At Allahabad railway station,we were there on 21st march waiting for the army officer to pick us up to the selection centre east(SCE).We reached there at around 2 pm.UP have dry summer,it was hot but not humid. We kept our bags near the canteen.We were then divided into two groups,14 and 18 SSB(service selection board) candidates.I was in the orange group(14-SSB).We moved on to the tiger hill where we had to stay.Tiger hill had three dormitory kargil,tololing and mashkoh.My bed was in mashkoh next to my friends Arvind and Balachander,even they were from Bangalore.We were asked to assemble in the testing hall to fill our personal details in the PIQ form and get instructions about our five day stay.My chest no. was 70.
Tea was waiting for us then.Sssshhh ! I had an extra cup.Everyone were busy making friends.I remained silent as I usually do not make friends.People call me a sad person due to this attitude.However there was a change.Few candidates came to me to introduce themselves.They were happy to know me.Seeing them even I started making friends.They were Sudheesh,Joe,Sumith and Raj(nam to suna hoga). Next day we got up at 5:15 am when the chai-wala shouted "chai chai !".We had breakfast at 8 am and left to the testing hall for our screening tests.There were Intelligence test,psychological test and picture perception test & group discussion.I could not perform well and I remained chilled,thinking that I will not make through it.Some had even booked their ticket back home.Results will be announced by 2 pm and we went to our mess for lunch. The results were out and it was like an elimination round of a reality show.But I remained cool unlike others.The selected candidates chest no.'s were called out.My no. was not there in the first list.
In the second list chest no. 70 was called out and my heart started pumping with joy.My new chest no was 19.I looked at it and said "Somehow I have reached this stage,now I am going to leave Allahabad only after winning."Then we went out for a walk without celebrating as it would hurt the others who were eliminated. That night some of them were preparing for the next day when I was celebrating my victory silently.This time my room was in tolo-ling.As usual we got up at 5:15,had tea(only one cup this time).Breakfast was at 7:30 and bread,butter,jam,curd,milk,egg,oats soaked in milk,upma were in the menu.
On the second day of our SSB (23rd).We had picture perception test (story writing),Sentence formation,Situation reaction test and also we had to express ourselves on what others think about us.It went on quite well.
I do not know why but I was called for the interview first among others.It went for about 30 min with the Deputy President.When he asked me about my aim,I replied that I want to do my M.Tech in an IIT.May be I went wrong here.He doubted me whether I am really interested in the armed forces or not.The interview was done and I went out to book my tickets back home preparing for the worst case when I will not be selected.Chest no. 11 from Lucknow was with us,what a cool guy he is !.Curfew was imposed on us and we had to be back before 5:30 pm.We watched IPL and then went to bed.
On the third day (24th) it was time for some physical activities,It was time for our group tasks.We were asked to wear our uniform for the day(white shorts and T-shirts) and assemble at the basketball court at 6 am.Our batch of 38 students were divided in to 4 groups.There were progressive group task & half group task which I could not perform well.Then came the GD ,the topics were
*China is a fast developing nation.Is it because of the strict governance or the attitude of the people.
*Marriage comes once in a lifetime.Is it necessary to celebrate it with pomp or its just a social evil.
I could do it good.Then came the military planning and the lecturate. My topic was Rural India and the slogan "Jai Jawan,Jai Kissan" became more popular.We then dispersed to have breakfast at 9:30 am and came back to do the snake race.Snake race was fun,we were given a dummy snake and our goal was to take it along with us to the destination,crossing all obstacles.We started badly but our slogan "Jai mata ji" motivated us and our grap,I mean group came second.That was it for the day and we went back tired to tiger hill.
This time in the afternoon,after the heavy lunch- sweet dish,rice,chapati,
paneer,two other sabzi's,non-veg,fruits,etc we decided to go to Aanand Bhavan(Nehru's residence).But it was closed (Ram Navami ).So we headed towards Akbar fort.We visited the underground temple,take atleast 100 rs of coins along with you before entering the Patalpuri temple premises.People believe that Lord Shri Ram had visited the temple with Sitha.I also remember the time we spent in big bazaar and Mcdonald's.Ah! the sugarcane juice,it quenched our thirst to a great extent.
We came back to the SCE after taking few photos.It was 6pm and we assembled outside the tigerhill for the next orders.We were asked to come to same basketball court at 6am for our second round of group task,gto-2.
Boys ! its not Bulb its balab.
Everyone were resting on the lawn(as seen in the above picture) when chest no.32 came up with a song.Later it continued and our batch was competing as Indian Idols rather than Indian army men.My malayalam song was quite appreciated.Altogether it was great fun.After that I had good conversation with chest no.12 about the Indian army.Learnt a lot from him.Chest no. 27 was also with us,his aim is to enter bollywood.All the best.
GTO-2(25th) had half group task,individual tasks and the final group task.I remember one of the individual task when we have to jump from a height,shout our favourite actress name and catch the rope in front of you and reach the ground.My favourite actress was Rani Mukharjee especially after her work in the movie 'Black'.I shouted Raniii !,jumped and cought the rope.The problem aroused when I got down catching the rope causing blisters on my fingers.My participation in both half and final group task was low and the selection assessment was done.
We had a small discussion with our GTO(Major Surinder Singh).He has a great personality.He said that our performance was just average and we do not have to repent on it as it is over and great people like Abdul Kalam,Amitab Bachan ,Rahul Dravid were SSB failures.He meant to say that we should not leave SSB with heavy heart even if we are not selected.We should always keep smiling whatever is the situation. May be our talent will be recognised anywhere else.All these words put me down which was somehow indicating that I will not be selected.
But still I remained confident as my friends used to tell that chest no. 14(Manish) and 19(me) would be selected.I believed that 14 had performed better than me and 14 believed the other way round.Sudeesh kept telling me not to expect anything as we might feel that we have performed well when the selection commitee feels otherwise.All these did not bother us and we started where we stopped yesterday,to Aanand Bhavan.We also went to the Jawaharlal Nehru planetorium.The day was done and we all again joined in front of the tiger hill on the lawn.I must say Manish,chest no. 14 is a good entertainer.I spent some time with 25(global warming),he can see what others cant.
The final day arrived(26th),the conference day.I was never tensed till the fourth day when the final judgement will be made.The conference would begin in another few min and we were singing patriotic songs.My name was called and there were about 20 officers in the conference hall.Did not panic and answered their questions boldly.The psychologists were noting down my actions.It got over in just 30 seconds.This will happen only in two cases either you are selected undoubtedly or rejected undoubtedly.
We were eagerly (especially me,I had performed well) waiting for the results when our GTO(Group task officer) came with the results.The most awaited moment came when the selected chest no.'s were called out-1,16,22,25 & 29...And I was not...
Life is always filled with suprises,sometimes pleasant and sometimes ugly.
You should be ready to take it.
I left Allahabad with heavy heart...
I realised one thing after this,
"I only love my country,I do not know how to express it."
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