It was the late nineties when I was working at a
private residential military school on the west coast of Maharashtra. I had
just retired from the army, but was not really 'old & retired'! In my fifties,
I joined this school as its administrative head, the Commandant. It was a high
school run by a trust. It was called a 'military school' just because, in
addition to the regular curriculum, the students were given basic military
training like PT, drill, horse riding and firing weapons (with air guns only!).
For this purpose, a few retired army personnel drawn from the area were
employed as part of the staff.
Like other schools, this school too was closed
during summer holidays. It used to be a long break of more than 2 months.
Regular students would go home for the summer holidays. But the whole infrastructure,
the school building, the dormitories, gardens and horses had to be maintained.
Minimum staff had to be kept for this purpose. All that cost money. So, we used
to run two summer camps, making full use of the existing facilities. These
camps were of about 3 weeks duration each and catered for about a hundred boys
and girls of the age group of 12 to 17 years. Needless to say, we charged good
money for this activity.
It was normal practice to advertise these camps
in the news- papers well in advance. Their popularity could be gauged from the
fact that the camps were always oversubscribed in no time. Our camp activities
which included basic military training mentioned above, were a great hit for
the city boys and girls. There used to be a virtual scramble for the 100 odd
vacancies.
All camps began with my address to all the
campers, welcoming them and broadly telling them about the program and what was
expected of them. The emphasis was on discipline, good conduct and healthy
competition. For ease of communication, command and control, we had the system
of appointing captains for boys and girls. The normal practice was to select
the senior most in age, for this purpose. Boys and girls were accommodated in
separate dormitories. We had male and female wardens for boys and girls who
oversaw their general conduct and behavior.
The camp routine started at 6 am sharp every day
when all the campers assembled at the parade ground. A 30 minute vigorous PT
was conducted by the school army staff. This was followed by breakfast in the
mess. The time from breakfast to lunch was used for other activities like
drill, weapons training and class room lectures. After lunch and a break of about
two hours, we had horse riding and games in batches. For all activities, boys
and girls were suitably grouped age wise.
In the evening we had the roll call which
accounted for all campers, their physical presence and wellbeing. Respective
captains of boys and girls had to give a small written report at the roll call.
Any unusual incident during the day will be mentioned in the report for my
knowledge and necessary action. Dinner was served soon after. Finally, it was
bed time and lights out, sharp at 9 pm, under the supervision of the wardens.
The success of every summer camp depended on the
performance of all the staff, their dedication and sincerity. For this, I had
assembled a team which included the instructional staff, mainly the retired
army staff, some other essential personnel and a couple of teachers, male and
female. All of them would be paid an honorarium at the end of the camp. My
right hand man in this venture was a young teacher, Mr Ranganathan. A quiet,
sensitive and serious minded person barely 25 years of age, he was very sincere
and extremely loyal to me. I could depend upon him in any given situation. He
would report to me every night to apprise me of all major activities. This was
essential as it was not possible for me to be everywhere during the camp.
This summer camp of 1999 took off on the laid
down guidelines. We had about 105 boys and girls attending it. The captains for
the boys and girls were selected. They were Rakesh and Seema, both about 17
years of age, smart and cheerful youngsters. After my opening address, they
were suitably briefed by me about their duties and responsibilities in the
presence of Mr Ranganatham. Mr Ranganatham hailed from Tamilnadu. He was a
bachelor and confided in me that soon after the camp, he would be going home to
get married. He also had some vague plans to join his brother in Singapore. I
wondered if he would come back. Regardless, I was happy for him!
After the camp was two weeks old, one evening, Mr
Ranganathan came to my residence with his usual report. There was something in
his manner which told me that something unusual had happened. I asked him as to
what was the matter. He looked a little agitated and then said, ‘Sir, I think
there is something going on between the two captains, Rakesh and Seema’. I
asked him to explain. He then told me that while taking rounds of the
dormitories after 9 pm the previous night, he noticed that both the captains were
out in the dark, near the mess building. They were softly talking and laughing.
Suddenly, when they noticed him, they made some excuse and went back to their
dormitories.
What Mr Rangnathan told me was disturbing as it
was against the discipline and rules of the camp. Worse, the campers involved
were the captains who were supposed to follow all the rules. Their being out
together after 9 pm was not acceptable! Still I advised Mr Ranganathan not to
see too much in to it and asked him to wait and watch the situation for a
couple of days. In my heart, I prayed that the last week of the camp passes of
smoothly. Next morning, when I saw both the captions taking part in the day’s
routine, I did not show that anything was amiss or in my knowledge. They for
their part did the same but appeared guarded.
During the day, I kept on thinking and observing.
More closely, I observed the senior most group of boys and girls, those of 16
to 17 years of age. I noticed their happiness, thrill and excitement of being
together in the camp. The way they laughed and shouted after each competition
or match was so infectious! I also felt that even if kids, just adolescent,
they were so close to the affairs of the heart. Is it the hormones doing the
trick, already knocking at the doors of teen-hood, I wondered!
It appeared that the last week of the camp was
going to be fine. Mr. Ranganathan did not say anything about the captains or
their behavior during the week. Out of sheer curiosity, when I asked him point
blank about them, he said, ‘Sir, everything is OK! I have spoken to both of
them at length and they understand!’. I was more than relieved to hear this.
Finally, it was the last day of the camp. In the
evening, campers presented a variety entertainment program consisting of skits,
songs and music with such gusto and energy; it was simply great, considering their
ages and the limited time in which they prepared for it. At the end, there was
prize distribution and my final address.
Next morning which was Sunday, was the day of
dispersal. All the campers had packed their belongings, taken their clearance
certificates and were ready to leave. All boys and girls came to my office to
say good bye which was touching! Last but not the least, both the captains,
Rakesh and Seema met me and apologized to me for any lapses and mistakes they
might committed! I was very moved by their gesture and wished them best in
life!
After the campers had dispersed, I called for a
meeting of all my staff who had assisted me in running the camp. I thanked and
congratulated all of them. I especially mentioned the name of Mr Ranganathan
who was going home to get married. I hoped, he would come back to school in the
next session. As luck would have it, I myself could not continue with the
school for personal reasons. I resigned and moved to my base in Pune.
After
about 5 years or so, one fine day I got a call from Mr Ranganathan. It was nice
to hear his voice. He told me that he got married a year back and wanted to
come to our place with his wife, to meet us. I congratulated him and asked him
where he lived these days. He said, they lived in Singapore now. Good, please
come and have lunch with us, I told him. Around lunch time, our doorbell rang.
I opened the door to greet Mr Ranganathan and his newly wedded wife, who was
none other than Seema, the same girl who was the girls’ captain in the summer
camp of 1999!
