The sprawling Somnath Stadium witnessed medley of emotions flying around after the passing out parade was over as the proud parents put epaulets on the shoulders of their equally proud sons after they embarked on a new chapter in their lives.
Tears of joy, smiles reflecting years of untiring hard work, warm hugs and wild celebrations coalesced as the new officers accompanied by their family members resolved to serve the country till the last drop of their blood.
Eyes of Gulam Mustafa, a butcher from Sitamadhi Bihar, turned moist when asked about his feeling when his son Mohammad Qumrulzaman is being commissioned in the Indian Army. He said that it is dream come true for the entire family. “I have five daughters and one son. I wish I have more sons so that all of them can serve the country by joining the army.’’ His son said that he had joined the Army as a sepoy after passing class XII. “The academy is the place which inspired me to become an officer. My dream was fulfilled when I was selected for Army Cadet College (ACC),” he said.
While Qumrulzaman was the first officer in his family serving in the Army as officers is a norm for Joon family from Rohtak Haryana.
On the day Aaryaman Joon got commissioned in Jammu and Kashmir Rifles which happens to be the unit of his father Brigadier S S Joon. The father looked excited to see his being commissioned into his own unit. “It is indeed great that the tradition of serving in the army continues in the family,” he said beamingly. Interestingly, his daughter Akanksha Joon too passed from IMA in 2015 and she is now serving in the Indian Army. To add to the family’s tradition, Akanksha is married to Major Prerak Joshi of Garhwal Rifles.
Mayank Joshi, a native of Dwarahat in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, had been inspired when he had seen the army officers from close quarters at Defence Services Officers Institute (DSOI), Dhaulakuan in New Delhi where his father, Hansa Dutt Joshi served as a civilian staff. He said that after completing his B.Tech from Petroleum University Dehradun, he had landed in a job in a big private firm. “But I was not happy within. The Army beckoned me,” he said. The joy was writ large on the faces of octogenarian Balbir Singh Rawat and his wife Sunpati Devi as their grandson Vivek Rawat became the first officer of their village Sarnol located near the Indo-China border in Uttarkashi district. Similarly, Rahul Bisht of Raipur in Dehradun has also become the first officer in the family.
By becoming an officer, Navdeep Sharma made his family, living in Narnaund of Hissar in Haryana engaged in farming, proud. His father Mahavir Prasad said, eyes twinkling in pride, that his second son too is undergoing training at Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai.