sandeepmehla
May 19th, 2011, 07:02 PM
Hi All.
Sharing an Article of my nephew as Published in Infantry Plus Journal OCT 2010
About the Author
--Vikram Grewal is studying in 10th standard in KC Public School at Jammu. . His first Book My Little Thoughts, a compilation of 44 original poems is already in the market. His first fiction novel The Initiative is ready for publication. He is presently working on a Non Fiction novel Through the Eye of an Indian Observer. He is a regular contributor to various Newspapers and Magazines.His father Col KS Grewal is commanding 14 SIKH LI
Almost every second year, we move to a new state, a new city and a new house. And with entering the new city there is always a new school, new teachers and new friends. And being taught by new teachers leads to new learning, new values and new results. The above events are experienced by many of the children who have their father/mother working in the armed forces. But in this article, I would surely like to portray the advantages and disadvantages of being a Fauji Child, to all the readers.
When a baby is born in Army- influenced surroundings, he feels confused looking at the impalpable job and asks himself that what is actually happening here and what role do I play in this profession. He starts feeling that he has been immured at this location. But slowly and steadily, he starts understanding the work and enjoys the facilities provided to the family as well as him. He starts to develop a hobby or interest in the Army which especially gives rise to three stages in his life. In these stages there are actually two mandatory stages and one optional stage-Observation,Merger and Adoption. Let me explain… observation entails watching rifles, pistols, tanks, missiles and radars while the child is growing up.
When the child grows up to about ten years he wishes to turn the hobby for weapons into a practical experiment and the father impetuously grants him his wish by driving to the shooting range and handing over the INSAS to him. He lies down, settles up, corks it and presses the trigger. And with a minor explosion of smoke, the enemy gets hit by the bullet and the empty cork flies over to the right. The child gets amazed with this scintillating experiment, he puts the INSAS aside and takes up an AK-56, then the carbine, then the LMG, this goes on and on till he grows up to an adult. As an adult, he becomes passionate for the Army, aspires to join the NDA, then the IMAor OTA and finally takes up the profession of his father, that is being a soldier.
But let us not jump to the happy ending straight away.The child has now grown up to about four years of age. He looks around and owns a sense of this job. He watches the daily morning P.T. then goes to the Army School, where he’s taught ABC…and not about army so, it makes an impression of just a normal school into the child’s mind. He returns from the school in the modified 2.5 ton/ALS school bus and asks his mother, “Mom, in our school if they teach just the regular studies then why is its name ‘Army School’?” His mother doesn’t answer with the intention that he’ll know the reason on his own when he grows up.
He makes friends in the present station and after the tenure the friendship breaks up but not for long because it has happened many a times that the same friends meet again at some other new station. And as he reaches the new station he makes new friends, meets new neighbors and is taught by new teachers. In the first 10 days he’s a bit shy and scared of the new people. But after sometime, he gets used to it. But the next posting too makes it harder for him as the studies get upgraded.
After completing the third standard, he’s admitted to a new convent school to concentrate on studies, where he actually meets the children from the civil so called ‘civilians’ for the first time. In that situation, everything becomes common between all the army officers’ children as the conversation begins with the ‘civilians’.
Civilian: Do you know yesterday I saw a real rifle of black and orange colour. It was very heavy!
Army child: Oh…you mean AK-47, we have it at the Battalion and it is not that heavy.
Civilian: I’ve seen the US, UK and France.
Army child: I’ve seen Congo, Ethiopia, Bhutan ,UNMEE and Pakistan was just 200m away from us in the previous station.
Civilian: I went for a film shooting, last week.
Army child: I go for rifle-shooting, everyday!
Civilian: Do you know my father said that I would change almost 3 schools till my 12th. .
Army child: I’ve already changed 5!
