AFOVA New Letter 2 of Year 2021

Section 7 – Panorama CV 2 No. 02 / 2021 Page 241 of 332 Now, Gentlemen, let us do just one thing at a time. First we will concentrate only on the swinging of arms. The rest we can see later. OK, please fall back. SCC, please get the Squad ready to march. Evening tea time had gone well past and the sun was busy saying his final goodbyes as Act 2 opened. This was not going well. Muscles began to ache. The brain craved water. The stomach rumbled for attention. When the rest of the academy stood at attention behind their chairs at the Academy Mess, awaiting the formal commencement of dinner, we stood at attention receiving a detailed discourse on the ideal way to swing hands. Later, the grinding thuds from our Squad, now vertically specializing on digging our heels, was drowned in the din of the other cadets trooping back to their Squadrons after dinner. A bright moon stood amused atop us, as we graduated to mastering static turns. When ordered, turn ninety degrees, shoulders square, chest out, stomach in, eyes straight, knees straight, one foot on toes, hands taut, and elbows straight, no gap between the hands and the body, fist clenched…. Count two three …. Raise one knee, thigh parallel to the ground, lower part of the leg vertical to the surface of the earth … and bang …. heel and toe in unison, the noise should rattle the bloody Golfies (reigning Champions, the Golf Squadron, our chief rivals)…… One learns to take everything seriously in the military, as everything is so complex. Even ninety degree turns while standing! The stars were beginning to fade away as we got down to imbibing the nuances of coming to a halt while marching. Tham, khaali ek do. At the order tham, count a blank (khaali) — a military application of the ancient Indian invention of ‘zero’- count one two …. The sun was surprised when its probing rays found us where he had left us the previous evening. We didn’t notice, as we were engrossed in mastering the ideal military salute while on the move…. A cruel breeze carrying the fragrance of a holiday breakfast passed by, watching us finally perform with every cell of our bodies.