On the Double

Tanushree Podder

Description

The Indian Military Academy – a crucible of sorts where young boys are transformed into officers of merit through discipline, hard work, and a rigorous regime. A place where life is all about battalions and companies, and where the tactics of warfare are taught. However, in Tanushree Podder’s no-holds-barred look into Academy life – pranks and girls are as important to life as are morning drills and sand model exercises. A fitting, but entirely independent, sequel to Boots Belts Berets, her celebrated book about life at the National Defence Academy; On the Double follows the continuing adventures of Pessi, Maachh, Porky, Sandy, and Zora as they navigate the obstacle course that is the IMA. Their love of fun breathes life into their time together, and their friendship and dare-devilry guarantees sleepless nights for their Company Commander. A charming tale of friendship and coming-of-age, where young boys with lofty dreams stand at the cusp of change, ready to take on their future as sentinels of the nation.

Sujets

• Thrillers
• Rigor
• Hard Work
• DeFence
• On the Double
• Indian Military Academy
• Young Boys
• Beret
• Boots
• Officer
• Commander
• Training
• Battalion
• Military
• Weapon
• Patriotism
• Régime
• Un silence de mort
• Army
• Discipline
• IMA
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Roli Books
• Date de parution: 12 juin 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9788193984680
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Tanushree is a self-confessed word-a-holic and a traveller. When not reading or writing books, she’s sure to be packing her bags and boots to zip around the world. A true maverick, she stumbled through many career choices before settling on writing.
A chocolate addict with a penchant for the unusual, she has collected dozens of interesting certificates that range from a wine-master’s assistant at Australia, an international reindeer driving licence from Lapland, to one from ‘The School of Hard Knocks’ at Royal Selangor.
After leading a nomadic life for several decades, thanks to the Indian Army, she has finally grown roots at Pune. Tanushree can be contacted on her website – http://www.tanushreepodder.com
 
OTHER BOOKS BY TANUSHREE PODDER
Boots Belts Berets
Escape from Harem: A Mughal saga of romance, revenge and retribution
No Margin for Error: A Tale of Bravery and Brotherhood set in the Indian Army
OTHER INDIAINK TITLES Anjana Basu Black Tongue Anjana Basu Chinku and the Wolfboy Anuradha Majumdar Infinity Paper: A mysterious quest, an unforgettable adventure Boman Desai Servant, Master, Mistress Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Shadowland Claudine Le Tourneur d’lson Hira Mandi C.P. Surendran An Iron Harvest I. Allan Sealy The Everest Hotel I. Allan Sealy Trotternama Indrajit Hazra The Garden of Earthly Delights Jaspreet Singh 17 Tomatoes: Tales from Kashmir Jawahara Saidullah The Burden of Foreknowledge John MacLithon Hindutva, Sex & Adventure Kalpana Swaminathan The Page 3 Murders Kalpana Swaminathan The Gardener’s Song Kamalini Sengupta The Top of the Raintree Lavanya Arvind Shanbaoug The Heavens We Chase Madhavan Kutty The Village Before Time Pankaj Mishra The Romantics Paro Anand I’m Not Butter Chicken Paro Anand No Guns at My Son’s Funeral Paro Anand Pure Sequence Paro Anand Wingless Paro Anand Weed Rakesh Satyal Blue Boy Ranjit Lal Bambi Chops and Wags Ranjit Lal The Life &Times of Altu-Faltu Ranjit Lal The Small Tigers of Shergarh Ranjit Lal The Simians of South Block and Yumyum Piglets Sanjay Bahadur The Sound of Water Sanjay Bahadur Hul: Cry Rebel! Selina Sen A Mirror Greens in Spring Shandana Minhas Tunnel Vision Sharmistha Mohanty New Life Shree Ghatage Brahma’s Dream Sudhir Thapliyal Crossing the Road Susan Visvanathan Nelycinda and Other Stories Susan Visvanathan The Visiting Moon Susan Visvanathan The Seine at Noon
 

 
ROLI BOOKS
This digital edition published in 2019
First published in 2015 by
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Copyright © Tanushree Podder, 2015
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Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die
–Alfred Lord Tennyson
 
