All good things come to an end. So does the 81st Foundation Course. It started of on an exciting note but the hectic schedule, especially the early morning PTs and weekend treks, began to take their toll. Adding to that was the excruciating climb to the mess and somnolent speeches by the guest speakers. All along the way, we cried, cribbed and cursed. But as the course nears its completion, the beauty of FC begins to dawn upon me. The biggest lure of the FC is its academic insouciance, something that will be sorely missed during our professional training.
When I look back, I realize that in these three and half months I have done scores of things that I would have never imagined I would be doing. A random list….
Relishing Upma at the breakfast……. a dish which I passionately hated at home
Late night movies in common room with friends….. with orange glow of the room heater and murrukkus
Meetings…. Syndicate Group Meeting, Counselor Group Meeting, Trek Group Meeting, Village Visit Group Meeting….
Watching Yamini Krishnamurthy perform at the age of 67 ..... truly inspiring
Sleeping in the class……..sometimes complete with dreams and snores
Weekend treks, early morning jogs …… and visits to the dispensary feigning injury
Pulling of an entertaining one act play complete with costumes, lighting and sound but without a written script
Trekking to a height of 1000 metres over six kilometers with a sprained ankle to visit a Gurudwara for the first time. (A wonderful photo essay of trekking in this stretch is available here)
Seeing a glacier .... and touching it.
Drinking tea at the last tea stall of
Trek in the company of icy Himalayan winds, barren rocks and zero vegetation…
Enjoying the bonhomie of ITBP jawans at Gastoli …… their warm barracks, their lovely songs and dances that went late into night
Playing cricket on a helipad at an altitude of 14,500 feet…..
Not taking bath for three days
Managing the traditional telugu dhoti for five hours before someone pointed out an impending wardrobe malfunction
DPs unfailing company to the breakfast……everyday
Surprise cancellation of PT
Waking up at
Basking in the warm sun
Gorging over food at Andhra Bhavan in
Visiting
Conducting a gram sabha and addressing the villagers in broken Hindi
Verifying the muster rolls of NREGA
Spending sleepless nights with VM to bring out the batchbook …… and then getting mobbed by OTs for a copy when it is finally released
Listening to Ilaiyaraja’s songs for a whole day…..snuggled in a blanket
Last minute preparation for exams….and sometimes going without any preparation
Unscheduled vodkas at the drop of the hat……..and the funny drunken banters
Searching a lecture hall for 20 minutes…..and when unsuccessful, simply going back to the room and sleeping
And finally….
Friend’s list in Orkut swelling by more than 100 in 100 days.
I will miss you, LBSNAA.
* Trek is one of the highpoints of FC. One of the more challenging parts was the Mana – Gastoli stretch. Mana (10,500 ft) is a village three Kilometers from Badrinath. Gastoli (14,500ft) is 14 kms from Mana towards the Indo-China border. The International Border is around 30 kms from Gastoli. All that is present in Gastoli is a lone ITBP camp, which is operational for only six months in a year. The camp has no electricity or telephone. Lights are solar powered and for cooking, kerosene is ferried from Mana by truck for around 10 Kms and from there brought to the camp by mules.
* Batchbook contains the profile of all OTs with their photographs, likes, dislikes etc.