Friday, October 12, 2012

Of Lives and Purposes

The first time I noticed him was when he was showing his moves off in the basketball court. I never did get to see him much afterward, but a couple of days later he and a bunch of other trainees were assigned to my boss. My boss being busier than usual around then, delegated me to be the mentor for this bunch of very enthusiastic, very difficult to keep busy, fresh out of college folks.

Anyway, I used to run into him on and off, and sometimes used to see him walking around work areas in basketball clothes, sometimes hurrying to change, seconds before being called to attend some ad-hoc meeting, the occasional hellos, and the like. Most of the time, however, he would look so very lost or so disconnected, you would wonder if he really knew what he was doing here. Definitely, one who stood out against the very, very common IT crowd.

So the other day he came along to ask for some professional-career advice. And offhandedly he said six words that got me thinking a lot for the next couple of days.

You see, he said, I got into the Indian Army.

What followed was one of the most stirring conversations that I have had with another human being, about identifying his passion, working towards it for twelve whole years and realizing it. He spoke about his crazy medicals, he spoke about the SSB experience, he spoke about being punished for reporting late- at 8 am- wondering how on earth is it possible for any rational person to do so, after being kept awake till 6 am that morning! He spoke about the punishments that left him with welts on his arms and legs, about running 7 kilometers non-stop, about unimaginable tasks set out by the selection board- but despite all that, he spoke with pride about having bested it all. He had written a few words about it, which I wanted to share- they gave me goosebumps!

“This dream which took 12 years is realized now. I have cleared world’s toughest medicals. Met 18 of my to be brothers in arms and after meeting all of them I can assure you that you will be well protected- and you will be protected by some of  the best, most loyal,  most patriotic, lean mean and clean youngsters of India who have hearts of gold nerves of steel and fists of iron. Next stop would be The OTA (Officers Training Academy) Chennai or the IMA (Indian Military Academy)-  the world’s toughest military academy in terms of rigors of training, Dehradun, where a boy graduates into a man of honour. There may be 10+ IITs. There are 10+ IIMs. BUT. THERE IS ONLY 1 IMA.

As the saying goes “You can’t buy this uniform. You can’t buy the respect that it commands. You have to earn it. Think about it. It’s a decision that will change you forever and that’s a soldier’s word.”

This May, I visited a friend in Delhi. She is with the Indian Airforce’s ground service, and her husband is a Major with the Indian Army. When you speak the couple, their patriotic fervor grips you, and sometimes puts you to shame. He has served along the border, and across other nations as well. He trains forces now, and is sometimes called- to fight. She weeps a little when he leaves, for she is a girl too, beneath all her Airforce demeanor, and waits for his return. Over dinner one evening we got talking serious stuff. He was showing me battle field pictures, a lot of death- I should add, and describing survival tactics inside mangrove forests. along the deserts and in the extremities of the Indo China border. All this, so that we can sleep easy in our beds every night. And most of us don’t even know the National Anthem properly.

It is very easy to sit on the walkway and say, ‘Ah, the army, it’s full of corrupt people’ or ‘Oh come on, army folks? All they do is party all the while!’ I am not saying we all ought to go and enlist- we might not even get past ½ a round of the selections. All I am saying is, we all ought to figure out something purposeful to do with our lives..Something that would get people to remember us by..Something that you can look back on after you are 60 years old, and feel good about. And definitely NOT- oh, where did all the years go?!

Anyway, so I was asking the trainee if he was okay to break the bond and leave the company to join the Army. Most people usually simply abscond. It is a very costly affair. Pat came the reply. ‘I am an Army man. I will pay and leave!’

Salutes*




11 comments:

PS G said...

I guess whatever we do here in our office , complain about the long hours , project executions , office politics - dont think anything beats what they do.... I cant imagine lazy me doing all that our folks do in the armed services .. All Best to him :-)

Ganesh Puttu said...

An unsung hero....

Nirmal Anand said...

Wow... these guys simply amaze.. I've a friend, who has given his SSB four years in a row and never gave up.. he does pick odd jobs (mind you its odd jobs for him is AM with Havels, Research Analyst in Beroe) he hasn't given up on that uniform yet...


Salute*

Sinduja said...

Gitanjali, I have been following your blog for quite a while and become quite a fan of your sincere, genuine writing. I had a friend in College too who SO badly wanted to get into the army. He was one of the laziest slack students in class when came to class work. Yet, he would wake up at five in the morning and run in the grounds because he wanted to be fit for the tests.

It amazes me to see the fire that these guys have. I have seen folks who have said their passion is to be a Doctor, Singer and so on. But the intensity that you see in a man who says his passion is to join the army - well, it is hard to spot it in others.

I wonder what instills such a high degree of patriotism in them. But yes, you can't survive there if you do not have it.

I see that you have been speaking more and more frequently about the purpose of life and one's calling. My gut instinct is, it is not far before you surprise us all and perhaps yourself with a very brave decision. Good luck! :)

Kally said...

Wow!! Amazingly inspiring!! Salutations to him!!!!

There are patriotic people all around....and we worry only about Facebook likes and intermittent internet or 3G connections!! :D hehe...

Amazing read Gitanjali....!! :)

*bows*

gitanjali said...

@GEEPS- So true- and suddenly (much as I hate to admit it) it looks very insignificant too :| Ok let us tell ourselves we are helping the country with the GDP and the like :)

gitanjali said...

@Ganesh- So true. One of the many, many unsung heros!

@ReneGadE- Hey, long time! been a while :) LOL abt his choice of Odd Jobs- look at us, we see the money and sit back content! I salute your friend! Good luck to him!!

gitanjali said...

@Sinduja!!! Hello :) I was searching all over FB for your profile, for your blog's link. And magically you left a comment :) Thank you! And thank you for the nice words- I was warm all over when I read them (honey doused kinda warm). Lets wait and watch them come true :)

Only today I was reading all your back dated posts while commuting back from work, and I so admire the way you write !! Do write more often, screw the confusions- all is well :)

gitanjali said...

@Kalyan mere bhai :)
Almost Airforce Marshall, what do I tell you :)
Trivial worries, short lived joys- and MAINFRAME! :P
Ok now lets add stand up comedies, food sessions, photography and blogging! We better do the best with what we chose, I say! :)

Thank you for the nice words! :)

Anonymous said...

Whenever anyone in Uniform talks about patriotism and keeping the country safe and blah blah..I cough to cover my dog giggling away to glory.

Long back Army was about defending the country...now its about defending their own personal goals *read: undertable contract deals*

I can go on ..

wont make sense as I can see you are already caught in this fake charm ...good luck

gitanjali said...

@ Anon- thanks for dropping by! And yes- to each one his own. :)
Cheers!