This conversation proves that we the army children are ahead in many fields from the children on civie sreet, whether it be experience, traveling or anything else which makes him a keen observer. The soft skills imbibed during interactions with numerous officers, JCOs, jawans, families, seniors, peers and juniors from different nationalities, states and backgrounds, provide tremendous advantage later in life.
But the disadvantages are even more- when we stay in a metropolitan city like Delhi and after finishing the tenure, the posting comes to a highly remote and underdeveloped town like Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir or Tawang in the North East, where the child’s education, company and security will suffer remarkably. So, trying to avoid the situation the mother either decides to stay in Delhi or send the child to a boarding school. I would like to state the most important disadvantage that is- staying away from your father. It takes a lot of courage to remain away from your own father for so long. His absence is indeed felt by every member of the family. As the child sees the other children with their fathers while playing or at the Parent-Teacher Meeting at school, he/she surely misses him a lot. But what can the child do as he can’t change the whole system. The family stoically bears the separation. The silver lining in the clouds however is that staying away from the head of the family teaches the child the value of discipline and responsibility which gives another edge to the army children over the ‘civilians’.
Leaving the values and education content, I move forward to the feelings of the family. Be it any family whether a lower or an upper class, the most proud member on sending her son or daughter in this responsible and self-sacrificing organization is the one and only his/her mother. Her four-chambered heart gets transferred into a two-chambered one as the other two chambers pump blood for her child far away from home, staying alert at the borders, protecting the nation. And when a letter arrives to the mother declaring just three words-“I’m fine!” she gets completely satisfied and feels like achieving nirvana for her. But some of us do take undue advantage of father’s absence and mother’s love and stray toward bad habits, which I am sure is not the way to reciprocate the sacrifices of our parents.
That’s all what I can pen down about the feelings of the family as no writer in this world can elaborate it till the longest extent. To put it into a nutshell the only phrase that gives strength to every army child and family is- “SACRIFICE FOR THE NATION”.
In the end, I would like to convey that-“For your motherland, it’s easy to boast, tough to fight and tougher to die; but it’s difficult to live, more difficult to help and the most difficult to serve.”- JAI HIND
Sharing an Article of my nephew as Published in Infantry Plus Journal OCT 2010
About the Author
--Vikram Grewal is studying in 10th standard in KC Public School at Jammu. . His first Book My Little Thoughts, a compilation of 44 original poems is already in the market. His first fiction novel The Initiative is ready for publication. He is presently working on a Non Fiction novel Through the Eye of an Indian Observer. He is a regular contributor to various Newspapers and Magazines.His father Col KS Grewal is commanding 14 SIKH LI
Almost every second year, we move to a new state, a new city and a new house. And with entering the new city there is always a new school, new teachers and new friends. And being taught by new teachers leads to new learning, new values and new results. The above events are experienced by many of the children who have their father/mother working in the armed forces. But in this article, I would surely like to portray the advantages and disadvantages of being a Fauji Child, to all the readers.
When a baby is born in Army- influenced surroundings, he feels confused looking at the impalpable job and asks himself that what is actually happening here and what role do I play in this profession. He starts feeling that he has been immured at this location. But slowly and steadily, he starts understanding the work and enjoys the facilities provided to the family as well as him. He starts to develop a hobby or interest in the Army which especially gives rise to three stages in his life. In these stages there are actually two mandatory stages and one optional stage-Observation,Merger and Adoption. Let me explain… observation entails watching rifles, pistols, tanks, missiles and radars while the child is growing up.
When the child grows up to about ten years he wishes to turn the hobby for weapons into a practical experiment and the father impetuously grants him his wish by driving to the shooting range and handing over the INSAS to him. He lies down, settles up, corks it and presses the trigger. And with a minor explosion of smoke, the enemy gets hit by the bullet and the empty cork flies over to the right. The child gets amazed with this scintillating experiment, he puts the INSAS aside and takes up an AK-56, then the carbine, then the LMG, this goes on and on till he grows up to an adult. As an adult, he becomes passionate for the Army, aspires to join the NDA, then the IMAor OTA and finally takes up the profession of his father, that is being a soldier.
