A lifetime of 50 days!! - My Stay at NDA

How it happened?

Frankly I don't know that myself.. After boards I had this NDA written exam. My father pushed me to go. I went, gave the exam and forgot about it thereafter. Then one fine day I get a Service Selection Board call. Not worrying too much about the result I go there. And 5 days later I find that " I have it in me". Selected as an Air Force Cadet to a place i'v seen my friends longing to go.

The Rest of the story.....

On 27 Dec' 2002 started what is to be the biggest learning experience of my life.

I had two friends from my SSB and we stuck together during the induction process thinking that we'll get the same squadron( NDA has 15 squadrons from A to O) but as the fate had it, all three of us were put in separate squads. I got the LIMA squadron.

Now i'm as much a civilian as anyone can be, with no link whatsoever with armed forces in any way. So the shock of a defence life started on day one itself. We were taken to the Cylce depot at once and given a "bike" each (yeah thats what they call a cycle there) and finally when we were dropped at our respective squadrons, each of us had a 20 kg kit bag on our shoulders. Once in my room alone, I realized the fact that i was not gonna see my family for 6 months, I was in tears before I knew and on first day in academy I ran to the phone booth called my parents and begged them to take me back!!

Next few days didn't go too well either. Its a cultural shock when every senior around u calls u as 'Hey u ikki" and in a group you're addressed with all sorts of foul words. We were taken for "Academy Darshan" which turned out to be a torture as NDA is spread over 8000 hectares. And we had to go everywhere on foot, doubling all the time. We used to think if this is before any training has started, what will it be when its in full flow!! I cried a lot and called home whenever I found a way, often making excuses to seniors that its my sister's birthday or parents anniversary or anything that came to my mind. I felt like a prisoner stuck in a prison which looked like heaven from outside but turned out to be an entirely different place from inside.

In initial few days ikkis are not given any punishments. Each first term cadet is assigned an overstudy which is the nearest third term cadet. Its now his responsibility to teach us everything bout rules and regulations of academy. If an ikki does anything wrong then senior punish his overstudy and then the overstudy punishes the ikki.

There are so many unwritten rules of the place like..

• A senior with whom you have anything in common (hometown, school etc) can become your Pal. A pal can't punish us. 

• You can't look at a senior getting punishment except for your Pal. You avoid the way if its happening in corridors and stay inside. If you can't avoid running away then just become a murga on the spot till the senior passes from there. 

• You have to learn the names of all seniors especially 6 termers( or in other words Chhakkas) 

• All seniors outside squadron are pals i.e. they cant punish you. This rule is specially put to test during the first movie we are shown in academy. Chhakkas will call an ikki each and tell him to do something. They will use all their anger and wits to scare an ikki but the ikki has to stay put and refuse flatly. In the end I was the only ikki in my squadron who remained standing, rest all succumbed to the stares of seniors.

By 5th of January my parents had booked their tickets to come back to meet me. Most seniors were now aware that I was one of the ikkis not taking the academy too well and even thinking of leaving. So whoever met me said something to encourage me. My DCC (Divisional Cadet Captain) called me to his cabin and had a friendly chat with me, all this while he was taking 'Patti Parade' of 4th term cadets, and most of them were grinning. I saw people getting severely punished but still coming back smiling in the end. I was forced to think that maybe I'm panicking, and this isn't such bad place afterall. With this thought in mind I stopped thinking about going back and when my parents came to meet me on 12th Jan i didn't even ask once to be taken back!

I realized that this was the life I had chosen and now there was no turning back. I was nicely learning to survive the academy when one day I was hurt on my knee while running. The pain continued for a week and I was reffered to Kirki Military Hospital, Pune. The doc prescribed various blood tests and as the fate has it..i was found to be RH Positive which means that I had tested positive for Arthiritis. I was sent to Command Hospital, Pune. Where after a lot of X-Rays and opinions i was pronounced fit but with a rider that finally I may not become a pilot as with RH positive I had no chance of clearing the Medical Test which Air Force cadets must go through after 4th Term. There was a strong chance of me being boarded out of academy on medical grounds in next 2 years if the problem deteriorated.

That was a hard time for me and my family.  We had to decide whether to stay and gamble upon luck or withdraw from the academy on my own expenses, as a formal medical board out takes atleast 2 months and that would have meant loosing another year. So i decided to finally leave the academy. 