PROLOGUE

N ot every book has a sequel and not every author writes one. I consider myself fortunate to find the opportunity to pen a sequel.
Not long after Boots Belts Berets hit the stands, I was asked by countless readers if I had plans of writing a sequel. And when I went for a book reading at the Indian Military Academy, a lot of Gentlemen Cadets posed the same question.
The logic was simple. While NDA prepares the young men for the profession, it is at the IMA where their skills are honed and polished. So, any book that speaks about the life of cadets-in-training has to cover both the academies. The training at NDA and IMA is comparable to the best in the world. And I would say, better than even Sandhurst in the UK, and West Point in the USA. A tour of the academies and interactions with the cadets reinforced that belief in my mind.
Boots Belts Berets was conceptualized as a platform to dispel some stereotypical images from civilian minds, created mainly by the movies. It was geared to provide the readers with an idea about what goes behind the making of a smart, dedicated, and efficient soldier. Most books about the army are serious in nature. It was here that I decided to differ. My book was cool and humorous so that youngsters could relate to it easily. The result was achieved when many cadets told me that they gifted the book to their friends, girlfriends, and families to familiarize them with life in the academies.
Although I have been flooded with requests for a sequel, it took a while to write since I was working on Escape from Harem, which being a historical romance, was far removed from the world of cadets.
On the Double came to my mind during the reunion of my husband’s course at the NDA. When we stayed for a weekend in one of the squadrons with his course-mates and their wives, where they recalled memories of their training days, it was an eye-opener. The officers dropped their ranks and greeted each other just like teenaged boys. Among them were the soon-to-be Chiefs of the Indian Army and Air Force – General Dalbir Singh Suhag and Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha – a factor of pride amongst the course-mates.
The camaraderie and unpretentious behavior impressed me and the ball was set rolling. I began working on On the Double . Several story lines and discussions with the husband followed. In Boots Belts Berets, the characters were very clear in my mind. Although there was a protagonist, his friends were equally important to the story. The character of Maachh was an intrinsic part of the book. His mischief and misfortune have been interwoven so intricately into the story that it was impossible for me to identify the real protagonist. It was difficult to visualize the sequel without Maachh and his pranks. His optimism and reckless attitude, along with his irrepressible spirit forms the crux of the story in On the Double.
Some of the original characters, like Bertie Rebello and Natty, have been replaced by others. This was necessitated by the fact that the NDA cadets who are chosen for the air force and navy continue the advanced training at their respective academies, while the ones who are selected for the army go on to the IMA.
On the Double begins where Boots Belts Berets left off, though it is not necessary to read the first to enjoy the second. Each chapter is a humourous account and each character is a memorable one.
Like the previous volume, this book is also set in the seventies. This was when my husband was training at the academy. There were twelve companies in the IMA at the time. The average age of the young men who passed out from the NDA and arrived there was nineteen. The young cadets had the same natural tendencies and obsessions as their counterparts elsewhere. They strove to steal moments of fun while going through the rigorous training. Although there was no ban against ragging, in On the Double , I have created a commandant who disliked ragging because of painful personal experiences. Much to the displeasure of Maachh and his associates, ragging was forbidden.
Much seems to have changed in the academy, and yet, nothing has actually changed. The ethos, training, and attitude remain the same. Young cadets enter the hallowed portals of the Indian Military Academy with stars in their eyes, patriotism in their hearts, and a never-say-die attitude. They go through the same experiences and escapades, suffer the same hardships with a smile, and find ways and means to distract themselves and deal with their natural instincts.
I am sure all the officers who have gone through the academy will identify with the episodes, and the wannabe officers will hopefully find them inspirational.
To the query, will there be a sequel to the sequel, let me reply – who knows what may happen?
Tanushree Podder
2015
 
ONE

T here are mornings in a chap’s life when his heart spills over with joy and trills out a happy ditty. There is a bounce in his walk, a spring in his steps, and an expression of delight upon his countenance. His eyes sparkle and the very air around him feels celebratory. The grass is greener on his side of the fence. The glories of nature, never noticed by him before, suddenly float into his range of vision. The birds sing as he walks past and flowers bloom to the accompaniment of several hundred guitars strumming in the background. The sky is a cheerful blue with nary a cloud to mar its beauty, and the sun is a glowing, beaming ball of hope.
It was one such morning of my life. As Sherlock Holmes would have told a wide-eyed Watson, it was elementary. I was exhibiting all the signs of a lad who had lost his marbles. But it didn’t matter what the fictional ace detective would think of me. What mattered was that I was on top of the world at that moment. To express my happiness, I coughed to clear my voice box of its impediments and launched my vocal chords on a flight of airy tunes.
Modesty be damned, I have to admit that a few heads turned my way. Up and down the compartment of the train I was seated in, curious eyes took note of the tall and lanky youngster, and mind you, not all the looks thrown at me were disapproving. Although the temperature was a tad unbearable and my sweat glands were hyperactive, this handsome chap was not mopping his brows with annoyance, they noticed. They didn’t know the reason, of course, not that I owed them any explanation.
The train lumbered slowly towards the Dehradun railway station and I craned my ne