r/NDA_Khadakwasla

Rovers Camp in Autumn Term 2000 was sheer chaos !

For the uninitiated Rovers is the toughest Camp in NDA - most number of exercises, longest distances in those ex, toughest Run Back. The severity of our camp was compounded by an ex-SF Divo who would make us climb hills in between the Ex. The hill top was unofficially named after that Divo, and still remains that way.

Our Run Back was one of the longest in history of NDA resulting in only 3 teams out of 30 could completing within the cut-off time.

Fast forward to evening ! Rest of the Academy had an event at Habibullah. Traditionally the other course cadets wake up the 4th Termers from afternoon slumber for attending the Camp Fire. However, as the entire Academy was at Habibullah, 4th Termers remained asleep and didn't turn up for Camp Fire. This was taken as mutiny by Dy Comdt and hell rained on 4th Termers thereafter. After an entire night of punishment we were sent to Singarh on Sunday morning which was followed by various mental/ physical strengthening routines ;).

This was 101 Course which has legends like Harshan, Jacob, Kaushal Kashyap 🔥

This pic is from the Sinhgarh trek on Sunday.

P.S - I'm 2nd from left, the guy on extreme right was so tall that the other 3 were standing on culvert to get the frame right :)

Pioneers of NDA ! The auditorium was later named after the first Comdt Gen Habibullah

NDA Prayer ! Lived by it 🔥

Cadets come and go... but the NDA letterbox still waits. There are some silent witnesses in NDA which have seen more emotions than any parade ground, classroom or squadron corridor. This old red letterbox outside the Cadets' Mess is one of them. Placed on 20 October 1955, it has stood there quietly as generations of cadets passed by-some tired after cross-country, some rushing for a meal, some polishing their boots in their minds and some carrying a small inland letter in their hands. In our days, there were no mobile phones, no WhatsApp, no instant video calls. A letter was not just paper. It was home. It was mother's concern, father's advice, a sibling's mischief, a friend's update, and sometimes just a few lines that gave strength for another week at the Academy. A letter would go... and the reply would come after many days, sometimes almost a month. But that waiting had its own sweetness. It taught patience. It taught emotional strength. It taught us to value words. Today, the world has changed. Messages fly in seconds. Emotions are typed, forwarded, deleted and forgotten. Hardly anyone writes letters now. But this letterbox still stands there at the NDA Cadets' Mess, as if waiting for one more cadet to pause, think of home, and drop a few honest words inside. Because at NDA, even objects have memories. And some

objects have memories. And some memories never retire. NDA does not only build officers. It preserves emotions, traditions and stories across generations.

Courtesy - Col VG Nadagouda, 54th NDA

Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM has been appointed as the next Chief of Defence Staff. He is from 67 NDA ! Would assume office by 31 May 2026

First Termers of a Sqn in NDA in Spring Term '99 during the first week of their training. Those still serving have been blurred. Standing 6th from right is a Palestinian cadet.