😎THE OBSERVER-(M-17)😎
………..contd from M-16………..
Sun, 16 Aug, 2020
So B.E.G. & Centre, Kirkee was where i found myself after passing out of OTA, trying my level best to somehow find my moorings in this seemingly alien territory.Sharing a room at the Mess with Saxena while Bala was in the next room, alone.Bala, in Trg Bn-1 was kept on his toes perpetually by his Adjt. While in OTA, i had never even spoken to him as we had somehow not come across each other . And here too, i hardly spoke to him as i was carrying a kind of hangover from OTA days that he was something of a persona-non-grata . For one thing he had commited the crime of wearing two stars on passing out as opposed to my one . Over and above that, when we did meet in the evenings, he would stick to nimbu-pani . That, for me , was the ultimate sin a YO could commit and was simply unpardonable. But after a few days of icy silence, one evening Bala opened up when i was able to convince him that rum was a much better option as an evening beverage.He had a couple of tots & poured out his tale of woe : He had wrongfully been made a scapegoat for the travails our senior course in OTA had had to undergo in front of us. All that had happened was that his father ( a local from Chennai ) had got worried when there was no word from Bala for months after he had entered OTA. He happened to mention this to a retired Brig, who in turn happened to mention it to someone in OTA. The rest, you all might remember -- all of a sudden, SS-32 (our immdt snr Course) was running around in big packs. Bala was often asked to fall out by the seniors at various fall-ins and called all kinds of names. As it is, Bala was quite senior in age to all of us because he had completed his Engineering from R.E.C. Trichy with a lay-off in-between due to a severe attack of jaundice.He had joined OTA after a stint in a private computer firm. He was finding it tough to cope up with the physical part of trg and this further attack by the Senior Course had made him decide to quit OTA. He was all set to leave with paper formalities completed. But when he was due to return his kit, he could not find his cupboard keys.At this juncture, he was spoken to & conviced by the Adjt that he should complete the trg as he had already gone through the worst part. He changed his mind about quitting. Now here he was, slowly gathering speed as my regular companion at the bar and billiards table.More about him later. Meanwhile, came the news that i had to proceed to C.M.E. where i would have to undergo a pre-YO's course along with Satish Pande, Vinod Duggal and Pratap Ghosh, my non-tech counterparts in the Madras and Bengal Sappers.
Apparently this particular course had been recently introduced due to Ajit Rane of SS-32, who was an Arts graduate. He had been alloted Engrs as a parental claim ( his father a very famous award-winning Bombay Sapper). Thanks to that, all future non-tech Engr YOs had to go for this 4 week course before their YOs. The nomenclature of this course was a misnomer, it was
more like a BSc refresher.So by the time our parallel course from IMA reported to the Centre and did a regular pre-YOs with our techie counterparts, we four were in CME doing a course in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Nobody had any idea about the syllabus. On the very first day, we were told in HQ CME in no uncertain terms that if we failed to clear that course, we would be shunted to " infantry or somewhere else " . To me, these words sounded like a Godsent opportunity ! Our Physics and Chemistry professors gave us projects and told us to submit reports in the last week, we all mutually agreed that having regular classes would be a waste of time.We would consult them whenever we had doubts ( we never had any ).Our Maths prof took classes on some days.We were on our own otherwise.What a time we had, exploring everything around, espescially all the variety available in the bar.A particular evening at the bar remains etched in my memory to this day. We decided to try out cigars. So there we were, seated on high stools behind a smoke-screen of our own creation, puffing away at cigars in gangster style and blowing rings. Duggal, in particular, looked so majestic in this role that even very senior officers entering the bar in their usual boisterous manner, would tone down their voices and order their drinks in a hushed tone
after spotting him.Finally, someone picked up the courage to ask us what Course we were on ! And then, we really had it from all directions ! Days went flying by merrily between our rooms and the Mess/ Offrs Institute. After that first meeting with the professors and borrowing books from the library, we had not shown our faces to anyone. One fine morning, we got a frantic message to report forthwith to the HQ. On reporting, we were given a blasting and questioned where the hell we had been all those days. We replied that we had dutifully drawn books from the library as per instructions and were busy with our respective projects. We were asked to show our work immediately. We rushed back to our rooms and first had a heated discussion, blaming each other for the fiasco. Then, better sense prevailed and we procured the necessary stationary from the shopping centre.Working through the night, we managed to show up with some folders filled with written work at the HQ next morning. We were directed to submit our " projects " to the respective profs who further chided us for being so late because our results had to be submitted immediately to Army HQ. The Maths guy conducted a written exam while the others grilled us with a viva-voce on our projects. Cannot truly speak for the others, but i told them frankly that i had just copied down some words from the relevant books and knew next to nothing about the subject. They were shocked to hear that. But we all were declared passed at the end and subsequently joined the YOs Course. I retained Room No. 1 in the YO's block while Pande was joined by Bala in Room No. 2. Pratap Ghosh, after bearing with me through the Pre-YO's and about a week into the YO's Course shifted to another room. In the YO's Course, once again i felt that i had definitely landed up in the wrong Corps. i tried my level best to work up some interest in myself but was
unable to generate the required inspiration in myself. After some time, i duly informed the Course Officer that i wanted a change of arm. Everyone around was stunned and did all they could to motivate me. Finally, one day the Course offr called me to his office and informed me that as per existing regulations i was in no position to ask for a change of arm.No choice-- i simply had to complete the course and pass.Meanwhile, i had made some friends in the Course and actually started enjoying their company.
…….to be contd…… .
