Chennai:
After working for three years at TCS as a software engineer, Ooty’s B. Krishnamurthy (26) is all excited to don the olive green uniform and join the 43rd medium regiment at Ajmer as a lieutenant next month.
Ready to pass out from the Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) on Saturday, Krishnamurthy spoke to DC about his experiences in the OTA, the difference between IT job and serving in the armed forces, the lack of awareness about army in TN and how it feels to be the first uniformed person in his family.
“I was attracted to the armed forces right from my childhood days as the Madras Regiment was stationed at Ooty. But as like all youth, I did computer science engineering and took up a job with TCS. But during recession time, I decided to move towards my first love. I cleared Service Selection Board examination in my first attempt and joined OTA. Wearing the olive green uniform gives me tremendous happiness. I want to reach the top in my desired profession and continue serving the country even after my retirement,” said Krishnamurthy, who excelled in running and general academics during the 11-months course at OTA.
“When I joined the course, I struggled physically because I was not used to physical activities. My IT job was more sedentary and we used to have snacks and tea at 4 pm in our office, while at OTA I was busy playing sports. But with rigorous training I was able to compete with even the NCC cadets in a span of three months,” reminiscenced Krishnamurthy, who noted that discipline and comradeship comes naturally to the cadets. “I used to wake up only after 8 am during my TCS days, but now even when I am at home, I am not able to sleep after 3.30 am,” he added.
Only child of K. Balachandran, who retired as section officer at Hindustan Photo Films, and schoolteacher Kalyani, Krishnamurthy wants more youth to join armed forces from Tamil Nadu.
“When I first met a few north Indians at OTA, they explained to me everything about the course. I was not even aware of the basics. It showed how much we lacked in knowledge about the army,” he added.
For one, who had not ventured out of the state except for a lone visit to Shirdi, Krishnamurthy got a mix of entire India at OTA and has now mastered Hindi too.
source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / by S. Sujatha / March 16th, 2013