Billi was dreaming of stars and awards when a strident voice shattered the blissful silence. Turning to her side, she burrowed under the pillow and went back to sleep. Two minutes later, the voice had risen by a couple of decibels. Reluctantly, she opened one eye, and looked at the tiny alarm clock on the bedside table and yawned. Her fuddled brain suddenly realized it was an announcement.
‘All first-termers double down to the ground floor centre lobby, immediately.’
What the hell! It was 5 a.m. Sadists! Don’t they allow anyone to sleep till a decent hour?
Yawning and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she joined the flurry of feet rushing down the steps. Soon, there were 20 of them in the lobby, waiting anxiously for further orders. Looking around, Billi realized that they were an odd bunch. With unwashed faces, dishevelled hair and an assortment of outfits, they were nothing like the smart and confident girls who had arrived at the academy. A couple of girls were wearing shorts and T-shirts, a few were in pyjamas, and yet others in jeans or salwar kameez.
The CSM was nowhere to be seen and soon the girls began chattering. A few girls had arrived late at night and they were introducing themselves to the others. Decibels rose as the tension ebbed, and soon they were in the back-slapping stage of advanced camaraderie.
It was a full 15 minutes before the CSM finally arrived. She threw a menacing glance at the lot and hurled abuses for their slovenly appearances.
‘You aim to be army officers? Have you seen one like you?’
They hung their heads and listened in silence to the smartly dressed CSM. Her words drove away all lethargy.
Just then, Lucky came down the steps. She was wearing a flimsy nightdress, in pastel pink, with frills and lace. It was an infinitely sexy number. A couple of girls giggled as they saw here float gracefully towards the lobby.
‘Here comes Miss Lah Di Dah. Give her a clap, girls,’ barked the CSM and everyone obliged.
Blushing furiously, Lucky slid towards Billi.
‘Alright girls, let’s see some action.’ The CSM divided the girls into three groups. The first group was ordered to do push-ups, the second to haunch and the third to start front rolling.
Anyone who has executed such exercises will realize that neither pyjamas nor nightdresses are conducive to performing these feats. Soon, Lucky realized the impracticality of sleeping in a pretty nightdress. She was ordered to change into a practical outfit and report back in three minutes. It was an impossible task. Huffing and puffing, she flew down the stairs in five minutes, which drew extra punishment.
The arrival of another LC distracted the CSM, who was debating on the next set of exercises.
Dressed in a bright blue salwar kameez, the short and plump newcomer was immediately put to task. Unaccustomed to rough exercises, the girl groaned and grunted through a series of front rolls.
It was almost 6 a.m. and the sun had begun making its presence felt. To their relief, the CSM decided it was time to give them a break.
‘I want all of you here at 6.45 a.m. This time in proper outfit,’ shouted the CSM.
There was a scramble as everyone rushed towards their rooms. Forty-five minutes to shower and dress, with a shared washroom between two girls is not much time, but the fear of punishment can make people do impossible things.
By 6.45 a.m., all the girls had gathered at the lobby. If they were expecting a word of appreciation from the CSM, they were in for disappointment. She went around the group, her eyes missing nothing.
‘Now what!’ Billi muttered below her breath.
‘Alright! We get back to the warming-up exercises. Drop and give me 30,’ she shouted.
Thankfully, there wasn’t too much time for the exercises. Another round of push-ups and front rolls later, it was time to run to the mess for breakfast.
The dining room was a refuge for the first-termers, who sought to bury their frustration in food. Mercifully, food in the academy was good and plentiful. Since they had been allotted adjacent rooms, Billi, Shiny, Nutan (alias Nutty) and Lucky formed a foursome and decided to stick together.
The four of them were as different as chalk and cheese. Nutty, the drama queen, was a happy-go-lucky and mischievous girl with zero ambitions. Billi, on the other hand, was a go-getter and an ambitious person.
Smartphones were not allowed during training. The LCs had been instructed to bring only the basic kind of phones, which were to be deposited with the CSM and could be used only on Sundays and holidays.