On my way back to Delhi, in train I was carrying my NDA trunk with me which had my name and academy number written on it. Carrying it through the coach was disturbing quite a few people, but as soon as they saw NDA written on the trunk, their irritation turned into respect. It was more heart breaking for me as I knew I no longer deserved this respect. And it was a truth i had to come to terms with sooner or later.

Today after more than 4 years of leaving the Academy, I can't say I've done justice to my potential. I can just say that its been a long journey since the day I joined the academy and  life has put me through various ups and downs, though  its nothing to boast about, but I have survived and plan to start living soon..... 

Thanks for your time..

Note (29/5/2013): I wrote this 7 years back about a part of my life that happened over a decade ago from now.

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Punto MJD Emotion Pack - Long term review

Long Term Review - Punto MJD Emotion Pack

It’s been over a year since I got Sabu. I went through a lot of reviews and forums before finalizing on Punto and had promised myself that I would write a long term review from my own experience for every year of my ownership (or as long as FIAT is still selling in India, whichever is sooner). So here goes.

At the time of buying, I started with a budget of 2 lacs, to buy a second hand Accent. However during the search I got bit by the BCMT bug and thus I had to opt for something all terrain. Since SUVs were out of budget, a hatchback had to be it. Now among hatchbacks Punto was the car I fancied the most.

Swift was never an option for me as I have never liked any maruti car design except for SX4. Figo had the well know ground clearance issue while i20 was too premium feel car which I thought would be difficult to take off-road. Frankly I had the budget for i20 (D) but I did not even take a test ride, as I was scared I might like it too much. J

Thus Punto was finalized and brought home in August’11.

Interiors:
I was driving a 1998 Zen for last 8 years and this was a huge upgrade for me. The cabin gave a feeling of space and the front seats are the most comfortable seats for a hatch in India (in its price range). The engine sound in cabin is on the higher side but it’s not high enough to be a deal breaker for anyone. The driver side footwell is a bit cramped while the front passenger seat has ample leg room to accommodate a fairly large person rather comfortably. The rear seat is also big enough for three adults and I have on occasions had 4 adults and 1 kid at the back seat without much complaints.

Coming to the plastics, they may not be bad to look at but certainly feel cheap to touch. The interior fit and finish is one of the worst in a Punto with most inside door handles loosing paint/polish on the rubbing edges, wiper and indicator stalks feel cheap to touch, infact my Zen had better plastics than Punto. The glove box has a slight misalignment which is a birth defect and I have to live with it. The car is so badly put together from inside that within first 4 months the rear C-Pillar panel, supporting the parcel tray, came off. It was probably glued back and is now again coming off. The interior finish and lack of quality control is the thing that puts me off the most.

The Blue and Me system that came with the car is also a bag of mixed emotions. Although I love having the controls on steering but the fact that it has No A2DP or AUX support and also that USB can only be controlled from steering controls, is a pain indeed. However the sound quality and output is good enough.


Exterior:
As bad the car may be in terms of interior fit and finish, it’s absolutely top notch from the outside. Punto’s design is what makes it one of the best looking hatch in the country and the paint and panel’s quality does not disappoint either. Here again the plastic parts like one at the top edge of the bonnet do disappoint. It turned white within first week of buying the car. Otherwise car gives a solid feel from outside and makes you feel safe inside. The bumpers are made of strong materials and can take moderate impacts without damage. I had my car hit from behind twice, both times while I was stationary at a red light. First time it was an i10 which dropped its front bumper from one side while Punto had a minor misalignment. Second time I was hit by a truck from behind, and the impact made my car hit a figo in front, which again had a big crack in the rear bumper while I had a scratch on mine, although my rear bumper and tailgate had to be replaced after this incident. So I would give full marks to Punto in terms of structural strength and as per my study the only other car in same range that is structurally as sound is Polo.

Driving:
Driving pleasure is the forte of Punto. Here it gets full marks always.

Punto’s hydraulic steering is said to be one of the well-made units in business. It’s true. I felt its brilliance on my trips to hills and the way car handled turns. Bodyroll is minimal and you can maintain good speed on turns without the fear of car toppling over. The turbo kick is also gradual and increases the pleasure of driving. There is no lack of power in the car even on mountains if you learn how to keep it in the right rev range. Braking inspires confidence and all round visibility from the driver’s seat is also adequate.

