THE DNA OF NDA

In December this year, the National Defence Academy (NDA) will enter the sixties.
To realize the awesome import of that statement it signifies that the Academy has
trained one hundred and twenty batches over the last sixty years, moulding leaders
of our Armed Forces, creating officers and gentlemen who have risen to the highest
echelons, who have responded to the toughest challenges and who have numerous
gallantry awards, distinguished service awards and several achievements to their
credit. Therefore, the theme of the diamond jubilee issue, “NDA and its contribution
to the Armed Forces” frankly befuddled me because it is a truism that is never in
doubt. By the simple logic that Indian Armed forces are highly respected both within
the country and abroad for their competence, commitment, character and above all
apolitical nature and that the bulk of the Armed Forces officer cadre is from NDA, it
follows as naturally as night follows day that the NDA has been a great contributor
not merely to the Armed Forces but to the very process of nation building itself. I do
not mean to belittle the contributions of other Military institutions (in fact some of my
best friends are not ex-NDA) but to bring home the simple fact that when you train
and live together for three full years in a Spartan tough atmosphere the whole
alchemy is different and the association more pronounced.

Therefore, this article is more about my voyage of discovery and learning in NDA
over two tenures – the first as a cadet and the second as a Divisional Officer (Divo to
use the Academy parlance). Obviously, the two tenures are poles apart – as a cadet
I was struggling to make sense of the world around me, as a Divo I was “in the very
heaven of youth and marital bliss”. And yet there is a common thread that runs
through them, my quest for that fundamental question – what is indeed the nature of
NDA and why is it so? I have tried to answer that yo-yoing back and forth between
my experiences separated by a decade.

The people who make NDA are the cadets – the past and the present. They
epitomize the place more than anything else, and one can never cease to be
amazed by the versatility and virtuosity displayed by them over the years. The
Academy has witnessed spectacular successes be it sports fields or in the debating
halls, be it on the golf courses or in the Art Galleries. The amazing thing about the
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cadets is that they manage to do all this despite an almost minute to minute
schedule. It is almost as if they are conjurers. You wonder where did they get the
time for all this. It must be remembered that the cadet is constantly busy, on the
move, doing his PT, drill, equitation, swimming, academics and extra-curricular
activities. However, the ordered routine hides an endless maze of permutations and
combinations and juggling with time because after and in between all this, one has to
go for punishment runs, attend lectures, care for the Academy’s environment and
cleanliness, organize indoor games competitions, write projects, maintain scrap
books, etc. In fact it can first go on and on. Even Sundays are not necessarily
completely free. There is ‘shramdan’, cross country practices, preparing for camps,
riding hikes etc. To an outsider it might represent a mad scramble but to the inmate
there is a method in this madness. Therefore, the first strand of the DNA is this -
in the Academy you not only learn to manage time but also master it. An
obvious related issue is that to simply go thru’ the rigours of training in NDA is an
achievement in itself, to go beyond that and produce stunning results is a tribute to
the cadet’s spirit and true representation of the character of the Armed Forces.
Hence, the three years at the Academy are memorable to each and every one of the
cadets who graduates from there.

Let me elaborate further. To say that physical fitness is a absolutely necessity in the
Armed Forces would be to state the obvious but the Academy attempts to go beyond
that – to build a culture where outdoor activity becomes second nature to a cadet.
Instead of in your face examples of games or PT, let us consider drill. One cannot
forget the role of drill in building up discipline and rhythm apart from physical
strengthening. Most cadets begin their stint in the Academy clueless about drill –
arms akimbo, legs flailing and lacking in rhythm However, rigorous practicing in the
middle of drill square, profusely sweating under the starched khaki uniform
transforms many ugly ducklings to graceful swans. A similar fervour characterizes
specialist Army or Navy training such as shooting or sailing or because the
foundation of their future professional competence is laid at this place. The point I
am making is that NDA culture stresses on rigour and ‘being at it’ in the quest for
excellence. You are forgiven if you are not talented enough for, after all, not
everyone is so blessed, but all hell breaks loose if it is perceived that you have not
tried enough. That is the second chromosome of NDA – a relentless, ceaseless
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pursuit of your goal. As you go on in life, the goals change from anything such as
obtaining a doctorate to overcoming an obdurate obstacle but the same tireless spirit
is evident in seeking its accomplishment.

