It was the last week of January in 2019. The NCC cadets of Jharkhand had just returned from Delhi after a thumping victory in the plethora of competitions organised as a precursor to the Republic Day parade. I was commanding the NCC group at Hazaribagh, one of the only two NCC groups in Jharkhand. Hazaribagh group cadets formed the bulk of the team and comprised mainly tribals from remote corners of Hazaribagh district.
Behind every NCC cadet selected to represent any state at the Republic Day parade is a story of steely grit, determination, tenacity and months of hard work. It is indeed a trial by fire and an acid test. No wonder, a large number of tribal cadets who were an epitome of physical and mental endurance had finally made the cut. At dusk of January 26, as news of the outstanding performance of Jharkhand NCC cadets trickled in, Droupadi Murmu, then governor, immediately directed her staff to send a personal invite to all cadets for an ‘honour ceremony’ followed by high tea at her residence.
Being their commander, I also got the privilege of a special invite. It was indeed an honour. All of us, including the young and vibrant cadets, were eagerly looking forward to interacting with the governor. On D-Day, we were at her residence much before time. The time for the function to kick off was 11am but we expected the chief guest to arrive late as is the case in most of the other civil functions. A few ministers, the chief secretary and director general of police were also invited.
However, at 11am sharp, her car came down from the CM’s secretariat to her residence lawns. A few of us were lined up for an introduction. As we looked at her, Droupadi Murmu was humility personified. After the customary ‘Namaste’, I expected her to just stride past. I was mistaken. That was not on her mind. Instead, she spent a lot of time getting to know how I went about training the cadets who had earned such an enviable position in the competition. I learnt an important lesson from her; never give juniors a short shrift. Spend time with them. Try to know more about them. It boosts their morale to no end.
{{/usCountry}}However, at 11am sharp, her car came down from the CM’s secretariat to her residence lawns. A few of us were lined up for an introduction. As we looked at her, Droupadi Murmu was humility personified. After the customary ‘Namaste’, I expected her to just stride past. I was mistaken. That was not on her mind. Instead, she spent a lot of time getting to know how I went about training the cadets who had earned such an enviable position in the competition. I learnt an important lesson from her; never give juniors a short shrift. Spend time with them. Try to know more about them. It boosts their morale to no end.
{{/usCountry}}Soon, we were seated for a programme that the cadets had organised. The chief guest observed every cadet’s performance with rapt attention with her ears glued to the names of participants being called out by the master of ceremonies. After the programme, during her informal interaction with the participants, we were taken aback when she addressed all cadet participants by their names like an exceptional mnemonist. For the first time I saw a chief guest intermingling with young NCC cadets. Since I accompanied her to introduce each cadet, I realised that she always had an aim behind every question she asked. All her queries were directed to motivate the cadets to speak up about problems faced during training.
Perhaps, these are a few of the qualities that have propelled her to travel a long and arduous journey from a junior assistant in the irrigation and power department in Odisha to the Best MLA of the Year in 2007 by the Odisha assembly and now as the Presidential candidate. It was truly an inspirational date with Droupadi Murmu, who had a positive influence on not only me but all my commanding officers and cadets as well.
The writer is a Patiala-based freelance contributor .He can be reached at advityanidhi14@gmail.com