A Typical Day @NPA

Yesterday night I couldn’t sleep properly, but this is not new as it is happening for the past few days because each night I am worried that my phone alarm might not be able to wake me up at 5 in the morning. But somehow I am managing to wake up on time, sometimes with help of my phone alarm and rest of the times, with help of my biological clock which is now getting tuned to NPA clock. After waking up, the first thought which crosses my mind is that why I have chosen such life where even sleep has become an unaffordable luxury. But then after devoting 5-10 minutes to this thought, somehow I manage to get ready and reach downstairs for fallin for morning PT.

While going downstairs, I just feel that today I have no energy and won’t be able to do anything. But then seeing everyone else also there, gives me some strength. Rest of the strength comes from our Academy Song which is played daily in the morning at sharp 5.30AM. Morning PT in NPA is not like PT in any other academy but it is like a ceremony which is very religiously carried out daily with minute to minute precision. 

It is a good feeling after the PT as I feel that one battle has been won. But then it is not time to relax but to get ready in our uniforms for next battle which is relatively a longer and tougher one. It is 4 and half hours of indoor classes.  People who think that police means all danda and no use of mind, must come to our classes to see the advanced level of studies we are made to do here. 

NPA serves us very good lunch may be as reward for hard work done but we can’t afford to enjoy our lunch as 3 hour outdoor sessions are still left. We are made to walk and stand in scorching hot Sun, to struggle with the firearms, to do left-right and 1-2-1, to do horse riding and then to play outdoor games. With so many activities, it seems that we are doing some sort of dress rehearsal as NPA has given us various types of costumes, shoes, boots, caps and other accessories and each activity has different prescribed dress code. 

Finally all the sessions are over by 6.00 or 6.30PM and we are free but only if we are lucky. The evening might be occupied with formal dinners, some test or some public forum. And if it is free, we are expected to either go to gym or sports or swimming. The day then finally ends with dinner and some gossip and chitchat with friends. And with this our race against time also ends but only for today as we get ready to wake up at 5AM again for the next day....