GRAFFITI

 Taking off from one of my previous blogs on NDA Satchel,(https://senseinthenonsense.blogspot.com/2024/01/man-bag-good-old-nda-satchel.html); the man bag of today, where I had promised to write another one on the graffiti on the satchel. We NDA cadets  did not have very many outlets to express our creativity, unlike our lucky(!) brethren who go to normal university and colleges. We are all aware of the explicit graffiti which adorns the walls of the colleges, particularly in the wash rooms. I am sure the young lads are inspired by our ancestors of Ajanta and Ellora or may be even Bhimbetka, near Bhopal which are famous for their cave paintings. Since the young generation can't find any caves to indulge in this creative art form, they make do with the wash rooms which are somewhat akin to caves themselves. The graphical details of human anatomy and human genitals which some of them probably learn in their Biology classes are practised here itself. The other prominent place reserved for this display of art form was the toilets in trains, where every inch of the walls was covered and apart from the anatomy tutorials displayed, there were litterateur who inscribed all kinds of couplets which left no one in doubt about their amorous  intent. Some of them were more social in nature who wanted to help the mankind in general who left their contact details too for any consultancy in future.

Graffiti incidentally originated as an art form, the word itself traces its origin from Greek word  "graphein" meaning "to write". It became an expression of homo sapien's creativity and was not considered vandalism initially, in fact political graffiti changed the course of many nation's history. But getting back to the NDA cadets and their satchels. The most prominently displayed ones worn proudly were the ‘stars’ which some of us adorned on them. After all it's no mean task to join the flag ranks so early in life, so a single star denoting the rank of a Brigadier and two stars denoting the coveted rank of a General left no one in any doubt about the exalted status of the cadet. For the uninitiated let me explain, a relegation by six months entitled one to the rank of a Brig and two such relegations and he was anointed a General in NDA parlance. Nobody messed around with a General, he was a man to be shown the respect his rank deserved. These stars were prominently displayed on the satchels. Then there were school affiliations displayed equally proudly, so a “Rimcollian” or “Georgian” or the “Sainik Schools” name too appeared quite regularly. Mind you this privilege of Satchel graffiti was reserved for third termers and above as piddly dukkis or second termers were required to carry the issue type NDA satchel which did not have a sling broad enough which could have any graffiti on it as it was more like a string. But come third term and one of the first items procured from the Gole market was a brand new satchel which had a broad sling which facilitated our trysts with creativity. 

 The service of our choice Army, Navy or Air Force had to be there, so a "Pongo", "Born to Fly", "Lord of the Seas" was equally common.  Some believed in expressing it in art form and so a “crossed sword” or a “bayonet”, or “wings” or “anchor” also were seen conveying their choice of service quite clearly.  The trick was to inscribe something unusual and unique to make heads turn and get noticed, which was an unusual trait as cadets by and large preferred to lie doggo. The reasons were obvious if we stood out of the pattern, we were noticed which was an invitation to trouble as the sergeants  and the Drill Ustaads on the prowl would immediately pounce on you. But somehow satchel graffiti rarely attracted that kind of attention. Drill Ustaads of course did not comprehend it and appointments were generally more amused than annoyed and let it pass. 

Some of us were enamoured by the cavalry, so a “Rommel” or “Desert Fox” was quite popular, a “Swastik” or “Nazi” too was not frowned upon. The cadets from Jatland proudly identified themselves as Texans and made it a point to let the world know of their origin.I know of someone who proudly claimed his descent from Uzbekistan and had Uzbek inscribed. Sometimes an odd inscription could also be found in Hindi but by and large English reigned supreme. Our knowledge of foreign languages was also on display with French, Russian and German words and phrases also making heads turn, like mine was "Joie de Vivre" my mantra which I have lived by, all my life.