Day Two of Bharat Darshan

This is the second day of Bharat Darshan. It has been a long time since I did dome justice to the Blog. The Foundation Course had been too hectic to be doing something on the blog.

Yesterday we started from the Academy around 9 AM. Our first schedule was an attachment with the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun. We were all briefed by the IMA guys about the Mess etiquettes and manners in the Army, and also about its organizational strucuture.

It was enlightening to learn about the signages that are wore on the shoulder for each rank. The rank structure of the Armed forces including the Army, Navy and Airforce were quite interesting. The Captain in the Army is a commander of a Company whereas the Captain in the Navy is a much higher rank Commanding a Ship.

The IMA had a Martyr’s Memorial in which we were able to see the name of Capt. Vikram Batra and many others who laid down their lives in Kargil War. It was somewhat ironic that the list keeps growing and there were places that will be filled in the future. It will be the name of the Gentlemen Cadets who are being trained there recently or in the future to come. On one side its patriotic to know that there are many fine Officers who lay down their lives for the Nation. On the other hand the noble and willing sacrifice of their lives and the subsequent suffering their families will undergo. Sometimes a question raises in my mind that “Why Nations fight among themselves and why do men kill each other, in the name of amorous things”.

In the evening we met our Batchmates in the Indian Forest Service (IFoS) at their training Institute in Dehradun called the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy(IGNFA). It was bonhomie all around. By far training is the best phase of any job. The Batch is an identity that one is always proud of.

The train to Delhi was 2206 AC SPL. We were some 40 odd people in the Coach but our luggage filled all placed that were available. On arrival at Delhi one did not feel much cold despite the winter season, coming from Mussoorie as we were. I read in newspaper that the mercury has touched the season’s lowest at 7.7 degrees Celsius. Mr. Harsh Mandar said in a lecture that there are 50000 people who sleep on the pavements in Delhi and many of them die in Winter due to the cold waves.

On 20.12.2009, Day – 2 of our Winter Study Tour (WST) we boarded the Taj
Express that is taking us to Gwalior for an Attachment with the Air Force.
We reached the Air Force Residency where our stay had been arrange. The evening had a historical touch with a visit to the Gwalior Fort. This fort had been witness to many twists and turns in the history of this Great Nation.It is a sixth century fort and had been subsequently fortified by many succesiive kings of various dynasties including Tomars, Bhojas, Mughals and finally the Scindias.