did u hear anything?

I thought I should write my blog on something close to my heart. And then I thought what better than the experiences I got being an army kid. I spent my childhood looking at dad in olive green uniform with brass stars shining on his shoulders. There’s a lot I’ve learnt - thanks to his sheer presence and the environment that army provides and I’d like to share some of these with you.


My dad joined IMA (Indian Military Academy) in ’77 as a Direct Entry cadet. He got commissioned in ‘78 into the Army Ordnance Corps. I was born 10 years later in the city of Ludhiana where dad was posted. After spending my initial years in Ludhiana dad got posted to CMM Jabalpur (College of Materials Management).
Now, since it’s my first post I'm starting on a lighter note
So here it goes..
As I began to comprehend my surroundings I think my experiences as an army kid grew. We lived in a double storey block with four houses in it, two on each side. We lived on the first floor. As a kid I used to jump around like crazy. Jumping from the sofa to the dinning table and back to the sofa was my favourite pass time. And mum and dad would get really mad since a senior officer lived downstairs and they didn’t want my jumping to disturb him. 


Yet, as a kid I wondered how this ‘jumping around’ could penetrate all the way through the floor and reach his ear drums. Also, I was curious as to what intensity of jumping would actually disturb him. One day I decided to check it out for myself. I began jumping and slowly increased the intensity. As I reached my peak I wondered why there was no response from below. So I ran downstairs and rang the bell at Colonel KP Singh’s house at 3 in the afternoon. This was the time he used to get back from office, eat food and take rest. He stood six feet two inches tall (and I was barely at his knees being merely three feet nothing at the age of three) and when he opened the door he didn’t see anything. Just as he was about to close the door he looked down and saw this little boy staring up at him with a quizzical look. He asked why I was at his door at this hour and I replied, “Good Afternoon Uncle, did you hear anything?” He said, “No” and burst out into laughter when he realised what I was asking. He called me inside and offered salted kaju. I ate all the kaju and felt quite happy that uncle was not angry. 


Colonel KP Singh told the incident to my parents over tea that day and I was really scared I would get a bad scolding. Ironically mum and dad didn’t say anything this time, instead mum gave me a kiss and dad picked me up on his shoulders.