6.30 am: Dressed in a spotless white PT rig, Arun and his class are out on the field, going through the paces. Jogging, rope climbing, chin-ups, front-rolls, vaulting the high horse, bumps and somersaults - everything seems to come so effortlessly to him now. As he sails over the nine-feet trench his mind goes back to his first day at the Academy. ``How difficult everything seemed then. Muscle power, co-ordination and the determination to achieve - that is what the Academy taught me. Forty minutes of this with not even a moment's respite is child's play now. There was a time when I felt I could have dropped dead after 10 minutes. The instructors' constant berating were all worth it.''

7.20 am: With sweat coming out of every pore, a cool dip in the swimming pool is extremely inviting. And that is just what is next on the time table. But the little dip turns out to be a marathon swimming and diving programme. As Arun climbs up to the 10-metre high diving board, he reflects on the first time. He was terrified as he looked at the rest of the class down below, as small as dots. The swimming coach's bellowing coupled with the thought that if he didn't achieve this, he'd never make it to the next term prompted him to dive in. Since then, he has overcome his fears to become the best in his course.

8.30 am: With PT and swimming over, he cycles back to the Squadron and quickly changes into khakis for breakfast. After breakfast, he is off to classes. ``People are surprised when they come to know that we have classes like at any other college. They feel we faujis are all brawn and no brains! We also have a foreign language course.''

11.30 am: Dressed in camouflage dungarees, Arun pedals furiously to the Air Force Training Team for the best part of the day - gliding. In the sixth and final term, a cadet has to opt for his wing. With his uncle a wing commander in the Air Force, Arun, too, has been motivated to join the Air Force wing. Though the real flying will begin later, when he goes to the Air Force Academy at Hyderabad, gliding provides the thrills for now.

Seated in the cockpit with his trainer, Arun waits for the winching operations which will launch the glider. Up in the air, a strong air turbulence hits him making it even more exciting. Arun manouevres, skimming through the blue sky like a giant bird, savouring the peace of the heavens. All too soon, it is time to land. Four minutes is all the time that the craft stays aloft, but there will be more chances today. In all, he gets a total of about 32 launches. But going solo is the penultimate challenge and he looks forward to it eagerly.

(While Arun is flying, his course mates from the Army wing are engaged in weapons training, dismantling and assembling rifles, target and bayonet practice. Navy cadets are initiated in navigation, sailing, dinghy drill and anchor work. Besides, there is map reading and military studies which includes study of military technology, customs and traditions of each service and salient features regarding management of men and materials).

1.30 am: Gliding is over and with his stomach growling for food, Arun dashes off to the Mess for lunch. It is an impressive hall - massive - and large enough to seat all the 1800 cadets plus guests. At the dining hall, all that can be heard is the subdued clatter of almost 2000 sets of cutlery. At the Academy, there is a code of conduct for each activity, and it applies to table manners too. The aim of NDA is to turn out ``an officer and a gentleman'' and no stones are left unturned. Seniors teach juniors on the various aspects of etiquette and this also helps strengthen the bonds between them.

2.30 pm: Arun marches back to his Squadron (dormitory, in civilian parlance) to get his White Patrol uniform ready for an imminent inspection. This is the uniform for the POP (Passing Out Parade). ``That is barely a month away. It's difficult to believe that it is almost time for me to leave. Have I really gone through all these gruelling activities, this hectic schedule? It will be great, no doubt, to leave all this behind but I will miss it! Most of all, I'll miss my friends, this sense of camaraderie, this feeling of brotherhood.''

And his course mates are special. For three years, they have faced every task assigned to them together - the mental and physical toughening up, the exacting regimentation and deadlines they had to achieve collectively. They have motivated, helped and stood by each other. It is these hardships which binds them.

3.30 pm: Inspection is followed by games. It could be sailing, horse-riding, football, tennis, squash, rock-climbing, water-skiing and so much more. Today there is a hockey match. ``Our team must win, we'll see to it.' Esprit de corps is fostered in every activity. It helps and Arun's team wins!

Evening: An hour and a half for study and time to prepare for the coming exams. The day has been long and crammed with action but Arun has still enough steam to last him out. After three years at the NDA, stamina is not much of a problem. ``Besides, this is the easier. The toughest part is yet to come. A few days from now and we'll be going for our last camp, Trishul. A whole week of camping out, simulating war conditions, digging trenches, field engineering, tactical defences - it will be a great adventure, but tough. This will be the ultimate test. Compared to this, the first Camp Greenhorn in the second term seems like child's play. Only three days, with all the activities being held in the daytime. Camp Rover for Fourth termers is longer and more difficult. The mother of all camps will be this one. But then others have done it before us and so can we!''

And on this optimistic and resolute note we leave Cadet Arun Bhatnagar to turn off his cabin lights at the stipulated 2300 hours. This 20-year-old has packed in an unbelievable number of activities - physical, mental and social - in a span of 17 waking hours. In all this, he has been guided by the discipline and training at an institution which has frequently been referred to as the `Maker of Men'.

Three years of sweat, toil and grit have wrought their change on him. From a gawky, unsure and homesick teenager, he has been transformed into a strapping, confident young man, impeccable in dress and manner. Let us leave him in the land of dreams - maybe of parents, brothers and sisters (girlfriends too) to whom he has hardly had the time to write. Dreams of the upcoming NDA Ball, dreams of the oh-so-near POP when his loved ones will come to see him take that final step amidst the haunting strains of Auld Lang Syne.