NDA cadets in making Liberty is always taken for granted especially when you live in a country where you have the liberty to do almost anything without hurting anyone. No one stops to think of what would happen if liberty is denied or at the most, snatched from us. And no one, absolutely no one thinks about the people who put their lives at stake, giving up their own liberty to live a normal life, just so that ignorant people like us can go on living to the fullest with the liberty bestowed to us. This is no form of criticism or blame on anyone in particular, as I am equally guilty of being ignorant and indifferent. Or may be, I was, until a few days ago.
It was just another one of those monotonous train journeys, fiddling with my phone and looking out the window, cursing the network coverage of my phone’s service provider for not letting me continue a conversation about some not so useful things with a friend of mine. Just then, a boy of barely eighteen years of age walked in and occupied the seat opposite mine. His clothes looked so simple and out of trend. He didn’t have the basic commodities that a boy of his age was expected to have! A cellular phone let alone the miniature version of a music player! Well I wasn’t so surprised when I found out he didn’t even carry a bag and he was travelling somewhere far! I wondered what he was doing in the AC class III coach with all his friends trying to fit into a single side sleeper, when none of them seemed to even look like they belonged to that section of the train. On top of that, they were creating quite a racket with all their display of sense of humor like little cherubs.
It wasn’t too late before my extremely easy-going and not- so- don’t talk to strangers family, especially my cousin, picked up a conversation with him. And only then did I realize what a poor judge of character I had been. I hadn’t paused to think of who the boy might be before I made my mind up about him. Well, he was a first semester pass out from the National Defense Academy(NDA), Pune. Initially disinclined, I began listening to his answers as my family fired a round of questions at him about his schooling and the lifestyle at the NDA. I was taken aback to hear that they actually survived at the Academy without any form of “electronic entertainment” that most of us were addicted to! As I kept listening to him describe his tedious routine that started at 4 am and ended by 11pm, all day long trying to cope with academics and training to be physically fit by taking up various activities like horse riding, swimming, trekking, outdoor sports,etc. They were previously allowed to have an hour of entertainment called “Liberty” time which apparently was scrapped off in order to make them more resistant to the temptations such things could create! ( I can’t remember the last time I parted with my phone,movies,tv, laptop, and access to social networking. It’s quite a thing to be ashamed of !)
The rapid fire round continued for another half an hour until someone asked him why he chose to do something different in a world of cut throat competition where people vied to earn at least a penny more than the other person so that they could secure a luxurious life for themselves and their families. The young boy’s answer left me in awe for his spirit.
He said,” I’ve always wanted to be a part of the Indian military since I was child. I don’t really care that my friends might earn more than me or live together with their families when I may not be able to do the same. But what is important is that I chose to help them live their dreams by rendering my services in a small way to our country. I only find happiness in the fact that I will also be a vital part of a system that doesn’t sleep in order to make sure that our country sleeps peacefully under safe and secured roofs. My ambition is to get into the Indian Military Academy (IMA) and become someone someday and hold my head up proudly and say to myself that I have indeed achieved something in life by securing my country a bit more, even on my death bed. Hence I’m on the path of physical and emotional detachment from my family so that every other Indian can stay attached to his or her family, without having to worry about bombshells destroying their lives. I do not and never will regret this decision of mine for I am only proud in knowing that I will not rest without having given back something within my bounds, to my country, Mother India.”
I sat there frozen in a mixture of emotions. Sympathy or pride? What was I supposed to feel? I still couldn’t believe those words that flowed out of the young boy’s mouth. Such was his inspiration and dedication. At that moment it did not matter to me if he had a phone or if he was well dressed. It didn’t matter to me if he looked elite or moderate. All that mattered to me was that, a boy, barely eighteen, possessed such insurmountable levels of will power and confidence, and most of all, patriotism, something that every Indian ought to learn from him. When all of us chose to enjoy life and plan ourselves a happy future ahead, this young boy chose to put a fence around us and stand guard so that no one trespasses our liberty and safety.
The realization of how ignorant and indolent I had been about the innumerable people standing on borders, keeping themselves awake for days so that not even a swallow that posed a threat to the nation’s security could enter the country’s premises. Yes, there have been security breaches and pretty serious ones too. But we tend to forget the fact that it amounts to less than one percentile of the flaws and that the liberty of expressing our views about those flaws is still intact because there are still other men in uniform guarding our country.
I dint ask for his name, for I wanted to have the liberty of respecting him and writing about him because he had given me an inspiration and a reason to write, and it all seemed easy for me to write about some random stranger who created a deep impact in my life and helped me realize the purpose of my own existence and the willingness of so many people living on borders in ignominy, just to let our country they envisage, live in light. This was just one Indian I had met. There are, I am sure, a million more like him, striving to protect out liberty and our country by sacrificing their own lives. We may not be able to go up there and lend a hand to them in holding their ammunition, but I hope we can at least keep them in our thoughts, and be grateful for the cozy bedding and sweet dreams that we enjoy every night, at their cost.
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