The only two things that might bother a new punto drives are: Large turning radius and a harder steering as compared to the EPS units on Hyundais and Marutis. However it does give you stability on higher speeds.

Punto is an out and out highway car. Its high speed stability is amazing, many cars can touch speeds over 150 kmph, but few hatches can give a sense of stability and control at 164 kmph with 5 adults on board.

Ground clearance myth:
I have heard a lot about people having a lot of issues with Punto’s ground clearance, well I have emotion pack version with 15 inch alloy wheels I would have hit the underbelly twice or thrice in last 1 year. The only part where you need to be careful is, while going down/up an abrupt incline as the front bumper’s lower tip may touch the road. Otherwise even with high load on bad roads I have never had an issue of ground clearance. It may not be the same case for models with 14 inch wheels. Also the only thing that gets hit in the underbelly is the engine guard, which is there for exact same purpose.

Please Note: I am still going to go for the GC upgrade as I think no amount of clearance is enough for Ladakh


Maintenance & Mileage:
Coming to the cost of ownership part. Although it has its flaws when it comes to interiors, it also covered well by the warranty and you would not have to argue for getting a faulty part replaced as that is the first thing they do themselves. Also the parts and spares for Punto are very competitively priced. I have been maintaining a sheet detailing all my expenses on fuel and service till date and my overall mileage is 15.86 kmpl. Please note this figure is low as my daily office commute is 25 kms (total) out which around 10 km is spent in bumper to bumper traffic. When I commute from my East delhi home, the mileage goes up to 17-18 kmpl.

Link to the sheet
 

Vital Stats from the sheet:

Total Fuel (litres)
1,498.94

Total Distance (km)
23,729

Total Fuel Cost (Rs)
62,249

Total Mileage (km/l)
15.83

Running Cost Per KM
2.62

Total Cost of Running including service and Maintenance
69,855

Overall per km Cost
2.94


Final Words:
There are so many reasons to select a car, my reason was I fell in love with its looks. The pleasure to drive part was realized after buying the car. I am still in love with it and would make sure is travels the length and breadth of our country (maybe even beyond) as long as it is with me.

Kufri/Mashobra - Did someone order Snow!!

I had decided last year, this winter I am going to see snow at least twice. So here is the first one.

Republic day holiday was just at right time, a one day leave meant we had 4 days with us. The place decided was Mashobra, a little town 15 kms from shimla. Always plan to stay outside of main tourist towns if you want to experience the peace and tranquility of hills.

Left Delhi at 6AM, thankfully no fog. Reached Savoy Greens near Karnal at around 8 for a breakfast at McD and Subway. Started again at around 9 and reached starting of hills around 12. The highway was in great shape all through. Even the diversions due to construction work are well made and you are able to cover up miles in good time. The roads on the mountains towards Shimla is wide and smooth. It is a good starting point if someone want to try their hand at driving to hills.

It was very sunny and quite hot. We were not sure if we were gonna get any kind of snow in such clear weather, especially when it had last snowed almost 10 days back. We took a left through the Victory tunnel as soon as we reached Shimla, and there it was, at the back side of the town, where Sun was not able to reach, snow, lots of it. The sight cheered us up and we were sure to find more at Kufri the next day.

On the way to Mashobra

Our destination for the trip, Mashobra, is a small town on the road from Shimla to Naldhera golf course. Our stay, Whistling Pines, a nice cozy hotel perched atop a hill 5 kms before the golf course.

Whistling Pines

View from our Window

The hotel is at a secluded location and thus no noise from anywhere excepts for monkeys and birds. The rooms are well insulated and staff really well behaved and courteous. The food served was very nice and homely or in other words, easy on stomach. Overall a great place to stay.

By the time we were done with our late lunch, it had already started to get dark. So we decked up like an arctic expedition with atleast 4-5 layers of clothing on each and got down to the lawn for a bon-fire with some hot soup and crispy pakoras. :)

Some shots around the sunset.