But let us not jump to the happy ending straight away.The child has now grown up to about four years of age. He looks around and owns a sense of this job. He watches the daily morning P.T. then goes to the Army School, where he’s taught ABC…and not about army so, it makes an impression of just a normal school into the child’s mind. He returns from the school in the modified 2.5 ton/ALS school bus and asks his mother, “Mom, in our school if they teach just the regular studies then why is its name ‘Army School’?” His mother doesn’t answer with the intention that he’ll know the reason on his own when he grows up.
He makes friends in the present station and after the tenure the friendship breaks up but not for long because it has happened many a times that the same friends meet again at some other new station. And as he reaches the new station he makes new friends, meets new neighbors and is taught by new teachers. In the first 10 days he’s a bit shy and scared of the new people. But after sometime, he gets used to it. But the next posting too makes it harder for him as the studies get upgraded.
After completing the third standard, he’s admitted to a new convent school to concentrate on studies, where he actually meets the children from the civil so called ‘civilians’ for the first time. In that situation, everything becomes common between all the army officers’ children as the conversation begins with the ‘civilians’.
Civilian: Do you know yesterday I saw a real rifle of black and orange colour. It was very heavy!
Army child: Oh…you mean AK-47, we have it at the Battalion and it is not that heavy.
Civilian: I’ve seen the US, UK and France.
Army child: I’ve seen Congo, Ethiopia, Bhutan ,UNMEE and Pakistan was just 200m away from us in the previous station.
Civilian: I went for a film shooting, last week.
Army child: I go for rifle-shooting, everyday!
Civilian: Do you know my father said that I would change almost 3 schools till my 12th. .
Army child: I’ve already changed 5!
This conversation proves that we the army children are ahead in many fields from the children on civie sreet, whether it be experience, traveling or anything else which makes him a keen observer. The soft skills imbibed during interactions with numerous officers, JCOs, jawans, families, seniors, peers and juniors from different nationalities, states and backgrounds, provide tremendous advantage later in life.
But the disadvantages are even more- when we stay in a metropolitan city like Delhi and after finishing the tenure, the posting comes to a highly remote and underdeveloped town like Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir or Tawang in the North East, where the child’s education, company and security will suffer remarkably. So, trying to avoid the situation the mother either decides to stay in Delhi or send the child to a boarding school. I would like to state the most important disadvantage that is- staying away from your father. It takes a lot of courage to remain away from your own father for so long. His absence is indeed felt by every member of the family. As the child sees the other children with their fathers while playing or at the Parent-Teacher Meeting at school, he/she surely misses him a lot. But what can the child do as he can’t change the whole system. The family stoically bears the separation. The silver lining in the clouds however is that staying away from the head of the family teaches the child the value of discipline and responsibility which gives another edge to the army children over the ‘civilians’.
Leaving the values and education content, I move forward to the feelings of the family. Be it any family whether a lower or an upper class, the most proud member on sending her son or daughter in this responsible and self-sacrificing organization is the one and only his/her mother. Her four-chambered heart gets transferred into a two-chambered one as the other two chambers pump blood for her child far away from home, staying alert at the borders, protecting the nation. And when a letter arrives to the mother declaring just three words-“I’m fine!” she gets completely satisfied and feels like achieving nirvana for her. But some of us do take undue advantage of father’s absence and mother’s love and stray toward bad habits, which I am sure is not the way to reciprocate the sacrifices of our parents.
That’s all what I can pen down about the feelings of the family as no writer in this world can elaborate it till the longest extent. To put it into a nutshell the only phrase that gives strength to every army child and family is- “SACRIFICE FOR THE NATION”.
In the end, I would like to convey that-“For your motherland, it’s easy to boast, tough to fight and tougher to die; but it’s difficult to live, more difficult to help and the most difficult to serve.”- JAI HIND