Kazhak memoirs - Part 2

After a pretty comfortable night, my first day dawned in kazhak with a siren blowing from atop the cadets mess. It was 5.30 AM. There had not been many occasions before this one, that i ever woke that early.

Here goes our daily routine:
5.30 AM - Wake up & Tea in cadets mess
5.45 AM - Fall out for PT in front of House (dormitory).
5.55 AM - PT parade
6.00 - 6.55 AM - PT
7.00 - 7.30 AM - Water flow in bathroom taps
7.30 - 7.40 - Breakfast
7.45 - Fall out in front of House
8.00 - Classes in academic block
10.30-10.45 - Tea at Cadets mess
1.30 - 1.50 Pm - Lunch
2.00 - 4.00 Pm - Extra-curricular/Hobbies/Library
4.00 - 4.15 Pm - Tea
4.30 - Evening parade
4.40-6.00 - Sports
6.00 - 6.30 - Water flow in bathroom taps
6.30 - 8.30 - Study in classrooms
8.30 - 8.50 - Dinner
9.00 - 10.00 - Study in House study halls
10.00 Pm - Roll call in presence of House Master
10.15 Pm - Lights off.

This is our daily schedule. We are supposed to strictly adhere to the schedule, with no margin for even the slightest errors. In failure of which means punishment at the hands of ur House captain or sergeant is awaited.
The only thing that is likely to change in the above mentioned schedule is the last one. A cadet may be awarded an additional hour or two of night study as punishment if he was found sleeping during the regular study hours.

Let me elaborate a little.

5.30 AM - Wake up & Tea in cadets mess
I usually find it very difficult to get out from beneath my cover and out of the mosquito net. There is always someone who shakes me awake at 5.43AM. I dont remember ever taking tea in the morning. Just rush to brush my teeth, put on my shorts, baniyan, socks and canvas shoes, all in white and rush out.
5.45 AM - Fall out for PT in front of House
We fallout as a squad of three columns. Being one of the shortest in the house, I am usually in the front row. The squards run from the respective houses to the parade ground.
5.55 AM - PT parade
The squads of the houses are lead in front by the house captains. In 1994, there were three sub-junior (6th & 7th std) houses - VKK, Vallathol and Veluthambi, five junior (8th - 10th) houses - Nehru, Patel, Prasad, Shivaji and Tagore, two senior (11th & 12th) houses - Ashoka and Rajaji. The school Cadet Captain conduct the parade. The house captains report the attendance to the cadet captain who gives instructions, if any, during the parade.
6.00 - 6.55 AM - PT
The PT begins with one round around the parade ground (Two for juniors n seniors), approx. 800 m,,, but with steep ascend on one side of the rectangle and a descend of comparitively lesser slope in another. We are supposed to run as a squad but by the time we start climbing the ascend, weaker ppl like me are left far behind. Each house takes its position in various segments of the ground and the excercise routine begins. Every kind of exercise u can think of is done about 10-20 times with the fittest guy among us performing in front. The captain and leader supervise this session. After the whistle is blown signalling the end of PT session, the captain usually instructs to shoot to the house with a command "last 5, meet me after lunch". Unfortunately, i usually be in that list almost everyday.
7.00 - 7.30 AM - Water flow in bathroom taps
By the time I reach the bathrooms, there's already a big queue of soap boxes lined in front of each of the doors. Its 3 mins per cadet to have his bath. Towards 7.20, that reduces to a minute or half. Banging on the doors begin before the end of the first minute itself. Some doors may not have a latch, where one needs to position his bucket to guard himself from being exposed. U can imagine how these kids wud’ve taken bath. This is why, once in a month, most parents take their kids out to give them a scrub.
The water stops at 7.30 and we use the water collected in the tank for the rest of the day.


------------------------memoirs to continue.......