Today is the day..I was thinking. This was the day for which had been waiting for..The selection for army .It was my childhood dream to join the army and serve the nation. So I had finished my studies and had applied for this opportunity. We were made to sit on the sports stadium .We were eagerly waiting for the exercises to begin. I have to say that I am physically very strong. I had been preparing for this moment from years .I had everything an army man should have. I was very sure that I will get selected.
I looked around looking for the aspirants .All were young men like me physically strong. Then I saw this guy. He was a bit short but very well built. He was standing apart from others, alone… He had a cold determination in his eyes. I was sure he would give a tough competition for me. I went and stood beside him and said hi…
He turned and smiled …but didn’t say anything. It was OK with me. We had just met anyway. But I was sure I wanted him as my friend. Then An officer came and said the selection would start now..
I tried to be confident ,trying to stretch my muscles so that I could perform well. While I was getting ready I saw him coming towards me. Again he smiled and raised a thumb..I also told him all the best.
Then the drill began..We had to do lot of physically straining exercises. Lot of people fell to the ground because of the scorching heat but I didn’t flinch..I knew this would be there and had prepared well. I noticed my new friend also had prepared well. He also passed all of the physical hurdles.
Then came the tough part..We were made to stand in a straight line. We were standing in attention heads held high. The commander came, looking closely at us, asking questions. He had a stammering voice , I observed. He was the one who would select the best of us. I looked at my new friend ,who was standing in front of me, saw him sweating, with a concerned look in his eyes. I wondered what he was thinking.
The commander came towards him. He asked him .’wwwww..what’s ur nnnnnnname? ,wwwwwwhy ddddo yyyyyyou want to join ttttttthe arr arr arrrrmy?’
For my utter disbelief ,he didn’t answer the question…! I was so surprised. I knew he very much wanted to answer the question but he was not doing it. I wondered what was wrong with him. I thought he was dumb or so..
The commander got irritated asked the same question again..still no answer…Commander was furious..He said “ddddo yyyou think mmme as annn idiot? Annnswer mmme or st st st strip and run arrr around th tht th the stadium ten timesssss and th th ththen do 1000 push ups.”
Again he didn’t answer but started to strip!..He ran 10 rounds around the stadium in chaddi…! Then he started to do push ups..He was tired, I could clearly see but he didn’t bother..He did 400 push ups, then collapsed..exhausted.
The commander was amused and impressed at the same time, he told his officer to give first aid and make sure that this person was selected.
Next my turn came, I answered his questions properly without even flinching a bit…I was afraid if I’d flinch, he’d take it as personal insult for his stammering. He was impressed with my answers. He told his officer to include me in the selection…
I was so happy that I had achieved my goal…I was selected to the army!!
I met him once again in the train, he was sitting in the birth next to me, we were posted to the border area..I asked him immediately. “Man are you mad ? why didn’t you answer him that day? You dumb or something?
He smiled and said.. ”nnnno mmmmy nnnname is rrrrrrrraju..dddddo you think ththththat he wwwwould hhhhav ssssselected mmmme ifff I ha hahad answered?”
Once again I was shocked! i couldn’t suppress a smile at the whole event. Its surprising how things turn out at the end..isnt it??
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