‘I have to call my parents,’ said Lucky. ‘Shillong is a long way off and they will be worried.’
‘My dear Laks, didn’t you call them after landing in Chennai?’ asked Shiny as the girls left the mess.
‘I was in a hurry, so I texted them about my arrival, but my mom will be expecting a full report from me.’
‘You are right,’ said Nutty. ‘My mother will also be expecting a call from me. But…’
‘Don’t even think of it,’ warned Shiny. ‘If the CSM gets wind of your thoughts, she will make you execute front rolls all the way from the mess to the company.’
Billi was yet to call home. As far as her parents were concerned, she was at Daddu’s place. She had decided that she had to find a way to speak to him. He would have to break the news to her parents.
Back at the company after breakfast, the LCs wondered what awaited them. The uncertainty in the routine was killing. Added to that were the whimsical punishment sessions. Rumours about the schedule were a dime a dozen. Although no one knew for sure, conjectures about haircuts, and other tasks abounded. Someone mentioned they would have to go for the allocation of kits and bikes (officially known as kit issues and bike issues).
The suspense came to a quick end when a fall-in was announced. The LCs stood in the sun, right in front of the building, the weather getting hotter by the minute. Sweat poured down their backs as they stood in savdhan position, while the CSM disappeared inside.
Her absence loosened tongues and soon the girls were exchanging notes on everything, right from their rooms to the weather to the cruelty of the CSM.
Fifteen minutes later, the CSM arrived. The first thing she did was to berate them for making too much noise.
‘You LCs have no sense of discipline. I have the perfect method to put some discipline into you,’ she declared.
Push-ups and front rolls seemed to be her favourite punishment. Soon, the cadets were rolling all over the place, the breakfast in their bellies performing acrobatics.
A couple of minutes later, a tall and smartly dressed officer, with a pair of fancy dark glasses perched on an aquiline nose, drove up on a motorcycle. The officer and the bike seemed to be made for each. The officer strode smartly towards them, and they realized the officer was a lady.
At five feet eight inches, the slim and agile Major Sherawat (lovingly called Shera by the cadets) could give Miss India a run for her money.
A year ago, when the officer was posted at the academy, she made the GCs drool and stare. A few daring ones managed to sigh and mumble under their breath. Not one to take such misdemeanour lightly, the lady officer took immediate action to halt the overactive imaginations of the testosterone-driven GCs. The punishments coupled with the denial of liberty pass did the trick. Soon, the stares ended and so did the sighs.
‘Good morning, ma’am.’ The CSM rushed towards the officer.
‘Good morning, everybody! I am Major Meera Sherawat, your Platoon Commander.’ Her commanding voice matched her personality.
With that pronouncement, she cast a shadow over their remaining happiness. The paltus, as Billi had named the Platoon Commanders, were tough as nails and expected their charges to be the same way. Major Swati was the gentler of the two, while Major Sherawat seemed much tougher.
After spewing some words of gyan, Major Sherawat departed on her mean machine, leaving the field clear for the CSM, who was itching to put the girls through some more action.
‘Ma’am, may I make a call home?’ asked one of the girls, echoing everyone’s wishes.
‘Are you homesick already?’ barked the CSM, following up the statement with punishment. ‘Get rolling some more. It will cure you of all sicknesses.’
The poor girl was made to go through a series of punishments for speaking out of turn, while the other LCs watched her in silent solidarity.
Something in their expressions must have triggered sympathy in the CSM. She announced a break and followed it up with permission. ‘Alright, all of you are allowed to make one call, but keep it short.’
There was a scramble as everyone rushed to fetch their phones from the huge box where they had been placed and ran up to their rooms to make their calls.
‘How are you, Daddu?’ Billi asked her grandfather, who was delighted to hear her voice.
‘Arre, Billi, I am so glad that you called,’ he responded joyfully. ‘I have been worried about you. In fact, your father called yesterday. He wanted to speak to you.’
