Mumbai: It was a matter of pride and unique coincidence when two classmates and serving Generals of the Indian Army went back to their alma mater – with the old boys interacting with the young blood.
The historic moment was witnessed in the Sainik School Satara in Maharashtra.
The two officers are Lieutenant General Pradeep Nair, the Director General of Assam Rifles and Lieutenant General Jagdish Chaudhary, the Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development and Sustenance).
The two Generals had passed out of Sainik School Satara in 1982.
Lt Gen Nair and Lt Gen Chaudhary had come to the Sainik School Satara to participate in the School Academic Day as the Chief Guest and Guest of Honour, respectively, on 27-28 October.
Incidentally, both the General Officers share a special bonding as they belong to the same Class at Sainik School Satara, same Rana Pratap House, and same Squadron at National Defence Academy at Khadakwasla in Pune.
The friendship and bonding that both the General Officers have been sharing for the past 50 years was very evident and enriched further at the Sainik School Academic Day.
The Staff and Cadets were elated to see two serving Lt Gens coming back to their school at the same time.
Sainik School Satara was the first Sainik School to be established in Independent India on 23 June 1961 under the visionary guidance of the then Defence Minister V K Menon and then Chief Minister of Maharashtra Yashwantrao Chavan.
“Since inception the school has produced over 800 officers to the Indian Armed Forces including former Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal P V Naik. The Alumni of the school have also distinguished themselves in Civil Services and various other professions.
On the first day of Annual Academic Day, Cadets of the Sainik School gave a scintillating Cultural Programme.
The second day of the Annual Academic Day started with a friendly Basketball match between the teams of the two Lieutenant Generals.
Post completion of the match, cadets of the Rana Pratap House hosted their old boys for a special breakfast. Both the General Officers relived their memories of their Hostel life and shared the same with the present set of Cadets.
“You have to strive hard with sincerity and diligence for achieving success,’ Lt Gen Nair said as he congratulated all the prize winners and addressed the Cadets.
Lt Gen Chaudhari during his address to cadets brought out the importance of school life and how it shapes one’s career. “As there is immense competition in this generation the cadets have to put in cent percent efforts on every aspect of education and professional training at the school,” he said.
Post completion of the Academic Day, both the General Officers visited their Class XIIth classrooms and shared special moments with the cadets.
The Academic Day culminated with the traditional Barakhana at the Cadet’s Mess.
Captain K Srinivason, Principal, Sainik School Satara thanked both the General Officers for their presence and stated that this event will be a motivational factor for all the ‘Ajinkyans’ to make their career in the Indian Armed Forces.
(Published 29 October 2023, 05:27 IST)