Having it dwelt for almost 19 years which I adore and be proud of...Oh sorry! Didn’t mention about it right? Yes, That’s us! Kids of Army BRAT! Here’s what our lives look like. Army brats?
B - BEING
R- RELOCATED
A - ALL
T - TIME
Or take it,
B - BORN
R - RAISED
A - AND
T - TRANSFERRED
“Namaste uncle, Namaste aunty, SatSriAkal Uncle, Jai hind”,Yes , this is such an infrangible habit - it lives inside me .Day without these words are nothing!
Going to bed at 9 or 12...Doesn’t matter! Getting up by 5:30 is must! Getting up after 7 or 8 is a crime! Home seemed to be more strict and disciplined when dad was on his "chhutti"(Holiday).
An occasional family visit to uncle’s house-was the best reunion ever!
Watching my mom and a group of aunties taking an evening walk clinched me that everything is normal.
"Festivals? We have plenty"-nothing goes rough here. We celebrate all the festivals with same zeal. Diwali, Dusshera and Holi are the most anticipated one and guess what?. Kitchen would be flooded with dishes from the whole colony!
Oh! The "fire cracker ceremony" and "mela" was the best one!
Those 2 Bed-room quarters with those charpoys on which we would jump endlessly till it becomes loose was something irreplaceable!
We rarely go to the supermarket. It’s always the CSD canteen. We get 90% of the things from canteen and still try to find the rest 10% in the canteen only.
Yeah, That’s right...Army campus has a different quintessence in its air. Trust me even plants will showcase you the discipline system! Unbelievable right?
We have SARVA DHARMA STHAL “सर्व धर्म स्थल” (Mandir/Masjid/Church /Gurdwara all below a single roof) to worship and dare we miss the Langar! Even a small scratch was followed by “Chalo MH”. (Military Hospital).
"Snacks section?" My favourite CSD place! "A trip to CSD was my childhood shopping mall!
Going to border and visiting those army bunker, and watching those parades were priceless!
No luxurious sofa can match our black painted trunk with white footnote...from xyz to zyx(which is later used as sitting space), pots out of bottles, flowers out of tissues! "Jugaadu for life!"
" Tipsy pudding, Maggi rolls, Roasted Nuts etc.. just got added to my favourites "-Things I cherish the most in Mess Parties.
"When we were in......"Every kid in the cantt has a story up his sleeve that begins with this. When we were in Jalandhar...when we were in Rajasthan...when we were in Jammu... Usually pretty cool stories!
Goodbyes are really arduous when you’re all just adjusted and adapted though it’s short term-2 years, sometimes less. Switching all of a sudden was worst. "Adjustment? Not a big deal!"
Schools! Army Public Schools and KVS are the coolest. Ranking those was a responsible task! Having a friend posted to the same place as yours was the blessed part!
APS Bikaner, APS Jhansi, APS Pathankot, APS Wellington, KV Meerut, KV Wellington...Was my beautiful journey!
The awkward moment was when you join schools in mid-session. You enter the class wearing your old school’s uniform and everyone stares at you as if you’re an alien!
School Bus- Oops! Oops! Army trucks were our school bus which seems like a convoy, where bus pass was must! People used to stare at us... and we we’re like..Seriously?
For us lavish furniture’s means our ‘Sarkari furniture’. We meet them wherever we move to.
Boasting like master with non-defence brats were so cool. Boasting all about our switching to hills, cities, states, life experiences, accommodation, facilities and what not. The fact is that we are just too proud of what the country is offering to us.
Watching a Fauj uncle greeting my dad with “Jai Hind Saab” made my day!
You visit doctors in white coat or casuals, we visit doctors in olive green, Yankees or powder blue uniform!
We neither have a stable address nor a contact number. 18 years and 8 different locations. Home sick? What’s that?
We have friends athwart the nation but unfortunately not many to have the interaction and understanding with. The average time you’re together is 2 to 3 years.
Visiting to Nani’s, Dadhi’s house was only once or twice a year. For us, train journey was tireless!
I was only 10 years old. Those horrifying days when you hear about firing and insurgency in the containment zone.
Our only wish – ‘Save my dad’. Isn’t that too much for such a little heart?
° Cringe No 1:
As soon as we switch and settle in the new place, dad gets transferred to another new place. Blessed part would be New place, new culture, new Friends and new people.
° Cringe No 2:
" Packing?" Lol it’s quick service!" Get the cartons from CSD, arrange stuff, tape it and put a label.. Mom’s are cool at packing though!
The most boring switch takes place every couple of years. The next house we move to is strangely similar to the one we just left.
° Cringe No 3:
The bigul!
Yes, that’s my morning alarm! You are unlucky if there’s a marching ground pretty close to your quarters. The bigul won’t let you sleep after 5. There’s only waking up and no wrapping up.
° Cringe No 4:
Cycle is the most seen means of transport.
Don’t forget to wear your helmet!
° Cringe No 5:
We also had military theatres within our boundaries. Cringe is that I’ve never been there, not even once.
° Cringe No 6:
No parties. Only welfare!
“Bada Khana, Pagal Gym Khana ” – The Regiment Day - The ‘so called party’ – was the only excuse for a get together.
The helicopter show by the Para-Regiment was the coolest one though!
But I do agree besides these cringes we also have these bonus advantages,
"How many languages you know?"- This is the most frequent question! Yes, I’m good at n number of languages apart from my mother tongue.... Eventually Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Rajasthan, Malayalam, Telugu, and still on.
Dependent card - one of the most cherished belongings of defence brats. Showing them at every army gate felt like I was in Army!
Ashok Leyland trucks, Cantt life, Helipad nearby, MH, MI Rooms, Army Schools, Kendriya Vidyalaya’s – They have lives in them.
Stars could only be seen at nights but I see them 24/7 on my father’s shoulders. Sometimes I polish them as well!
How many get this chance to go inside a tank, hold bullets and various guns look closely and operate those empty heavy war machines, sit inside helicopter, visiting the nation’s border. Astonishing naa?
Yeah, that’s right...we grow up switching at least a dozen of different places by the time we leave home from college. We don’t really have a hometown.
I/We have lived a life which everyone could only dream of. Our fathers, awake, sitting with a rifle, in an altitude more than 10,000 feet, temperature less than( – 30°C), not bothering about their food and not even their lives.
It’s a matter of pride and honor to be a part of a beautiful legacy with highly disciplined, strong, brave, polished and sophisticated people.
I’m grateful!
I’m glad!
I’m a proud Army Brat!
“SALUTE PAPPA!”
