There are certain places which are very close to our hearts.
The very first time we visit them, we feel a deep connect with them which grows with time and gives them pride of place in our lives. I would like to share my relationship with a very special place which I began visiting when I was around four years old and still visit whenever I get the opportunity.
I am talking of the prestigious and picturesque Indian Military Academy, popularly known by its abbreviated form IMA. It is not just the pride of Doon but also the pride of the entire nation. Each and every officer of the great Indian Army has passed through its hallowed portals and carries its memories in his heart forever.
When I was a child, my parents used to take us to the IMA whenever any guest came over from outside. They wanted the guest to see the cradle of the Indian Army, its lovely campus and its sanctum sanctorum — the Chetwode Museum — which houses many proud moments of the history of our Army. From those days itself, I took a great liking to this sprawling place though at that time, I did not understand the significance of this academy.
As a correspondent much later, I once again began going to the academy to cover its various events, especially the six-monthly passing-out parade. In fact, I just needed an excuse to make a visit to this extremely tranquil and green corner of the Doon valley, neighbouring the statuesque Forest Research Institute building.
The ambience is extremely charming. The huge lush green grounds, the dignified and graceful Chetwode Building, the echoing silences in the long corridors, the air of discipline encompassing the campus, the extremely beautiful houses of the officers (carrying on from British times), the neat pathways — all of them create an atmosphere that makes me feel that I am in a place where nothing can break the flow of my thoughts, where my mind is calm and I am away from the noise and pollution of the city that is constantly on the move at a hectic pace.
For more than two decades now, I have been gathering precious memories of this academy which have now become a treasure for me. At any time, I can sit by myself and scenes from various years and seasons, set against the idyllic background of the IMA, come to my mind’s eye and run like a film which features times when I was at Chetwode as a child, holding my father’s hand as he spoke to the guest about the history of the great academy, when I met Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw during the diamond jubilee of the academy and shook hands with the legendary figure, when the IMA song ,written by Javed Akhtar, was first sung by the gentlemen cadets during the platinum jubilee celebrations of the academy, when every one was sad to hear that Tughlaq, the stately grey horse who had been the veteran of several passing-out parades, was to be laid to rest as he was ailing (later the President of India gave him the right to live on). Scenes of days when I attended the entire shooting of Salami, a commercial film where the hero (Ayub Khan) is shown as a gentleman cadet of the IMA. For two to three months, the entire academy was in a state of excitement and activity. When I see the film today, I always remember those lovely winter days when the film was being shot. The songs of the film are memorable as their backdrop is the glorious beauty of the IMA. The golf course, the commandant’s bungalow, the Officers’ Training Institute, the Nizam Pavilion, the cafeteria, the officers’ mess — all of them have been shown. I love the film for that.
Down the years, I covered more than 32 passing-out parades. Getting up very early and reaching the Chetwode Square, summer or winter, sitting in the Press gallery and jotting down details of the award winners, writing down each precious word spoken to the GCs by the chief guest, watching the oath-taking ceremony, rushing back to office to file the story — these are things which I will always cherish, always be happy to recollect. GCs leave the academy in a year or two of training and come out of it as officers. I have been in constant touch with this hallowed institution. I greatly cherish my memories of the IMA.