‘Did you tell Papa where I am?’ she asked anxiously.
‘I told him you had gone out for football practice and would speak to him later. Beti, a lie can work for some time, but it won’t work forever. I will have to tell him the truth.’
‘I guess so.’
‘I will have to break the news the next time he calls.’
Daddu sounded a little apprehensive, Billi noted. They both knew all hell would break loose the moment her father learnt of their deceit. Then there was Banwari. He would be furious. It was all getting so complicated. She was trying to come to terms with the academy and its rules, which was tough enough. To deal with the other issues would be impossible at the moment. Drawing a deep breath, the Haryanvi lass decided to face the challenges as they occurred.
‘Don’t try to act smart,’ Daddu advised. ‘Obey orders and don’t give any excuse for the seniors to punish you.’
‘Yes, Daddu.’ If only he knew, the girl sighed. The CSM needed no excuse to punish them.
The call was cut short with an announcement of a fall-in. By now, the LCs had learnt the importance of running. Minutes after they had assembled, the CSM handed over the charge to a hefty ustad. ‘You will now be taken for the issue of web equipment,’ she said.
‘The Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs), who are posted as instructors in the academy are known as ustads. They have enormous powers and can punish us by allotting extra duties and drills. To earn the wrath of the ustad is like committing hara-kiri,’ she added.
‘What is web equipment? Are we supposed to walk on the wall and roof like Spiderman?’ Lucky whispered as they jogged towards the store. The girls giggled as visuals of Spiderman, jumping from wall to wall, flooded their minds.
‘I hope they don’t aim to turn us into Spiderwomen,’ Nutty tittered.
The store was abuzz with dozens of GCs and LCs milling around, intent on collecting their web equipment. With so many GCs from various companies, there was quite a crowd.
The suspense about the equipment was finally cleared when the girls realized that the web equipment was nothing but special clothing items that were required to be worn during battle. These included belts, pouches to carry ammunition, back packs, small and big, and straps to hold them in place. Water bottles, caps, raincoats, shoes, socks, boots and a host of other things were also part of the web equipment.
They were waiting for their turn, when Billi discovered that Shiny had gone missing.
‘Oh my god! Where has the girl vanished? There will be trouble if the ustad finds her missing,’ she alerted Lucky and Nutty, and the three of them began scanning the crowd.
‘You guys stay put, I will try to find her. Make some excuse if the ustad asks for me,’ volunteered the sporting Billi, as she picked her way through the crowd towards the other end of the veranda.
She spotted Shiny in one corner. The girl was busy chatting with a GC.
‘There you are,’ hissed Billi. ‘Do you realize what will happen if the ustad finds you missing?’
Shiny seemed quite unperturbed by the possibility of being pulled up by the ustad. ‘LC Bijli Bijarnia, meet GC Aaron Koshy,’ she introduced the handsome dude with a dimpled chin.
‘Nice to meet you, LC BB,’ responded the GC.
‘Same here! I mean glad and all that,’ Billi responded. Tugging at Shiny’s arm, she murmured, ‘We should be going.’ As an afterthought, she turned to the GC and said, ‘Please excuse us. We have to get back to our group.’
The two of them wound their way through the throng of cadets on the verandah.
Fortunately, the ustad had not taken a head count of his wards. It was a long and patient wait before their turn arrived and the girls were issued a set of equipment. They were told to check them and report if there were any deficiencies or damages.
‘How can the same equipment fit all of us?’ Lucky wondered, as she fiddled with her set. ‘Shiny is at least six inches taller than me, how can we use the same stuff?’
All around her, GCs and LCs were busy trying out their equipment. Toddling up to the busy quartermaster, she began hesitantly, ‘Sir, can you issue equipment in a smaller size? This seems too big for me.’
The harassed man ignored her request and continued with his task, but she didn’t give up. At last, he shooed her off saying, ‘In this case, one size fits everyone.’
Unconvinced by his words, Lucky grumbled, ‘How can the same size fit Nutty and me? She is at least 10 kilos heavier than me.’
