MY BRUSH WITH INDIAN ARMY !!

Yes  friends there  had   been a  chance  in  my  life  when  I  had a  brush  with  the   might  of  our  great  Army  establishment , but  thank  God  , I had  the good  sense of  not doing  it alone  ,   we  were  twenty of  us .

 All of  us  were just  fresh  from our  colleges and  were lucky  to have  got  a job  with a reputed public  sector company . Bubbling  with  fresh  ideas , great  enthusiasm , everyone thinking  himself to  be  no  less than the  future Chairman of  the company ,but  gradually , as  the  time passes , and  u realise your  worth , the future  Chairman starts getting  downgraded  further and further and  stops  at  getting even  one  promotion in time  ! Ha Ha ha !! 

In our  training  establishment we had  one  retired  army  Major  ,Major Appachhanna. He was  the true representative  of  the  old British army  tradition . Always straight , to  the  point  and  ready  to go !! He  was looking  after  our  physical  well being and  general  discipline . 

May  be  he  thought we  needed more of  the  army  dose  than  he  could give  us  alone !One  day he  had  the bright  idea that why should  not  the  chaps be dispatched  to some  good  army  training  institute  and  have  the knowledge of disclipline and  a full dose of  tough army life, which  will be  handy  for  us to deal  better with  the work  force  in  the  plant !

Major Appachhanna , the true  soldier that he  was , went  about  selling  this  idea to  our top  management in a true professional  manner . He convinced our  top  man that after  the boys  come from  army  training  for  one  month , they would bring  about the  changes which  will change  the whole  work culture !! A  bright  future for  the  company  ,waiting  just round  the  corner !!! 

After a few telephone  calls between Delhi  and  our  plant , and  a number of visits of our  Major    to Delhi we  came  to know that the soldier got  the approval for  20 of  us  to  be  trained in College  Of  Military  Engineering(CME) ,Pune  for  one  month . 


Major   hand  picked the twenty of  us himself with  utmost  care , after a number  of  interviews and tests .I  dont  know how he  could spot  me too as  one of  them !But he  did  it all the same ! The  criteria ? Of  course  those  who had  the  knack of  thinking straight, to  the  point and ready to  go   . Ha ha ha !! He  had  an eye for visualising  these  qualities in  us , my  selection amply proves  it  !

Our   Major , accompanied  us  to the CME  and  handed us over to another Major , Major Pathak,for  our  brushing and  cleaning  by  the  Indian  Army  !

If  name  has ever  done any injustice to a personality , it  was the  name of the CME  Major. Pathak surname gives a picture of  a very holy  and pious  soul , immersed in puja ,bhajan  and  kirtan . But our  Major  Pathak was  just  the  opposite . Instead of  bhajan and kirtan we had  the honour  of  listening  to  the  choicest  profanity in  all the Indian languages , and  of  course in English too."You bloody  well should  do  it ..... Teri  toh ...f...it, were all his  very favourite  utterings , came out  of  his  mouth like  bullets from  a  machine  gun , non-stop !! By and  by we also  became  used  to it and  started loving them and yes, using them  too !!!Army did  brush  us !!

But  he  was  a  handsome  chap.Medium  built ,very  agile , friendly and always smiling   except  for  when  the  bullets  used come  out of  his  mouth !! 

First  day  we assembled  in  the grand  assembly  hall     properly  dressed . Major  Pathak  briefed us about  the kind  of  training  we  will be having there and  all that  usual  stuff which  is  associated  with  such introductory speeches , but  he  was  Major Pathak not for nothing , 
He  concluded  his  speech
 "So my friends I welcome you to  Pune , the  city of    horses and    girls !! "Waited for  a sec.  for  the effect to sink in  and then  left the  hall abruptly.
 We all looked  at  each other with the  
meaningful   smile.  With  smile on our  face and hope and  bright  expectations too , we  also  dispersed .The  Major  was  an  instant  hit  with us!

In  the  evening  , each  one  of  us was  dressed as  if going  for  some fashion parade. But  obviously our  interest was more  on the two legged species rather  than  the  four legged ones ! There  were  some  very  subtle  players  of  this  game  amongst  us , they quietly , without  our  knowledge had  already  left  on  their  mission.

Some  of  us  having  the  same  vibes , went  straight to  M.G.Road . But  neither  of  the  two species mentioned  by  our Major  was  seen  anywhere there . May  be  we had arrived  early , but  some  of  us who  were  more  adventurous , ventured  in  the  bye-lanes to  try  their  luck . We waited  for  them  in a  coffeehouse nearby .After half  an hour or so they came  back with  doomsday writ  large  on  their faces ! They  had  approached  the  wrong species and  were  just  short  of  getting  the  awakening  kicks  !One  of  them  said 
"It  seems  in Pune both    horses  and  the  girls  are ready to  kick with the slightest  provocation. They  are kick  experts  yar ! "
We  respected  his  sentiments and bid farewell to  the search and concentrated on our  training  for  the remaining  period  of our  stay there .

The schedule  was  very  tight in CME  campus .Right  from  6 in the  morning till bed  time , and  bed  time was  never  before 10 or  11pm .There  were various  activities going  on , and  everywhere you had  to dress in a different outfit! Half  the  day  was  lost  in changing  the  dress only  !  ha ha ha !! In  army    they are  very  particular  abt  it . During  P.T. your shoes  were  checked  for polish , they used to feel  your cheeks whether u were  properly  shaved  or  not  , if  not  then  first  the  bullet firing  from  the Major and  then a  few  rounds of  the P.T.  ground . 


The  number  of  rounds to be  taken  depended  largely  upon  his interaction  with  his(Major's)  wife  on  the  particular  day  !On  a  good  day he  would  even let  the  culprit  off with  only bullet  fire . 

Gradually  we  became  used  to  each other and  the  discipline and life  of  Army  started making  inroads in  our daily habits.

  The  one  month period  was  getting over  we  felt  we were  also  getting  closer and  closer  to becoming  straight , to  the  point and always ready  to  go  attitude  of  our  Major  Appachhanna !!

And  what  better  way  to know  this fact, other   than from  the  very  appreciative  looks  from  your  wife  to  be  ??? 

Soon  after the training my  would  be  MIL , would  be  wife and  some  of  their  relatives  and  friends  dropped  to  my  place  for  the  grand look at  their would be  son-in-law ! Back  from  Pune  I  was at  peak    fitness !

The  fit  and smart look   , result  of  the  hard  grinding , made  them  smile and  in turn their  would  be  son  in  law  was  all smiles  too !! 

Straight  , to  the  point  and always  ready  to  go has  become a  habit with  me  now  !!



Thanks  Major  Appachhanna , thanks  Major  Pathak  !!!!!

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