To make the cadets mentally strong the authorities constantly put them in a pressure
cooker situation so that they can handle a high amount of mental and physical
stress. In fact this aspect of mental toughness and ability to think and react in split
second situations is the theme song of NDA. It is preparation for the battle field
scenario wherein, you got to think correctly, quickly and decisively. Conditioned
response is the very essence of a warrior especially at the tactical levels. In later
years it takes the form of standard operating procedures, check off lists and quick
reaction drills. For example, an Officer standing watch on the bridge of a ship has
only a split second to react to a missile or torpedo threat. The safety of all the men
and the ship depends upon him and all his life’s training hinges on how quickly he
can react. This is where the NDA is supremely effective – the three years there
whether evading a senior or a drill saab or thinking a spur off the moment
explanation for the Divo or taking the leap from the 7 metre board generally makes
one the master of conditioned response. It is trait that serves well in later years
obviously adapting to the changed circumstances of your life. This viz. effective
and quick conditioned response is the third characteristic of NDA.

To an outsider, the Academy may symbolize glory and grandeur but to the cadet
who goes through the arduous training it isn’t exactly paradise. Nothing, not even a
RIMC or Sainik School Education can prepare a cadet for the enormous physical
and mental pressures that he faces in the Academy. Every cadet therefore takes
time to find his bearings and realize the intrinsic valued of NDA training. In fact, I
daresay that it is very difficult for a just passed out cadet to understand the
importance of NDA. It is only as the years progress and one comes face to face with
difficult situations and challenges, and the raw truths of life that one begins to
comprehend the enormity of change brought about by the Academy. It is through
unconscious realization when the wife says, “you are an enormously patient man”, or
“I wonder how you can go to sleep in a wink”, that the significance of NDA training
hits you. I have spoken to my Army and AF counterparts, those who by now have
ample combat experience – in Sri Lanka, in the North East, in Punjab, in J & K and
on UN missions abroad - and each one of them said the same thing – the value of
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NDA training, whether in the heat of combat or otherwise was tremendous. In effect
the Academy aims to create a complete, rounded personality and effect a quiet but
considerable transformation. That is the next characteristic of NDA – you never
know when and how, but at the end of the three years you are transformed
beyond belief.

But as a cadet it is difficult to comprehend all this. The feeling when Passing Out is
more of relief, than happiness. I have often wondered about this over the years,
whether the NDA for all its slam bang techniques is really like a homeopathy
medicine that gets into your system slowly and steadily. I must candidly confess that
at the Academy I was an average cadet coping with the regular doses of existential
dilemmas. For better or worse, I kept a daily diary during my junior terms and today
reading them is indeed instructive. The diary is almost like a litany of woes – the
cruel seniors, the unkind system and the grueling schedule. My friends, whether
they were good or bad, appointments or disappointments more or less voiced the
same feelings – that during the three years NDA comes across as a cold,
impersonal, imposing structure, it is only later that the whole jigsaw begins to make
sense.