Since we did not have any snow around hotel, we decided to go to Kufri next day. Got up lazily and were ready to leave only around 11 AM. Had to drive back towards Shimla till the point where we have to take the road going up towards Kufri. Due to the bright sun, the snow was melting and the road was full of muddy water. Also it was quite bumpy and broken. We reached a point where we had two ways to go. One went towards Chail via Kufri, the other went towards Fagu. The road going to Fagu was in a very bad shape at that point, with a lot of mud and undulations. Still we could see quite a few cars going that way, so off we went.

Road to Fagu

Anybody needs a truck-full of snow?

We drove for sometime and we found a lot of snow all through. Frankly we had not expected so much snow and were really excited. We were wondering how great it would be if we stayed at Kufri or Fagu for the night, but our luggage was at Mashobra, so we drove further and stopped at a point where a walking path was going up towards Kufri Fun World. Parked the car, rented snowboots for everyone and started our walk up the hill.

Dhanaulti - A Wandering Celebration

Made our second trip to Hills on the occasion of our 2nd anniversary(second week of December).

The way for Dhanaulti cuts around 4-5 kms before Mussourie and the road from there till Dhanaulti is beautiful to say the least.

I'll let the images do the talking about the road:

There were clouds to the side of the mountain. Just the road was clear.

Need i say more

I call this a wandering trip coz all three nights we stayed at different places, that is when we wanted it to be a relaxing trip.

First day we stayed at GMVN's Hotel Dhanaulti heights. It was nice clean and very cold. The rooms were not exactly insulated and we could feel the cold air inside the room even with doors and windows closed. The food was above average and nominally charged. Overall the experience was nice.

Next day the plan was to go to Tehri and find another place to stay at. While leaving Dhanaulti we spent some time at the shop inside the Eco Park and got some really good woolens.

On the way to Tehri:


A nice view-point on the way to Chamba

Between Chamba and Tehri

The Tehri Reservoir from a distance

We were a bit hungry by the time we reached Tehri, so in search of a restaurant we moved towards New tehri and found a Chaat stall from heaven. We started it as appetizer for lunch and by the time we finished we had eaten 14 Aloo Tikki Plates, 4 Plate Gol Gappas and 2 Papadi Plates among 7 of us. All within 200 bucks :)

So after this sumptuous lunch, we headed towards the dam reservoir. There is a way to reach almost till the waters edge with a car. I didn't take the car to the edge coz the way was damp and i didn't want to risk it. Still we went near the lake and it was very serene and calm seeing such huge expanse of water. Although i must warn that it is also a makeshift cremation place, something we realized after sometime(didn't stay there very long after that).

The water:

Left Tehri in search for a place to stay, we had planned to look for places to stay on our way to Dhanaulti and in case of nothing on the way we planned to try the Apple Orchard Resort in Dhanaulti. Fortunately (or Unfortunately as we later found out) we found The Hermitage in kannatal. Its a cozy little 10 room hotel with a beautiful setting reasonable room charges. Since it was sunday evening and no rush was expected we were able to bargain for the rooms. Also as there were no other places around we had to have food there itself.

The place was great and to be frank the best part of our trip only spoiled by the exorbitant food bill we got in the end. We were in fact planning to stay another day if it weren't for the 5000 that we were charged for two meals. We paid more for food during a single night stay than what we paid for stay(3 deluxe rooms) itself.

Few pics of the hotel:
The small hut in left side of the above pic is the dining room. We had loads of fun singing songs during the night and since it was the eve of anniversary we sang till 12 in the night and it was the probably the best evening of the trip.

I would still recommend the place to anyone wanting to have a good time, but the only advice would be, get a package that includes the meals or order carefully and ask if anything extra is served :D

Monday morning we got up, had a great breakfast, paid an even greater food bill and left for Surkanda Devi. It is indeed a strenuous climb till the temple and one advice i would give is, take the short cuts to climb up wherever possible, it would save you a lot of distance and effort.

A few pics:

Still a long way to the top

The view from the top

Saw the only kind of snow at that time in the region, frozen dew. It was in the shadow of temple where sunlight could not reach.

Came down and moved towards Kempty village, our cost effective stay(complimentary actually, thanks to my bro in law). The place had a great view of the kempty falls and delicious food.

