Range Firing

Like all other days when we have to report to the unit, this time also we cadets get up before the first ray of light is visible in the horizon. Somehow managing to take bath and wear our uniforms, we give final touches to it. All ready, we board the bus, just thinking about what lays ahead of us. Happy for the fact that a bus has been arranged for us from the college side, thanks to the efforts of the seniors, we settle down. Not the most charged up, trying to get those forty winks, we complete our bus journey to the unit.

A bit of confusion regarding which unit we are supposed to report, we finally figure it out and bid goodbye to our college bus. Met by similar faces from the unit, we report to them, form the flight according to the instructions from the senior (saavdhan vishram isn't that easy with bag packs). The range has already been set up for us and being in the 'A flight', we will be the first to fire, once junior division and junior wing are done. On the command of the PI staff we all sit down and watch as Rana sir gives us instructions prior to firing. The first set of junior division is all set when we hear the shrill voice of Rana sir “cadets on your own time, on your aim, fire”. Then all we can hear is thar thar thar. We try to see the targets to find out how many got their aim right on the 1ft by 1ft cardboard. Then something happens, there is news of someone getting killed in the nearby village, though it seems impossible as the bullets we use are not the ones used in field but as per the orders we need to relocate ourselves to a new range.

In the 3-ton, we cadets fit ourselves and the rifles, the vehicle moves out of the unit and after traversing for 5 minutes the vehicle comes to a halt, we cadets get down to find a restaurant . Once we locate it and find ourselves seats we are served rice dumplings with piping hot sambhar and coconut paste.

Then back on the vehicle we move towards our final destination. After traveling for some time, around 1km short of range we stop at a school, so we can refill our water bottles and recharge ourselves as the place we are heading is nothing but barren land.

After this stop some cadets choose to walk and rest come in the same vehicle. As soon as we reach, we start clearing the grass around the area and dig the metal frames on which the targets are to be placed.

All of us are given ten rounds to fire. If you ask me how was your firing, then i say its something so breathtaking that one has to experience it to feel it. After we all finish we collect the metal frames and load it back on the 3-ton. Then we clean the rifles, arrange them back on the in the vehicle, get ourselves into the same. We reach the same spot where we initially halted, the school is now over and the kids are rushing out. We help ourselves with fresh tamarinds plucked from the trees. There is a small school canteen where we find biscuits to kill our hunger. After some time the three ton arrives, we get ourselves into it, carrying the unforgivable memories of the day. A memorabilia seriously!