Precisely because the Academy keeps you on your toes all the while, a few nuggets
remain, of memorable or hilarious experiences, of the Divos and Squadies, of
Academic instructors, of drill ustaads and PT saabs and how each one had a say in
making us. There were, of course, lot many who contributed in shaping us and it
would not be possible to name them; the list can never be conclusive and working
there as a Divo makes you realize the number of unseen, unheard people who toil to
train a cadet. Given my interest and inclinations English and History were favourites’
and I must thank my teachers there for opening a new world to me. My exposure to
the treasure trove of English poetry began here (who can forget Yeatsian
‘Byzantium’, Kipling’s ‘If’ or the deeply moving ‘Elegy in a Country Churchyard’ by
Thomas Gray). However, let me name two people who were larger than life figures
for me at that time – one deeply personal, the other impersonal in a sense. The first
is Mr S Padmanabhan, our mathematics teacher, an institution by himself where
NDA is concerned. He made us, a bunch of ragtag morons in class ‘D’, believe in
ourselves and was the classic example of the ‘Guru’ of yore, guiding and goading us
till we achieved results. The second was Sub Maj Darbara Singh, the S/M drill of our
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times. If ever there was a legend in the Academy, that title would go to ‘Darbara’ as
we used to call him. He was a giant of a man – both literally and figuratively. I
wonder where he is today but in those days suffice it to say that I was more afraid of
(and awestruck by) ‘Darbara’ than the Commandant and rest everybody put together

The point I am trying to make is that all the Staff at NDA – be they civilian or
uniformed, be they officer or PBOR instilled in us a sense of purpose and devotion to
duty. These people understood the unique nature of an NDA cadet, they
understood the weariness and fatigue that a cadet occasionally undergoes and
modified their modus operandi accordingly. But they never compromised on their
commitment to excellence. That is the next inherent quality of the Academy
training – a deep sense of purpose and goal orientation. Even on issues like
creativity, the Academy thought process was straight and narrow – it was welcome if
the horse of imagination was hitched to the wagon of ground realities. It was not a
place for the faint hearted and the dreamers. As a self confessed dreamer I can say
that NDA was painful in the way it steamrolled my urges in its quest to produce an
assembly line product. At the same time I acknowledge that it taught me the
importance of ‘bottomlines’ and ‘deliverables’ long before they became fashionable
management jargon. Aspects such as squadron announcements by shouting rather
than using a PA system, open door study period or the loud rendering of the NDA
prayer in the morning chill with its ability to galvanise the cadets might seem an
anachronism in an era of liberal individual freedom but their value in building
camaraderie can never be underestimated. It is instructive to note that the war cry
echoing throughout the Kargil conflict was ‘Oh ya ya’ the famous Hunter squadron
(where I was a Divo) slogan. Or take the case of the Delta squadron ( where I was a
Cadet) morning tea announcement ‘She is hot and ready’ - even today whenever the
tea is insipid or tasteless but the early morning blues have to be fought one
recollects this announcement with a smile and presses on.

As I said earlier, a cadet passes out of NDA, but NDA never passes out of a cadet.
The magic of some moments stays forever like the soulful notes of the ‘Big Ben’ on
the science block when it is still dark and cold in the vale or the all pervading gaze of
the historic Sinhgarh Fort over the densely green NDA campus. That is why, even
today, the foot taps more enthusiastically when hearing ‘Sare Jahan Se Accha’ and
the heart skips a beat as the echoes of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ waft over the Drill square.
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Even today there is a nip in the air and boundless joy as one glimpses the dome
from the view point, there is a solemn hush as one passes by the ‘Hut’, there is a
spring in the step as one approaches the Peacock Bay. This place has history,
glory, grandeur and dignity written all over it.

In the end let me quote from the last entry in my diary as a cadet “the stay at NDA
was definitely memorable. It was not easy, it was not comfortable, in fact if anything
it was tough and hard. I don’t recall times of euphoria or extreme happiness. There
were times when one smiled, but often than not it was stoic endurance that was the
order of the day. But at the end of three years, it transforms you and that is what
matters”. The DNA of NDA is that it ingrained in us the virtue of order and value
of discipline (if not fully, in a substantial measure at least) and that is what
endures long after you pass out. The famous Robert Frost poem “Miles to go
before I sleep” can be described as a perfect slice of NDA life being enacted. And it
stays on for the rest of your life.

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