‘Hello!’ bellowed the girl in question. ‘I am not bloody overweight, okay? You are underweight.’ Nutty had taken to garnishing her statements with a ‘bloody’. Her special pronunciation of the word ‘bloody’ never failed to amuse the others. ‘I didn’t mean to be rude, Nutty,’ Lucky pacified the girl. ‘All I want to know is how can the same stuff fit everyone.’
While they were arguing, Billi was trying out a pair of brand new boots. ‘These are a bit tight, but I will take them. Shoes are always tight in the beginning.’ Dazzled with the spanking pair, she was determined to keep them.
‘Don’t be an idiot! Exchange that pair for one that fits better,’ Shiny chided. ‘Just imagine trying to perform drills in those boots. Forget drills, you will not be able to walk properly in them. What you need is a comfortable pair of boots.’
‘Shoes always need breaking in. These will be comfortable after a few days of wearing,’ insisted Billi mulishly.
‘Have you seen the olive green socks that have been issued with the boots? They are made of thick material. The boots are not likely to fit if you wear them with those socks,’ Lucky pointed out.
For once, Nutty agreed with Lucky’s statement.
It was a while before the three girls managed to convince the Haryanvi girl to exchange the pair of boots for a more comfortable one.
‘You are a smart cookie. It hasn’t taken you long to find a guy. So, who was the dude?’ Billi pounced on Shiny the moment they began walking back to the company. ‘I saw you making eyes at him.’
‘She’s already found someone to make eyes at?’ Nutty was aghast. The news didn’t please her one bit. She had been confident of making a conquest before any of her friends. ‘That is fast work.’
‘I must say, it is,’ seconded Lucky, slapping Shiny on the back. ‘While we were trying out the web equipment, madam managed to trap a GC in her web.’
‘Please!’ Shiny protested. ‘He’s not a stranger.’
‘What!’ exclaimed Billi and Nutty.
‘Aaron…’
‘So that’s his name?’ Lucky giggled some more. ‘Um, Aaron! The name does roll off the tongue pretty nicely.’
‘So, who is this Aaron?’ Nutty wanted to know.
‘He’s the reason I am here at the academy,’ said Shiny shyly. ‘We have known each other for years. He’s my best friend.’
‘Childhood romance?’ Nutty tittered. ‘Wow! You mean something like in Parineeta, Devdas and Mohabbatein. That’s exciting.’
‘Yes, you can say so,’ admitted Shiny. ‘Aaron decided to join the army. In fact, the two of us decided to join the army and train at the academy, so we could be together.’
‘What a romantic idea!’ Nutty exclaimed. ‘Won’t it be nice if we all managed to find the perfect guys for us, right here in the academy?
‘I am not here to find a guy,’ snorted Billi. ‘There will be time enough for all that crap once we have been commissioned. At the moment, my heart is set on becoming a CSM.’ All talk of finding guys reminded her of Banwari Lal and she had no wish to discuss the matter with her new friends.
‘So, are you two planning to get married?’ Lucky wanted to know, excited about the prospect of a marriage right after the training. ‘I would love to attend a wedding in Kerala.’
‘You will definitely be invited,’ Shiny assured them. ‘In fact, all of you must attend our wedding.’
Their tête-à-tête came to an abrupt end as they reached the lobby of their company and found the CSM lying in wait for them.
‘Does it take so long to walk this little distance, slow coaches? I think you need a bit of energizing activity to get accelerated. Go and keep the equipment in your cabins. I want you back in two minutes,’ she shouted the moment she spotted them.
Her order sent them running like headless chickens. Scampering up the stairs, they dumped their kits in Billi’s cabin, which was the nearest one. Some of the equipment landed on the floor, some on the bed. There was no time to segregate things or keep them in order.
Despite hurrying, no one made it in the two minutes allowed by the CSM. Only those who had cabins on the ground floor made it by a whisker. Irrespective of the impossibility of the task, the delay in reporting was reason enough for the CSM to punish everyone.