Love Amidst Chaos

Chapter 7

"Are ye sab kya laga rakha hai in logo ne?" Naina muttered in frustration.

Their seniors have gathered them all for the ragda session.

"Han toh bhaiyo or beheno... itne saalo se military academy ka rivaz hai ye... jo aaj hum aage badhane wale hein..." He said with a grin.

"Rivaz? Kaisa rivaz?" Ali asked in confusion.

"Wahi... jise tum ragging bologe aur hum part-of training... matlab ragda. To bolo balakon... taiyar ho?" Another girl said.

The young cadets paled hearing the word 'ragging'.

"Han toh bhai.. shuruat karte hein 20 laps se... fir 15 front-rolls or 10 side-rolls. Bas." Another senior said.

"Bas? Are ye karte karte to meri battery dead ho jayegi. Kisi faculty ko bula kar batate hein." Pooja said in fear.

"Suna nahi unhone kya kaha? Saalon se military academy mein ye hota aa raha hai." Ali whispered to the girls.

"Are jao bhai... waise humein koi dikkat nahi hai agar tum sab raat bhar jaagna chahte ho to." And all the other seniors laughed seeing the cadets scurrying away.

By the time the cadets finished, it was already 0330 hours.

"Oye bhains ki poonchh.... saari raat nikal gayi. Ye sab kya natak hai yaar. Agar ye hi sab chalta raha to munni ki kasam... main to zinda hi nahi bachunga." Huda said, panting.

"Munni??? Your girlfriend?" Yudi asked Huda, while lying on the ground, taking big gulps of air.

"Oh na ji... Munni, meri bhains ka naam hai... wo.... buffalo" He said and everyone else burst into laughter hearing his answer.

Truly, one would think this act to be barbaric but the truth was this is what made the nerves for steel. As it was quite evident, by the end of the this 'Ragda Session', the cadets were chattering with each other, initiating small talks and even helping each other with water and other help.

"Shabash... ye hui na baat... ab bas akhiri task aur fir tum log so sakte ho..." The senior girl said.

"Task???? Par ab to subah hone wali hai." Naina said, a little too loudly, unknowingly.

"Par subah hui to nahi hai na..... ek officer ke liye na subah hoti hai na raat. Hota hai to sirf uska task. You... bhains wale... aage aao." The boy called.

Huda nervously went in front of him. "Hello ji. Myself Amardeep Huda.... jananiyan mujh jaise gabru jawan par lattoo thi mere mohalle mein..." He said as he winked at a senior girl who just stared at him in shock.

The whole lot of seniors laughed at him and asked him to dance on an item number.

Huda was well aware that if he wanted to survive in this academy, it was certainly not by offending the seniors. So he immediately started dancing and was off the hook quite easily.

The other cadets too, got various 'tasks' and by the time the last one had completed it, it was already 0430 hours. 

The morning bugle echoed loudly in the academy premises and the cadets groaned in response as this bugle marked the beginning of the day and hence, they had exactly half and hour to report to the morning drills.

"Ye kaisa virus tha yar. Meri to battery already dead hai. Mera talktime ab din-bhar chalne se raha. Hey uparwale... bas jaldi se mujhe mera Rohit mil jaye... aur main is academy ke network coverage area ke bahar nikal jau." Pooja kept ranting while both her and Naina got ready to report to morning drills.

"Relax Pooja... military academy hai. Hum hi pagal the jo ye socha ki military academy mein ek fixed time-table par hi sab kuchh hota. Bhaiya kehte the...." She paused and widened her eyes when she realized what she was saying.