From DPS AUJLA, F/C/55
I commiserate at the job of the watchman guarding Kapoor café in NDA at night; he has to be fully alert and on the guard to thwart any raid by marauding hungry cadets. But for once he also rubbed his eyes in disbelief at what lay before him. Fire was bellowing out of first floor tea room flank of Fox squadron.
He immediately rushed to the ground floor and found the senior cadets residing below already awake and looking for the origins of smoke. He guided them to the affected cabin where smoke was coming out like the chimney of a Mandi Gobind Garh foundry. Few but persistent knocks at the door yielded no response as it was bolted.CSM Jasbir Singh a tough senior cadet then did a quick pull up holding the wire mesh that was called seventh heaven to have a peep inside. He was terrified seeing the study table burning and a cadet sprawled half on the bed with legs dangling down. All the banging brought me to life and I opened the bolt just before it gave way. The fire party rushed in and put off the fire in no time.
I had been preparing for the very first camp for NDA cadets aptly named camp Greenhorn in the evening when ‘Lights out’ was announced. A towel was carefully wrapped around the table lamp and I continued packing my kit ensuring nothing was left behind. Once done and kept on the table, I needed to stretch my back for a few moments. ‘Just a few moments’, I muttered to myself but the sleep deprived body was soon lost in deep dreamless slumber.
The towel got overheated and started burning spreading it to the dungarees, FSMO pack and other items. The flames were thankfully observed by the alert watchman down below.
After my honest confession, everyone went back to bed but I was left virtually penniless as far as my kit/dress items were concerned, only a few hours before departure for the camp. Salute the never say die spirit of a Rimcollian that I arranged every single piece required in those few hours while the world slept blissfully. The old idiom ‘Beg, Borrow or Steal’ actually works best when all of them are combined together making it ‘Beg, Borrow and Steal’.