spray on my face sliding on the water behind a motor boat.......

Have you all seen the famous serial "Mungeri Lal ke haseen sapne"...... you'll get the drift of what was to happen.

The club was held at Peacock bay, NDA’s very own water sports complex. We were given a few lessons on water skiing by a very enthusiastic Petty Officer of Navy, who was very happy with our attentive looks. The officer in charge was a Naval officer Lt Cdr R who maintained a sadistic outlook of a cadet’s daily affairs (who didn't).

He came to the class one day and said "I will test your knowledge today and only then will you get to enter the water. Prashar, you tell me, how many types of skis are there",

I answered back with complete confidence " sir two",

he was impressed and so was the Petty officer, who was giving me a fond look reserved for his best student

"good, now name them".....

 Me, again with full Josh, "sir, Left ski and Right ski"..... 

The petty officers face changed colour faster than a chameleon..... Now, what did I say wrong!!...... Anyway who said that a cadet can have an opinion

Next scene..... All of us were told to pick up the boulders next to the boat house and stack them near the bay and later were told to pick them up again and place them back. This shuffling of boulders continued for the rest of the day and the next couple of club days.

It was only after many weeks of forced labour that we were allowed to enter the water for skiing. Water skiing is a very difficult sport and it takes a lot of balance to stay upright. As luck would have it, during my turn, the motor boat was being driven by Lt Cdr R who had asked me the question on skis. I instinctively knew that I was done for.

He started the boat and I managed to stand upright after a couple of attempts and started skiing smoothly. Seeing me starting to enjoy the fruits of my efforts, Lt Cdr R suddenly varied the speed of the boat just a wee bit and the next moment I was in the air. I carried out two and a half somersault and landed head first into the water and was floating on my back with one ski on my foot and the other ski floating a little distance away.

He turned the boat back, came near me and asked "You seem to have lost one type of ski, is it the left one or the right one". He had a nice laugh at my expense. He must have been waiting a long time for an opportune moment to say this dialogue and had managed to hit his Bulls eye.

Well, till date I don't know how many types of skis were there and I was not crazy enough to go and ask the answer to this question, as far as I was concerned they remained Left and Right.

I spent a lot of time floating between various clubs and had many a enjoyable experience in each of them. I learnt a lot of new and interesting things which enriched my experience of NDA and made the journey a little easier.

Adieu