View from the balcony of our guest house

Stayed up late into the night talking about ghosts and mythology. Got up early in the morning and left for Delhi by 6:30 AM.

Another little trip completed. thanks for your time :)

Lansdowne - Come hear the Silence

Wanted to take this trip since long. Cancelled last year when we planned to go via train, instead went to Kasauli. However two weeks back we were sure that we are going to Lansdowne. Asked all the couples we knew, but everyone was busy. We were a bit hesitant going alone since this was our first driving trip to the mountains and I am the only driver. But what the hell, i am planning to go to Leh next year and so Lansdowne should not be a worry. Fueled up on Friday night and we were off to Lansdowne at 5:30 AM in morning.

Encountered a fair bit of fog till Modinagar. Road conditions were fine with occasional potholes and lots of errant truck drivers. Still by 8:40 AM we were at Monty Millions restaurant near Meerapur. Had some butter toast and tea with the home made sandwich and we were off again in 20-25 minutes.

Reached Kotdwar around 10:45 AM and from there on the road was a bliss to drive on. From Kotdwar we went towards dugadda and then on to Pauri Road.

Just after Dugadda, there is a T junction with lots of hoardings of Lansdowne hotels(forgot to click a pic ) now you can either take a right straight towards Lansdowne or take a left on the pauri road. I took the pauri road as described in the directions for my accomodation - Oak Grove inn.

As you carry on towards pauri after around 15 kms you again get a U bend to your right with board again saying Lansdowne(10 kms from this point). Oak Grove inn is midway towards Lansdwone from this point in a small village called Jaiharikhal.

Oak Grove Inn

On the way to Dugadda

Oak Grove Inn, a little background about the place:

It is run by a Retired Col. Rawat and his wife. Located in a village called jaiharikhal at a very convenient distance from Lansdowne. City being 5 kms , when going towards Lansdowne you enter at a place from where the only two tourist spots, Bhulla lake and Tip n Top point, are just a stones throw away.

On reaching the guest house, you may feel disappointed at first but as soon as you take your first meal and chat a bit with the owners you would start feeling right at home. Rooms are basic but clean to say the least. There is a dining room where the meals are served (no room service for meals). All in all it was a great place to stay. Tip n Top point has unarguably the best location in Lansdowne, but it felt a bit desolated, still, may try it on the next trip.

A few pics from guest house:

Entrance to our room

The Front Porch of Colonel's house which has a sitting area to enjoy the sun. This is a part of the tree roots. Looked like a sculpture from distance:

Sitting Area to soak in the Sun

Trying my hand at some Photography

Colonel's wife has a great sense of decoration and she loves plants, they have a plant growing in possibly every kind of vessel from ceramic cups to plastic cups to old kettles

The first thing that struck us in Lansdowne was the silence. We could feel a loud beep in our ears which are accustomed to city noise. Anyways, had tea and an hour later lunch. Lunch is served in the dining room and it was a simple home like food, Dal, Palak Paneer and Aloo Gobhi, all tasted good(Charges 100/- per meal per person).

The weather had already made me forget any tiredness i had from driving, so we decided to go to Bhulla Lake and Tip n Top point. We took the road towards lansdowne from hotel, at the entry we had to pay a parking fee of 13 Rs. At the point we enter main road of lansdowne, we take a right for the Bhulla lake and Tip n top point and a left for the main city. Both are within a km from this spot.

Bhulla Lake:

Bhulla lake is a small man made resvoir lake which was built by Jawans of Garhwal Regiment. It is nice clean place with an option of boating (Charges: 30/- per person / half hour). The whole area is maintained by army and you can always see a few Jawans constantly working to keep the area clean.

One request to anyone who visits the lake, there is a cage full of rabbits near the lake, please do feed them some biscuits or food, they seem to be grossly underfed and were literally climbing over each other to get the biscuits we were offering them.

Hungry Rabbits

A Resident of Bhulla Lake

A rock which can be seen at distance from lake. We called it the Burger Rock

Couldn't resist posting a pic of my car coz i love the looks of it in this location

From Bhulla lake we went to Tip n Top Point:

Tip n Top point:

This is the other tourist attraction of lansdowne for the excellent view point, although all we saw was a white haze

The GMVN guest house is situated just above this point and seems to be a bit desolate but excellent location. We had a badly made maggi here clicked a few regulation pics and came back to Guest house.

