GUTS, GUMPTION, AND GLORY

“Some goals are so worthy, it’s glorious even to fail” - Capt. Manoj Kumar Pandey.

The real essence of life can be understood when the odds are against you such that you have to strive hard in order to be the driving force that gives it meaning. With the beginning of every phase come new encounters that teach us how to live with more purpose. Hence, every step taken – counts. 

As an eight-year-old, when you have only begun to understand the world around you and are still adapting to its ways it would seem almost impossible to stumble upon a turning point that would change your perspective towards everything, forever. One fine day this eight-year-old asks her father, “there are so many things that we see around us which are so wrong, how can we possibly do anything about it?” to which he responds, “the situation will begin to change the day you decide to do something about it and one day I will ask you what you want to do with your life and you will have an answer.” To think of it, they were just a few simple words which essentially meant that if something around you bothers you, get up and do something about it but the kind of impact that those words can have cannot be quantized. 

This was the very moment when my journey began. 

It is often believed that there is a certain amount of difference between men and women when it comes to joining the services. Women are often not recruited in Combat roles as there are various factors that prohibit the same from happening but there is a contradiction that arises here. A father who raises his daughter in a manner such that she can provide an equal amount of competition to her counterparts no matter who they are and rightly so. This is the upbringing that makes the difference, for it is not about being higher or below any one gender but about understanding that if you make yourself able enough, no other barrier can keep you from establishing your stance as an equal. 

I have always believed that working hard can take you places that no other factor has a role to play in. Since my childhood, I have worked on my physical fitness abilities by always participating in Athletics and extending the scope of that to sports like Badminton, Table Tennis and swimming. In order to achieve a balance between my education and my additional curricular I have always been a diligent student and have always been a merit card holder when it came to academics. I believe that striking that perfect balance between the two is key and of immense importance, as they complement each other in a fantastic manner. 

After having studied in one school for 10 years, in grade 9 I shifted to a new school. This marked the beginning of a new phase of my life as everything was extremely different now. A new board, new friends and a new environment altogether. I did not want this to hamper my ambition of making a difference. With my profound love for Debating, I immediately auditioned for the debating team of my school. Although small, the first competition that I took part in was a victory for our team which played a major role in terms of a confidence booster. 

Going further, I was fortunate enough to be elected as a Senior prefect the very next year after which I went on to getting back in form for athletics once again. In Grade 11, I took part in the Model United Nations (MUN) and was awarded second place – Honourable Delegate in my very first attempt at it. Further, I also took part in a sporting event for which I bagged a gold medal and our team was awarded the overall championship. Grade 12 being the last year holds a lot of meaning when it comes to academics and this was the time when I truly understood the importance of leadership as I was elected as the President of the Literary Council and developed a great number of skills when it came to the whereabouts of leading a team. I was also fortunate enough to be elected as the Moderator Of the Model United Nations in grade 12 which provided a great deal of exposure in terms of world affairs and UN resolutions for the same. I took it upon myself to ensure that under my time of serving as a leader I would organize as many literary events as I could so as to ensure that every student can discover their inert abilities when it comes to these events. I am glad to say that we were able to successfully conduct various Debates, 'Just a Minute' competitions, Creative writing competitions and other such literary events which provided a platform for the young minds to go out there and explore their abilities. 

In the due course of these activities, I also ensured that my academies would not take a backseat and I obtained a 10 CGPA (above 91%) in standard 10 and an 86% in standard 12 with my subjects of Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry and legal studies in grade 12. 

After having completed grade 12, I went on to pursue a triple E major which is a BSc in Physics, Mathematics and Electronics in Christ university wherein I decided to join the National Cadet Corps which marked the beginning of yet another milestone of the journey. For the first year, I was a reserve cadet which means that they had not selected me yet because it is usually difficult for science Students to cope with NCC and their academics but I knew that if I wanted to join the Armed Forces at some point in my life it would be the perfect example of – Survival of the Fittest and NCC was a preamble to the same. Hence, my reason for joining NCC was Simple, I wanted to see if I was the Fittest. Being in the reserve was a little difficult at first because you have the constant fear that they might ask you to leave NCC at any given point but I ensured that I do not lose hope and give it my best shot. At the end of the first year which comprised of Blood, sweat and tears quite literally I understood that NCC was much more than just an organization. It was in fact the largest uniform youth organization for a reason and it had the ability to mould one’s personality for a lifetime. 

After putting in constant and dedicated effort through everything, I was fortunate enough to have been selected as the first cadet to be a part of the Commando drill which was a tribute to the NSG Black Cat Commandos for the Drill display. My journey then witnessed many camps like the Basic Learning and Leadership camp to the prestigious Republic day camp 2020 for which I qualified till camp 9 and was also the representative for the Karnataka and Goa directorate in the Flag Area briefing and Youth exchange Programme. My final year in NCC began with an interview with the Hon’ble Defence Minister Of India Shri Rajnath Singh wherein I was elected as the representative for Karnataka and Goa to be a part of an interactive session with him as he inaugurated the launch of the DG NCC application for the online mode of training for NCC cadets.

The next step of my journey involved me being pipped as the Junior Under Officer of the 2/9 COY NCC Christ (Deemed to be) University. It was definitely an honour to have been given this opportunity and I most definitely understood that I would now have to expand my horizon in terms of my responsibilities and it was indeed a role that I was ready to take on. The last event in NCC in my tenure involved me being the Speaker for the event of bringing of the Swarnim Vijay Mashaal to the campus of Christ as Bengaluru marked on of the Southern Cardinals. The event was conducted by the PARA Special Forces and most definitely was a surreal one. The burning of the fire which symbolized the sacrifice of the great soldiers who laid down their lives for the service of the nation was definitely an experience that motivated me more than ever and brought me one step closer to being able to answer my father’s question.

Who once was an eight-year-old is now 21 and her father asks her, “So now tell me, what is it that you want to become?”

“An Officer of the Indian Army” she replied. 

Jai Hind.