SaikapiansAbroad

People don’t really get out of the place with magical wands in their hands and spells on their lips, they are not really wizards by the time they pass out, neither the place is reached by entering into a quarter of a platform but the place is no less magical than the Hogwarts, if a comparison can be made. One thing which can’t be helped but said is that the people who go in are special just like they are when they are selected for Hogwarts but unlike most leaving Hogwarts the souls that leave this realm are of questionable variety. Yet it’s a place worth all its perils.

There must be dark arts and magic at work there. Habshi is sure of that now. For how else can he not see the darkness that day. Then again a ten year old has not the best defense against the dark arts.

Getting down at DC chowk they hailed a rickshaw. It was not much of a chowk. But in that city that was best available option for a chowk so they called it one and the DC lived close by, hence DC chowk. Mother haggled with a rickshawalah and got the price to whatever was good enough to be paid in 1991. As the rickshaw pulled away from the chowk towards the pink-walled-silver-gate realm, a magical realm Habshi thinks now, of Sainik School Kapurthala, the sounds of the world faded. Calm descended onto the world. Habshi was too young to know about the calms before the storms, of raising guard against the unknown charms, of staying alert to the stabs at the heart and he let the fascination take him and sweep him.

That gate for sure was possessed, the gate and the extension of it towards left side as the rickshaw approached from the DC chowk, the extension facing the thandi sadak. It wasn’t thandi enough to give you a chill. It was thandi if you knew how the magic worked. Habshi only ten and too young to understand and his mother too eager to meet her elder one hardly paying any heed to the magic around. The food was getting cold and to linger too long near the thandi sadak didn’t seem such a good idea. The rickshawalah was paid his due at the gate and they pushed forward.

Habshi could not take his eyes from all the heads that were jammed in the grills of the gate and the arms that slowly raised themselves to point at the regular flow of rickshaws coming towards the gate. The arms would point, some of those will withdraw back and the body that particular arm belonged to will run to the gate with extended arms to hug and be hugged. And the space that was created in the grills was momentary before another head got there and before another set of arms showed. The gate and its extension of grills were alive.

This was an e-mail sent to me by fellow Saikapian Rakesh Gupta
Hi Noel,
My name is Rakesh Gupta and I am from the 1966 Batch. I couldn't believe that both your parents have left this world, I remember Ellis sir, from 7th grade, he gave me the name Banke Bihari. I still wonder how he came up with that name, but, I never dared to ask him. I still remember following him on his hunting trips with his bike on one hand the Air rifle on the other, and if he would get few large birds, then I would get a ride back on his bike, otherwise we both walked back. He had a great aim, I don't remember him missing a single shot. That was the time when he was not your teacher but a friend, and talk to you differently; I mean he really influenced our lives. Noel, I remember you as toddler and now I saw your picture with your daughter. I live in New York; please try to stay in touch.
Rakesh

It’s been ages that I have handled an air gun now, but I subtly remember using it in school very often. That time shooting was open and we had two air guns at home. I accompanied my Dad on umpteen occasions and every trip used to be unique. There were lessons to be learnt and values to be picked up. The birds didn’t matter, pigeons, doves, partridges, horn bills or fish.

Some of these I want to share with you. You all know that Dad stood on certain principals but you may not know how he applied them to his own life and passed on to his children. Here is the other side of the story…

Never go unprepared for a task. Prepare in advance and prepare well

It used to start two days in advance. It included cleaning of the gun, collection / purchase of ammunition, target practice in the rear of the house on a match box, then graduate to a match stick. Prepare the ladies cycle (Helicopter to some). Never go unprepared for a task. Prepare well and prepare in advance.

Know thy enemy (shikar), its habits, habitat and vulnerabilities

I have gone with him many a times before dawn. Partridge is one bird which is the laziest in the morning (so am I). They remain in their bunch even after one is shot.

Ek goli ek dushman

He rarely missed as he was a sharp shooter. He never left an injured bird, even at the cost of abandoning the game that day.

No collateral damage

Go over the area once; see if there are any road blocks. Basically, he used to see that no one was working in the vicinity (a day prior).

Ability to differentiate
One not only had to be a sharp shooter, but also had to be a keen listener. The birds used to reveal their location by calling, and a wrong bird could be avoided from being shot.

Blend in with the background

Mr. Dev Dhindsa, School No. 1934, nick-named Kubba, graduated from Saikap in 1983 and joined Khalsa College, Jalandhar to pursue his college. He immigrated to Canada in 1987 and currently works as an enterprise architect with Oracle Canada.  He is happily married and has two kids. He and his wife Kuldeep are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary this year. Their elder son Vikram is graduating from University this year with his Bachelor’s Degree and wants to pursue a career in medicine. His daughter Amrita is graduating from high-school this year. His parents also live with the family since 1993 when his father retired from the Indian Armed Forces.

SaikapiansAbroad: Thank you for agreeing for this talk. Please tell us in a nutshell about your career journey starting from Saikap till now?

