The Soldiers Who Know No Fear
The Cafe
It is almost 10 pm on Friday evening and the rush at the cafe continues. Some parents dine with sons and cadets treat buddies to what could be their last meal together in a long, long time.
No two Gentlemen Cadets from the same course at the IMA are given the same unit.
"You may get the same station (same military base) but not the same unit," says a cadet. "One can never forget one's course mates. It is something like this -- we are all together through our toughest part of training -- in it together through the highs and lows. How can we forget? The bonds we forge last a lifetime."
Between 21 and 22 years old, the cadets have a unique confidence that only a young soldier can have. Unflinching, when speaking of a profession that puts them in the line of fire, at times at the peril of their lives.
"You can fall in your bathroom and die, so what is there to fear?" asks Lieutenant Deepak Galhotra, silver medallist in the order of merit in the technical course and son of an army officer from Palampur in Himachal Pradesh.
"Once you wear an olive green uniform," declares Lieutenant S Dhanda, silver medallist in the regular course, "you know no fear."
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