(This is an old write-up on my army interview experience. What an enriching and fun experience it was!)
It
was way back in 1999. I was enamored with the idea of working in the Indian
Army. I had applied for a specialist entry in the Women's Special Entry Scheme
in January 2000 and was shortlisted for the Services Selection Board (SSB)
interview to be held in December 2000. Was so excited with the news of my shortlisting
that I resigned from my three-month old content writing job, only because I was
not allowed a week's leave! It was my first job and happened after a long wait
but I did not think twice before quitting. After all, it was the SSB in
question. That the dotcom firm crumbled within a couple of months is another
story!
My elder brother volunteered to escort me to the venue, Allahabad. On November
29, we arrived at the New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS). It was quite a cold and
windy night. While waiting for the train to depart, we saw other girls who were
headed to the same place. Got talking and made friends with a few (Reema Sobty*,
Neha, Pratibha, and Pratima).
When
we reached Allahabad in the wee hours of the next morning, officials informed
us that the army unit bus would arrive at 13:30 hrs to take us to the army
campus. I got talking to more girls, and very soon, we were a self-organized
group of girls, with my brother as our guardian. We checked in at a nice hotel,
washed up, had a good breakfast, and were back at the station before 13:30 hrs.
As
I boarded the bus, my heartbeat raced up. I saw girls of different age groups
and from different states, all preparing for the challenge ahead, in their own
way. Some looked like they had been there before because it was obvious in the
way they gave tips (both solicited and unsolicited) to freshers. Some others
also looked like they were there before, but probably did not want to share any
information ;-). Interestingly, Reema volunteered to help place our bags on the
top of the bus, along with my brother. Someone in the bus quipped that she would
surely fetch some brownie points for demonstrating initiative power. From then
on, I knew that we were watched, every single step!
As
we drove through the city, I watched Allahabad from up-close. The narrow
two-way roads, lots of cycle-rickshaws, ancient buildings, and simple people -
it was a world apart from the metro I lived in. But the winter blooms were just
as amazing as in Delhi.
We reached the campus in less than half an hour. The first thing we received was
an apron with a 'number'. From then on, for all official purposes, our names
were obliterated by these numbers (I was number 24 :-)). We
had instructions for the day and in general. After the attending Captain addressed
us and spoke about a lot of mighty and inspiring things, we were finally
allotted our dormitory. It had nice beds, a full-length mirror, a common
cupboard, a side-table, and windows that looked out to a verdant area of the
campus.
We
settled down in the place and geared up for the next day, when the tests would
commence. I spent all evening preparing for the written test and then visited the
club area. In the mess hall, finally saw some men! It was a strange sight for
me - men and women dining in separate sections of the hall. The warm food was simple
but great and more than made up for the extra civil atmosphere. After dinner,
when I played table-tennis with a group of men and came back to the girls, one
girl asked me if I had made the first move to talk to the men. I did not even
think about it! I realized then that even the girls were watching every step of
other girls! :-)
Went back to the dorm, snuggled into my bed, went through my notes for the
test and called it a day. But slumber did not come immediately. Some voices
from a neighboring room, regular peals of laughter, Shahrukh Khan, Tom Cruise,
lipstick shades, boyfriends …
Day 1- Woke up to a cold but
bright morning. Everyone queued up for using the washrooms. The hot water
system was tricky. You had to wait for a long time but when you turned on the
tap, the water was boiling hot. And not much of cold water to mix! Despite such
glitches, got ready to hit the mess at 5:45 hrs (it would close after 6:00 AM!).
After breakfast and some exploration of the campus, sat down for the written
test. It was a quite a lengthy one. The results were announced before lunch.
The first day was through. I was into the next round. The ones who could not
make it to the next round went back the same day.
