TRIP TO INA (PART 1)

Today, let's cut to the chase — the dice has been fixed and voilà! Our topic of discussion is “TRIP TO INA (PART 1)” (and yes, to be clear, it’s going to be five parts).

After the chicken pox episode, the cadets of Section A and the majority of Section B were allotted for the INA (Indian Naval Academy) trip, which was held from October 21, for a span of three days. The remaining Section C and the pending minority of Section B cadets were going for the NDA (National Defence Academy) trip.

The first leg of our journey was to reach INA, located in Ezhimala, North Kerala. We travelled by bus to Katpadi, Tamil Nadu, where we boarded the train to Payyanur, the nearest railway station to INA. We were scattered around the train with other passengers. At every major station, we bought snacks. The problem we faced while buying them was the language. We didn’t know Tamil or Malayalam to communicate, but with us, we had the man — Amith S. Kumar (nickname: Amith Ass Kumar) — a Malayali in our compartment. He was our translator for business dealings.

Our train journey was filled with fun games, silly chats, and mischievous acts. As they say, all good things have to come to an end. Soon, our train journey also came to an end — but more good things were waiting for us ahead.

Early in the morning, around 4:00 A.M., we reached Payyanur railway station. INA officials were already there to escort us. Soon, we arrived at INA on their buses. Rooms were allocated in one of their dormitories — two persons per room. My room buddy was Prabhatiya, who had smuggled a tiny MP3 player with him.

They were bunk beds; I called shotgun for the upper bed (I assume). Otherwise, we were saintly enough not to argue over which bed we took. We freshened up and donned our uniforms. Then, we went for breakfast at the cadets’ mess. We were awestruck just by seeing their menu — there were so many items on the table that we were confused about what to eat first.

With heavy stomachs, we began Day 1 of our INA trip.

For now, this would suffice for Part 1. Let’s hope next time, the dice rolls again and it’ll be “TRIP TO INA (PART 2)”. Let’s meet again, in the mix. Till then, breathe properly and eat healthy. Ciao.

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