Secunderabad Cantonment 0615hrs 27Oct12
As part of this new kick of byking around…I went into the cantonment about 5km away….there, I saw this group of Jawans who were obviously on training….these young chappies maybe 20years or so, were running at a neat clip…..powered up a steep slope and blasted down again….I pulled up next to them and asked the group leader so is this a regular routine, he looked at me as though I was from another planet!! Looking at the physical strength these young lads exuded…I felt reassured that India was well protected.
The thing about a cantonment is everything is neat, tidy and orderly, even the garbage is neat and orderly! As I rode past the college of electronics, whose main gate was flanked by two giant dishes, I could not help but wonder in awe at what latest military secrets were imparted to various cadre who were the college’s students/alumni…
A little further ahead is the college of aeronautical engineering, just inside the gates is a chopper engine turbine…..anything beyond the gates is off limits, would have given anything to closely inspect this peice of machinery! The guard at the gate on seeing me did a smart salute. As I moved a ahead, on the left was the cadet training college…a MarkII Vijayanta Tank was just inside the gates here…once again off limits….the guard here did a very smart salute as well!
I knew that just ahead was the mission head quarters with ‘ Karam Dharm ‘ written next to the main gates that stood a very imposing 25 feet high…what really interested me was two more MarkII Vijayanta tanks flanking both sides of the main gates and a very neatly painted WWII cannon ( complete with bullock cart wheels ). Gambling on the earlier salutes, I parked my Byk and walked upto the tank parked on the left…..A guard at the gate was onto me in under 30 seconds and very firmly yet politely told me ‘ Sir, you cannot park here’….with a little bit of a punctured air, I got back on the saddle and moved on wistfully looking at the WWII cannon, as I rode past…
The ride back was comparitively uneventful, what struck me was that 90 days ago I did not know what ERP was, today I am deep diving into a completely new industry, in a new city and on a path of discovery…..in the spirit of ‘ Captain jack Sparrow ‘ and his broken compass…..the needle had suddenly locked onto something…..that what he wants most!! The bungee is now in strech mode…can’t wait for the recoil!!!