View of the road from Tip n Top point

Back at the guest house by 5 PM, we had tea and chatted up with the owners at the sit out place. There was another family from Delhi whose kid was totally busy playing with Owner's dogs Archie and Fifi.

Owners left for some social engagement and we got a bonfire going sitting with the other family and just chatting at leisure.

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An interesting conversation we had:

We were talking about how women drivers have it easy in terms of they can get away with almost anything, the lady told us an incident of her in which she was stopped by a traffic policeman. Their conversation went something like this:

Policeman: Madam, Kagaz poore nahi hain, pollution kahan hai

Madam: Arre baki sab to poora hai bas ek pollution hi to nahi hai na.

Policeman: Arre Madam apke papers bhi original nahi hain, photocopy hain.

Madam: Arre to original kaun rakhta hai gaadi mein, matlab agar gaadi chori ho jaye to kagaz bhi jaye, wah ji.

Second Policeman: Arre madam aap jao, (to first policeman) yaar isliye main kehta hu, ladies ko mat roka kar.


Wonder what policeman's reaction would be if a guy said something like this.
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Anyways, had our dinner and went to sleep by 11 PM.Next morning left for Delhi by 1030 and reached home by 7:30, all thanks to Jam between Meerut And Modinagar.

Although this is a small trip but it gave us immense confidence in ourselves and the car. 

Technical Details:

Car: Fiat Punto MJD

Total Diesel Used:  29 litres approx

Total Kms driven: 509 km

Total cost of trip including fuel, food and stay < 5000 Rs. :)

Untill we meet again

Jan-Lokpal and beyond....

While coming home today, i noticed a few residents of my society standing outside the society gate and shouting slogans in support of jan-lokpal bill and Anna. I also joined them.

We were just raising slogans by the side of the road. Not blocking any way not asking people to join us or causing any inconvenience apart from the noise of our voices. And i could see a lot of people passing by the road were joining in the chants of Vande-Matram. A few slowed down and a couple joined in as well. While it was very heartening that people were showing solidarity for a cause, what stuck me were the things i observed people do.

- A car slowed down, the occupant raised slogans with us, a few meters ahead, he opened his car door and let out a stream of spit.

- Another car with doctor's symbol on windshield crossed us and went wrong side on the road to avoid a long but legitimate U-turn.

Everyday on road i see people throwing things out of their car widows, everyday we see people haggling with policeman for bribes over petty violations. How can a lokpal help India if people are glad to be let off with a 40 Rs bribe instead of a 100 Rs fine!

Will lokpal show effect at the grassroots where people are so habitual of bribes that no work is done without the extra-constitutional-fee. The state of Indian society with respect to corruption was aptly described by the CVC before Thomas, he said:

"When we were growing up I remember if somebody was corrupt, they were generally looked down upon. There was at least some social stigma attached to it. That is gone. So there is greater social acceptance."

"if somebody has a lot of money, he is respectable. Nobody questions by what means he has got the money."

With so much concentration on passing of lokpal bill, has anybody thought if such powerful position is possible in reality. How can we be sure that the lokpal would be incorruptible, how can we be sure that a lokpal would not sway from its principles. Anyways, this is not what i wanted to say. All i wanted to say is, if you really care about the country and want to do your bit to make it a better place, please start caring for it like your own house.

See the lawns around India Gate on a Sunday evening they are full of all kinds of garbage and things left by people who came for picnic. How can you spoil the very place to which you go to enjoy. Next time you have a choice between a short wrong side drive and a long U-turn please take the latter. Follow the traffic rules and if caught breaking them, please prefer to pay the fine with a receipt. Roll down the windows of your car only to get fresh air, not to throw empty wrappers or bottles, they might lead to an accident for some two wheeler rider behind you. Keep your cool on the road, if somebody brushes against your car, please don't start throwing abuses. There is no confrontation that can't be solved by a dialogue. When you need to get something done in a govt office, please take out time and get things done yourself.

India is a great country, but with very misguided people. I just hope that this new found nationalism and solidarity does bring some change and leads to a slightly better India.

Dear SRK,

Thanks for the most boring interview ever!!!!

Yours Sincerely
Dissapointed Koffee With Karan viewer