NCC Camp( FIRE )

Ten days of toilsome punishments, for the crime of being unaware of the fact that NCC can't be compulsorily imposed with the course being offered to us. We have had enough of excruciating parades all through our first semester to endure the horrifying camp quietly. What killed us was a ten day delay to meet our family and friends. Our seniors had confirmed, we won't be in a position to spend the post-camp day in elation. Who can, after waking up at 6 in the morning... jogging his way all through the campus to finally report in the PT grounds. His plight would be nurtured by a 6 hour long parade session, exclusive of 1 hour period, twice a day, totally dedicated to attendance. And if this was not enough, there was food to be cooked and plates to be cleaned and every piece of work to be done by cadets ( Yes !! we were the cadets !!) . And during this entire phase of 'Stalinism', no one was allowed out of the hostel premises. But hey !! there's positive to it too. In case any of the cadet die ( a very realistic situation, we guessed), the family of the Martyr would be compensated with a lump sum of 2 lacks.


This was the stuff recited to us, by none other than our divine seniors. We had blind faith in them, whatever they said, was gold. But this time, they couldn't had been more wrong. It wasn't the case that their observations were not upto the standards set by themselves. This was the reality of most of the NCC camps. It seemed horrible to us, mainly because of the IIT culture we had adapted to. When you are in IIT, 90% of the time you are supposed to be lazy and engaged in Bakar sessions. This is quite contrary to the general public belief, but it's true. Go ask any IITian and he'll reassert what I claim and what had been done thousands of times by our seniors. Coming back, their wisdom about NCC camps was not even close to what reality was about to be this time. Because this time at NCC camp, we had a hell lot of fun. So much, that we wish it had stretched a little longer.


The first semesters ended on a low note, the reason being it ended with exams. We were horrified with our future prospects. Day 0, the introductory session was the testimony of our fears. An entire regiment of officers explained how badly they'll screw us for next ten days. All hopes were gone. It seemed a life sans happiness, love, mercy...and humanity. And in these circumstances we discovered our obsession for freedom. We had decided we were not going to be restricted. We were not doing stupid parades for hours and hours ! We were not going to torture our legs standing in useless formations !! We were not going to wash our plates with our own hands !!! We were turning into mavericks.


That entire night we spent discussing plans to escape, our strategies, revealing secret way-outs to nearby hostels, which one of my friend had explored. Most of the lot just gave lukewarm reactions while discussing these plans, deciding against all kind of possible rebellion. But me, and a bunch of my friends, had already decided.

Came Day 1. In the morning I was relieved with simple task of going to the vegetable market to assist in purchase of vegetables and fruits. Though it demanded labor, it was still easy as compared to the grueling work-out my friends underwent. In the next Assembly though, we had to execute the plan of our break-out. We stood in three companies, forming a rectangle short of a side, where each side was formed by the cadets standing in files of 3. We surreptitiously moved, on knees, behind the last files and made our way to entrance gates, hiding from the guards ( cadets !! ) and other officers. After that first escape, we were all too excited and a bit fearful. We started a movie and watched it that afternoon. Still suspicious, we kept a close watch on the progress of the parade. But that was our first victory. We had to celebrate that in the canteen, which was still open and would cater to our services next few days (thank god the owner realized the potential of income in such a camp. Fortunately, no resistance came from any authority). The following evening we escaped yet again. We were feeling excited. We were feeling we could do anything in the world. We were feeling, maybe for the first time in true sense, like IITians.

And so came day 2, day 3 and so forth. We were met by our fellow cadets from a local Polytechnique ( KLP). These blokes were taking NCC much lightly than us, although they attended all their parades quite regularly. As far as our small group was concerned, we were found absconding at all points and and all times from all the duties, except at the time of summoning up in the evening for attendance. The rest of the day we just slept, watched movies, slept again, enjoyed Bakar sessions, played old childhood games, slept some more, ate at restaurants, played computer games and did I mention... sleeping ??

Lots of orkuting..and lots of computer games. Me and a friend of mine popularized 'Medal of Honor' in the wing. For a span of time, everybody was playing it. And those who weren't, were watching movies, because movies are the favorite pastime of Indians. We are mad about them. In south, the mania is even more. And so we have, The Haddu Communities watching Haddu movies together. Sometimes they watch Hollywood flicks, and I have personally seen a Haddu ( Hyderabadis, aka Haddus as they are called in campus) closing his eyes and enchanting name of god, at the sight of a women in cut-sleeves.

Anyways, the movie mania continued it's grip over the tenants of RJB, courtesy the hundreds of movies available on sharing. There were, at any instant, over a dozen house-full (room-full) shows running in RJB. And now, many like us, had realized, the pleasures of redemption. Dozens bunked the parades, went out to Civil Lines and perished in the hours of their duties. Nobody was serious, even the officers. Such had become the frivolity of the camp.

The officers, though, spotted the growing indiscipline among the cadets and took some tepid actions, the actions all conked out pretty soon. However, a few of the cadets were caught, like me and my friends, sleeping late after the PT was over, in room locked from outside (Don't ask how they got in). Our names were noted and we were threatened to face serious action. Nothing happened. The other day, I was almost caught running. Small things like these happened with most of us, but no serious action was taken against any culprit.

Day 4 and Day 5 were special. We were taken, in companies - two at a time, to shooting range. We fired first, from the light .2 mm, and then from the SLR . Man !! The blast was staggering. It changed my entire notion about guns. They are not toys. Certainly not. You just don't need the right technique to aim the target ( which I considered as the only major requirement to fire with a gun ). You need a lot of strength in your shoulders to carry the gun and withstand the recoil. Anyways, firing SLR was fun. It was the only NCC devoir, we all accepted without defiance, mainly because of the dangers involved in display of delinquency. After the retreat from the range, we were back to our normal life of insolence.


This way, most of our camp went away quite easily. When at times, we felt bored in hostel, we could sneak out of the boundaries guarded by our friends in uniform. For those who were not much comfortable with our liberation, we always had our NSO coach calling us, thanks to the NSO guys staying back. This way, we were also able to go and check our marks being displayed in various departments. By the end of the camp, most of us had estimated our rough c.gs. It wasn't a big issue in the end, inspite of the consideration it demanded. All what mattered was we were all going to be departed soon. We had a brilliant time together in these days. All the time we spent in watching movies or the bakchodi we had together. It was so much fun. And those stealth flights, though they became useless and unnecessary in the end, were all so exciting. We all wanted the reunion with our families, which for some of us was for the first time. But we all wished we had a bit more of these NCC days.


The last day, we saw the caravans moving from the hostel, tents being packed and NCC flags being pulled down. We all fancied this moment since the start of the camp. But then, there was a lull. It seemed we were going to miss something. Many of our friends departed the same day, and many more departed that night. All hostel lights were off, save for a few from where low, and unexpectedly, yet understandably unenthusiastic voices could be heard. The next morning, we all were set to bid the final goodbye to our residence. But we knew, we were going to return, and return pretty soon, and the silent wings would become loud again.