Smell the Coffee

 Cold Coffee, hearing the words one starts to salivate, this concoction is simply divine, probably this was the famous magic potion brewed by Getafix which gave superhuman powers to the Gauls. After all aren't NDA Cadets super humans and I dare say an ex NDA would kill for a drop of this elixir. Cold Coffee was served in the evenings but alas it was only once a week, the rest of the days it was something which resembled Tea and smelt like it, but was otherwise just plain boiled water with plenty of sugar, which too was devoured in tumblers generally plastic ones. Generous doses of this brew worked wonders for the bowels early mornings, the evening dose kept you going through the motions i.e. Roll Call, Ante Room procedure, Preps, the pre Dinner sprints and post Dinner sessions both moral and physical. 

NDA Cadets are not in love with Coffee alone they are also tipsy about Tipsy pudding and can go to any lengths to get more than their fair share of this dessert. There have been umpteen number of incidents where cadets have lost their wrist watches in the bowl of Tipsy, recovered by someone else and returned duly licked clean. Every article which can be used to store the sweet dish is put to good use so a helmet or jap cap is fair game. All is fair in love and war, here it is love for the Tipsy and each one is at war with his competitors for the extra Tipsy.

Anyway to return to the Cafe Frappe, Iced Latte or Iced Mocha as the woke generation would refer this drink to, was something to die for, Hell hath no fury as compared to a six termer deprived of his cold coffee, if he happened to be out for some obscure reason, it was the fundamental duty of every second termer to save his share of the coffee, else, God forbid...The coffee in the tummies would be forced out by other means to drive the lesson home. But can you blame them for this demeanour, not really, imagine how did the 'Devas' behave when the 'Asuras' got hold of the pot of elixir during the 'samudra manthan' (churning of the ocean), Lord Vishnu himself enticed them in his avtaar as Mohini to steal it from them. We are mere mortals.

Just let your imagination run wild, "It's a hot summer day, after a gruelling run on the periphery followed by the cooling down on the Vertical Ropes, Beams and the Mat, when you hear the sound of the Tea room bell, the aroma of coffee is wafting through the corridors and finally the CSM has decided to call it a day. The cadets are sprinting to their cabins to pick up the tumblers and then patiently wait in queue for their turn, that folks is the epitome of discipline.  It is not the Drill Square, as we were often told that "Drill is the bedrock of Discipline".  It is the Tea Room corridor  where we attain Nirvana, controlling the mind, body, emotions and learn to mediate  with zen like with single minded devotion on just the Can of Coffee. No Starbucks or Cafe Coffee Day can come close to that taste and flavour .....  so wake up go smell the Cold Coffee!!