Down the IMA memory lane

Our reader, Brigadier Suryanarayan goes down memory lane to tell us how he joined the Indian Military Academy (IMA). Read his entertaining account here, in his own words.

The majestic IMA, Dehradun

Pic: Srinath G M/Wikimedia Commons

It was Saturday, 07 Jan 1961, when I left home (Trichy) for IMA, Dehradun, to report on Friday next as an NCC Entry (14 NCC Course). On parents’

Images from Brig Suryanarayan’s stint at IMA. Taken 52 years ago!

Pic courtesy: The author

insistence, I went via Poona to spend time with the eldest brother and take his advice (as parents thought being in Defence Audit, ‘he would know a lot about the army & could advise me’. IMA had instructed us in Joining Instructions to hand over Rs 1,200 in cash, immediately on arrival towards various uniform items plus sundries. The first thing brother did was a kit-inspection, long before it would be a routine in IMA; and admonished me for carrying cash in an envelope inside the trunk. So he urgently got an inner pocket made in my new swimming shorts into which he transferred it and sewed it up, asking me to wear it throughout till I handed it over, thus ensuring its safety. It may sound funny now; but imagine what Rs 1,200 of 1961 would amount to today. Little did he or I foresee the trouble I would have in the loo in the train for full 48 hours by the slowest train and longest route: Dehradun Express, from Bombay Central! That amount included Rs 40 pm for the first 6 months, as Pocket Allowance, which was king’s ransom those days, but shortly we would be told to our shock that Rs 10 out of it would go for cycle cleaning and an equal amount to room-bearer Boota Singh (whom I was to share with 3 seniors for 6 months, as room-mates: what room, it was the size of a barrack); some money would go for Regt-cutting & cycle repairs every month; we had to manage with the ‘balance’ for Cafe, town visits etc! 

         I travelled by II class (yes Railways had a decent II class then), as authorized (First Class will only be after you have become a Gentleman Cadet at half fare!) and arrived in Dehradun on the appointed date, the day of Tamil ‘Bhogi– festival’ to be followed by ‘Pongal’ the next day! Just 19 years old, I was missing home like hell, though I had lived alone during M Com at Madras. Prior to that, I had attended an All India OTU (NCC) Camp in Chakrata in May-Jun 1960 and experienced summer- rains with hailstones, which I had thought was snowfall, being my first experience after the hot-hotter-hottest seasons of Madras State! But the severe cold at Dehradun Railway Station immediately after getting down from the cosy bogie depressed me, and I was shivering in a single half-sweater, having carefully put away the only suit and couple of woollens in the trunk, lest they be soiled, but had that swimming trunk on! (The suit would get soiled the same night, thanks to Bhat, whom you will hear about soon.) I dared not open the trunk for fear of loss, as briefed by brother dear! 

     I noticed arrivals for the same course at the platform: some in a maroon blazer and some in blue. They would all be my ‘coursemates’, a term I would learn later. I also saw very young boys moving around smartly dressed in OG’s; went closer and saw their shoulder-flash: RIMC (short for Rashtriya Indian Military College). After being picked up in a 3-ton, we were ‘deposited’ in front of the ‘B’ Battalion AQ’s office in Clement Town, originally Italian Prisoners of War Camp, which information given by a locally joining person was enough to demoralize me. But standing in the queue, I saw a name board: Lt RN Nihalani, ASC. My dejection changed in the hope I could expect to be posted here, when I became a Lt! (By a stroke of fate, I would return to that very same barrack as a Capt after 1965 War when my Regt moved there).

         We were all herded into a queue by L/Cpl Bhat of 13 NCC (six months senior) who was to be our Course IC for the next 6 months and would ensure our ‘Rites of Passage’ for 14 NCC! My sinking feeling changed after I was joined in the line by other ‘Madrassis’: Henry Bhaskar, ARK Reddy, AS Rao, TK Panchapakesan (later, KP Shastri), KV Chandrasekaran, and TKS Kutty (later, KS Nair); the last being my NCC-mate from Trichy. We were repeatedly ordered not to leave things unattended and go anywhere till we handed over the cash and completed other formalities of joining. But to take out my cash, I had to go to the loo; I did that without informing anyone. When I rejoined, I found the handbag (which was full of ‘tuck’ mother had made for her youngest son going away to ‘battlefield’) had disappeared. I couldn’t complain, as we had been specifically forbidden from leaving things unattended. I consoled myself that the rest of the items were safe, as was the cash just taken out from my swimming trunk! 

Uniforms at the IMA during the brigadier’s days there. Pic courtesy: The author

Bhat was a very hard task master, who licked us into shape soon by daily ‘shape-parade’ from 4.30 to 5.30 AM; and puttee parades (to quicken our reactions in changing from one rig to another: Chindit-to PT- to Academic Order-to WT dungarees – to Mufti and so on; there were 16* such dresses) and chindit-bajri-bike routine after 9.30 PM every day for 4 weeks in severe winter. All of us from ‘chaudah-NCC’ have to be grateful to him for shaping us; pity he died young in 1965 War. (Chindit order dress eponymous with Gen Orde Wingate’s force involves a big pack with about 18 KG on the back with a side haversack (2 kg) and a filled water-bottle (1 kg) with a weapon (7 KG) added. But for punishments you had to shed the blanket, ground sheet etc from the big pack and stuff it with aggregate/ gravel/solid bricks, which weighed far more!). (*See a few of the uniforms photographed here and imagine how long it should take to change from one to another!)

He allowed 15 minutes for lunch at the Mess, where an avuncular Catering officer welcomed us but we had no time even to wish him back, as we were hungry. I was shocked to be served some red rice, as I had heard a lot about Dehradun being the basmati bowl and I had a list of seekers from home-town for my I term break already! That day, I decided on impulse not to have rice, except once a week and unless compelled in the absence of wheat alternative. I have maintained it for 53 years.

 Anyway, after a quick lunch, Bhat ordered us to follow him ‘at the double’, while he cycled through entire Clement Town Wing of IMA, showing us around Drill Square, through Sukha Rao, Bharuwala, Academic blocks, MI Room/ Section Hospital, PT Ground and OAT (the Open Air Theatre, where we couldn’t go for 10 weeks till passing the Drill Square Test in March). En route, he showed us the Victory Cinema just outside the Gate saying it screened Tamil pictures on Sundays but sadistically, was out-of-bounds! He led us finally to the Academy Cycle Shop. I felt very happy getting a cycle! But one can write volumes on the design of those contraptions, which we would discover soon: they seemed to possess the knack of a tired old pony of a Lucknowi ‘ekka’ needing the full might of a 85 pound-lean-19 year old after managing a double breakfast. (Most of us now have the same weight in kilos though). Thank goodness, we were not born 28 years earlier, as the first few batches in IMA ( as per History) were allowed the use of bicycles only from 2.30 to 7.30 PM; the rest of the time, they had to move ‘at the double’. That would have gladdened MC Pandey; you can learn about him and others in my next article. 

About the author

?Brig AN Suryanarayanan (Retd) is 73 years young and contributes his writing regularly to several newspapers. His book ‘Straight Trees Are Cut First’ (ARMY: Process vs Practice) was published in 2009. He also blogs at http://surya-musings.blogspot.in.