Hemraj Parmar, MBA

Alive Till I Die
Penman Books
July 21, 2020

This book is about the indomitable human spirit. It is a story about four friends, who join National
Defence Academy, Khadakwasla (NDA), the globally reputed cradle of leadership as civilians and come out as fine soldiers and excel in their respective domains. These young lads join the NDA and come out fully trained as fine officers and gentlemen and truly as the men of steel, rugged and defiant, bold and resolute.

All of them turn out to be fine soldiers and guard our national borders selflessly, facing all kinds of privations with fortitude, resilience and dignity. Many go on to transition and morph into fine corporate honchos, a true testimony to military brilliance and diverse leadership training imparted at various military institutions.

Each one of these friends excels in his respective domain, including one of them in the corporate world. These four lifelong friends, who make the country proud, are:

Ram (Rocky) is an ace pilot, who is involved in trans- LOC operations and shoots down enemy’s F-16 fighter aircraft in a dogfight but is in turn hit by a missile but bails out safely into enemy territory. His capture and subsequent heroic return to the country is legendary. Equally legendary are his escapades with the fairer sex and his iconic handlebar moustaches, “Rocky’s Cut’ as they are called have become a national rage.

On the personal front, Rocky suffers grave loss in an untimely and tragic loss of Ramya, his girlfriend in a freak road accident. Later, in the act of great compassion and comraderie, he marries Swati, a girlfriend of his dear friend and colleague Farry, after Farry is martyred in trans-LOC surgical strike.

Farhan (Farry) is a daredevil Special Forces (SF) officer, who has made an indelible mark in operations against terrorists in Jammu & Kashmir. He had also been part of many successful raids on terrorist hideouts to neutralise high-value targets. Rightly nicknamed as Rambo by his colleagues, he makes the supreme sacrifice while carrying out a highly debilitating surgical strike into the enemy territory. This grave loss leaves his girlfriend Swati and his parents heartbroken. But divine intervention saves Swati, who is suitably rehabilitated with Rocky’s compassion and generosity by solemnising their relationship into wedlock.

Baljit (Bally) is a tall, handsome and flamboyant Sardar from ‘sadda’ Punjab, a fourth-generation military
officer with royal lineage; he was known for his chivalry, on and off duty. Big-hearted, kind and friendly but aggressive if a situation so demanded. He would come all guns blazing to defend his friends. Most of his family members had since emigrated to Brampton in Canada, (Kanedda) as any rustic Punjabi would usually call. He was part of the NDA Horse Riding Team and was an ace shooter. His parents had made Goa their home, where Bally used to retire during his well-earned leaves.
Bally got seriously injured in Trans-LOC operations, but recovered, miraculously. Bally married his long-time girlfriend Rushda, with whom he had many an interesting story to narrate. Like all Punjabis, he liked everything big - cars, motorcycles and many other unmentionables.

Anthony (Andy) was an affable guy. He was lean and dapper. Andy was witty but a highly spirited guy. He was more of an average guy academically and physically, but quite a charmer. Andy was always keen to join the Indian Navy. He had a Punjabi girlfriend, Jatinder Kaur (Jeet in short), although he always called her Bubbles. She was studying at Deccan College, Pune.

Andy moved on from Navy for greener pastures early and joined the corporate world, wherein he excelled and had exceptional upward mobility until Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) picked him up for his extremely good analytical skills for tasks of national importance. He was the one coordinating all operations into enemy territory when Rocky, Bally & Farry entered the enemy territory.
He was the invisible hand in saving and protecting them directly from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The four friends, ‘Quartet’ as we shall call hereafter, were like a close-knit family and were lifelong friends, more like an extended family to each other.

They spent their vacations together and had agreed to disagree on all issues surrounding everyday life in the country: media, politics, geopolitics, economics and romance. But their underlying sense of camaraderie overcame all personal differences. Their girlfriends added that extra zing to everything they did.

Fine soldiers and men of honour, they would do anything to defend the country, even if it meant making the supreme sacrifice for the nation and the brave men they led!