‘It’s a dream come true’

As he displayed the gold medal gleaming on his chest with the swagger under his arm,his father P N Raju said,“It is a dream come true for me. I wanted my son to serve in the defence and he has done me proud.”

But while his father is in the Army,Verma prefered the Navy. “Serving the country at the coasts will give me an extraodrinary thrill,” he said. Verma was among the three cadets of the NDA who were honoured today for their performance at the prestigous defence institute. Cadet Adjutant R Shekar got the silver medal and Cadet Captain P P Shinde got the bronze.

“This was the perfect training ground for me. In the academy,I got the opportunity to participate in the activities of Navy as well as Air Force,” Shekar said. “Though my father works in the insurance company,Army had always fascinated me,” he said.

The three cadets who were honoured were among the 315 cadets who passed out of the NDA today. As many as 210 cadets from Army,37 from the Navy and 68 from the Air Force passed out. Early in the morning the cadets assembled on the spacious ground of the NDA campus.

Inside the spectators gallery,the families gleefully captured on their cellphones aircraft hovering in the sky as the parade went on. And as the military band played the tunes,Kadam Kadam Bhadaye Ja,the cadets raised their toes and stamped the ground,matching with the rhythm of the music.

Junior cadets ran through the ground climbing up a rope ladder to salute their senior cadets as the tricolour fluttered high.