Day 2 - All of us assembled in a
ground and were briefed about our group activities. These were a combination of
physical and mental exercises. In one activity, my team had to simulate
crossing a ditch between two trees, using a rope. I volunteered to demonstrate
how we could do a Tarzan jump. When I was ready to yell 'yohoooo', another team
member pushed me from behind. And then the unexpected happened! Instead of
swinging to the other side, I came sliding down to the ground, my fingertips
bleeding profusely from grazing the thick coir of the rope. That was the end of
my Tarzan’ing around! We completed the task without any other casualty. But I
was incapacitated – could not lift a single thing or even brush my hair. Oh,
the misery! Yet the pain was overshadowed by something else: I became a
celebrity!! All interviewing officers were quite amused when I told them how I
tried to do the Tarzan jump. J
Day 3 - More group activities.
Involved group discussions, management and leadership skills.
(More on this some other time!)
Day 4 - Was the best of the lot
for me. It was the day of the individual (timed) physical tasks. These tasks included:
- A long jump
- Walking across a 10-ft high by 10-ft long open plank without any
support
- Balance-walking on a 3-ft high by 5-ft long rod
- Parallel-walking on ropes between two trees
- Jumping across a sand ditch
- Crossing a Burma bridge
- Crossing a length of barbed electric (simulated) wire
Every task would fetch a
particular score, based on the degree of difficulty. Had to complete all the tasks
in five minutes. I completed all tasks except the parallel-walking task. I scored
the highest in my batch. :-) This was the only task where you could
immediately judge and rate your performance with precision.
1:1
interviews were scheduled for the evening. There was a quite a flutter in the
group. Everyone exchanged notes on their interviewing officers. The experienced
ones knew all of them (and their idiosyncrasies) and tried to counsel the
rest. But one thing was clear: this was the most important round.
My interview did not go too well. I goofed up on some questions. Captain of the
Indian Cricket girls' team? Editor of Reader's Digest? Times of India? Indian
Express? How do they differ in their ideologies? You would think these are
simple questions but I had no clue then! The officer made sure that I spoke in
length about my aspirations, core values, and my perceptions of the world. I
loved this bit very much! And looked like he also enjoyed the conversation. J
Day 5 - We were instructed to
assemble in the volley ball ground. We were given a chance to meet all the interviewing
officers in a board room and assess ourselves. This was the final chance. We
figured that if we had done well and our self-assessment was also correct, it
meant that we knew our strengths and weaknesses well. This would indicate
clarity of thought and good analytical skills. But if we tried to be defensive
in the assessment, it would indicate unrealistic thinking and stubbornness.
After meeting all of us, the officers were locked up in a room and consulted each
other for the final chart. You can imagine the state of mind of all of us,
waiting for the results with bated breath and seated comfortably in an adjacent
hall. All of us were given our return train fare, just in case. And then the
judgment was out: I was not in. I was furious and did not know how to
handle it. Where did I go wrong? Oh, the agony! I stomped out of the campus
with my comrades following me at a distance. They were somehow not disturbed. I
understood the reasons later.
We took a rickshaw to the railway station and bought our return fare. In the cozy
confines of the hotel that we checked into, we talked and attempted to analyze why
we did not get in. I was slowly coming to terms with the fact that I was not
meant to be in the army. And five years of bonded service? Seemed too long! And
a natural acceptance prevailed, followed by “Oh no, not my cup of tea!” When I
came back to Delhi, I started enjoying the break from work and looked forward
to getting back to my 'content' world. And the joi de vivre was certainly enhanced by the SSB experience.
So ends the story of my Indian Army dream. I have no regrets. Instead, I am
glad that I had an opportunity to experience a different world and to learn a
lot by living with a bunch of girls for a week. And most importantly, I
understood myself better. I will always cherish the memories of those days, as
a dream that touched me and passed by.
*Reema did make it to the Officer’s Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai. The
last I time I spoke to her parents in Delhi, she was serving from a nice remote
corner of the country. I somehow knew she would make it, from the moment I met
her at NDLS. :-)