Mr. Dev Dhindsa: It is a pleasure to share small snippets of my life with my brothers and sisters. My career journey so to speak has been...well…somewhat interesting. Never being a “Yes Sir” sort of person, I knew even in my senior years at school that the army would not be a good career choice for me. And if you recall, the mid 80’s were not the best of times to be a young man in Punjab, but I will not go into any details in that regard…let sleeping dogs lie…! So after graduating from SSK, I enrolled in Khalsa College Jalandhar for my BSc. Actually I was sort of recruited by the college for their hockey program. Some of your readers may recall, I used to play in the left full-back position for the SSK team. But, while I did join Khalsa College, I did not join their hockey program. Instead, in my free-time I pursued acting/compeering opportunities with Jalandhar Doordarshan. Needless to say, this pursuit did not amount to anything…otherwise you would have been reading about this in my famous biography or something. But all joking aside, I never played hockey competitively after leaving school, till I immigrated to Canada in 1987 after marrying an Indo-Canadian. I immigrated to Edmonton, Alberta in January of 1987 and played on the provincial (state) Field/Grass Hockey (as it is known in North America) team. As North America (and specifically Alberta) was in a severe recession in the mid-late 80’s, so I had a tough time finding a job. If I applied for a “white collar” job they would say that I did not have enough experience or the qualifications and if I applied for a “blue collar” job or even a job at a fast-food restaurant or convenience store, they would say that I was over-qualified and would leave them as soon as I found a better job (which was obviously true). In desperation I went to see a career counselor (one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life) and acting upon the counselors recommendations I enrolled in a 2-year computing program at the local Community College, and the rest as they say – is history..! I currently work as an enterprise architect with Oracle Canada in the Information Technology field.

SaikapiansAbroad: Based on how your career has evolved, what stand do you have in favor of Saikapians serving in armed forces or other alternate careers than army after +2?

Air Vice-Marshal Anil Chopra AVSM VM VSM, School number 349, joined school in 1962. His family hails from Kapurthala. His father was a basketball player (served as the captain of Indian Basket Ball Team in the first Asian Games held at Delhi in 1951 and later the national coach and then as an  administrator in the basketball federation). He is married and the family is blessed with two daughters. The elder one is a prime time Anchor on a leading Business channel ‘ET Now’ and younger is an entrepreneur running a small company called ASAP (Any Surprise Any Place, www.asap.co.in ).

Saikapiansabroad: Thank you for agreeing for this talk. Please tell us in a nutshell about your career journey starting from Saikap till now? 

AVM Anil Chopra: When the school was being inaugurated in 1961 by the Minister of Defence Mr. Krishna Menon, I was one of the local children (8 yrs old) holding the national flag to welcome the VIP. For the first time I saw a helicopter in my life, a Mi - 4. I and my parents were so impressed that I decided and joined Sainik School in 1962.  I joined the Indian Air Force after graduating from NDA as a fighter pilot. I was selected to be among the first batch of Indian pilots to train on Mirage 2000 aircraft in France. I have also commanded No.1 Squadron of IAF and a major Airbase in Punjab. Currently I am an Air Vice-Marshal.  Hardly did I know then that one day I will rise to a prestigious position and would fly to the school in my own helicopter.

Saikapiansabroad: As an officer in the forces how do you propose to increase the interest of current students in the armed forces?  

AVM Anil Chopra: I think we in service are trying to encourage school cadets join the armed forces by setting a great example for them to emulate. Some of us must occasionally visit the school in uniform. We talk to students during OBA meets. The three services have also presented important symbols for display such as an aircraft, tank, and a naval Gun. I think we are doing quite OK on that count.    

Saikapiansabroad: How do you compare your life in the world post school days with that in the school? 

AVM Anil Chopra: School life is always tough. No kid likes to get up early in the morning. Some other things look difficult and painful and happen in all schools. But as we grow in our life and move ahead in professions we realize the importance of what was taught to us in the school and start developing a feeling of infinite thankfulness to the people who made men out of us. Where else could one have had a chance to ride, to do canoeing, and be able to swim, do obstacle course, and have best of sports fields for all games. Play Base Ball, do fencing take part in Dramatics. You name it and we had it. Better than the best finishing schools of the world. One only regrets not having had the inclination and mind to make the best of it. Everything was most handy in NDA and in life thereafter. 

Saikapiansabroad: Any particular incident you remember from school life?

AVM Anil Chopra: Well I think the best ones were the ‘midnight, full moon’ chakotra raids at the orchard near Jalandhar road. I think these raids were playful mischief. There is no school in the world where children do not do such mischief. An operation like this taught us many things in terms of planning, execution, escape and evasion, personal safety and security, covering of flanks etc. I remember being part of the logistics team which had to be on watch for the contractor while the main attack team was doing the plucking and also do the bag filling and then carrying the bag. Jacket of one member of the attack team once got stuck in the fence when he was trying to crawl under it and the contractor was coming zipping towards us. Retrieval of the team member was a full-fledged escape and evasion military exercise. Poor chap lost part of his shirt in the bargain. Ever had a chakotra feast at 3 AM? We did.   

Saikapiansabroad: Any event at saikap that you remember in an unhappy sense and could have been avoided if you had acted otherwise?

AVM Anil Chopra: I feel I did not make the best of some of the facilities that were available.

Saikapiansabroad: Would you like to share some pictures and other memories of your school days with the alumni website. Please share your current photo.