In the morning, at around 0830hrs, we left Sainik School Kodagu on 6 November 2023. It was a cold and crisp morning. We were divided into two buses, and everyone were excited. We stopped at Chamrajanagar for our lunch. We had our lunch at Bhagya Restaurant over there. After an hour or so into our journey, we got a first view of Satyamangalam Forest. Our journey through the forest was full of excitement. We spotted a Sloth Bear and some Wild Boars. Later, we reached Dimbham, a ghat section, which had 27 hairpin curves. We endured all those curves despite the 305 degree turns. After successfully crossing the curves, we set course to Tirupur.
At Tirupur, we visited a cotton textile factory where we saw electric and automated weaving machines which, they said, worked 24*7. We interacted with the owner and the workers who were working there. We learnt that the machines never stopped and workers worked in shifts throughout the day and night. We also had ‘Bondas’ for snacks there. After that, we started towards Sainik School Amaravathinagar.
As soon as we reached Sainik School Amaravathinagar, we went to Cadets’ Mess, had our dinner and went to dormitories. The people who served us in the mess were actually the coaches of different games and the warden was a Basketball coach. I wish it was the same in our school also so that the cadets of our school would get training in sports throughout the year and would be able to perform better at tournaments. The staff at Sainik School Amaravathinagar were very friendly. We interacted with them for some time after dinner. The day was very exhaustive. So, we slept like the dead ones. In the morning, we woke up at 0300hrs, took bath and were ready to leave by 0500hrs. We had a cup of black tea and left for Sulur by 0530hrs.
We reached the Air Force Station, Sulur by 0830hrs. We had our breakfast which was packed from Sainik School Amaravathinagar and sat in an auditorium. An officer briefed us about career opportunities in Indian Air Force. Gp Cpt S Sriram addressed us and after coming out we were briefed by JWO Dashrat Singh, Security head of the Air Force Station, Sulur. Later we were escorted by JWO Jashwant Singh through the Air Force Station. Air Force Station Sulur consisted of 5 BRD (Base Repair Depot) and 43 Wing of Indian Air Force.
First, we visited the radar system where Corporal Ram Avtar Singh explained us about the three different vehicles ESV (Energy Source Vehicle), RSV (Radar Sensor Vehicle) and DCV (Data Centre Vehicle). We also went inside DCV. After that we went to see Sarang helicopters where Corporal K.K Saini explained us about the helicopters. After that we went to the 33 Sqn to see AN-32 transport aircraft. We also saw the landing of a Dornier and take-off of an AN-32 aircraft. Sergeant Abhishek explained us about the aircraft and the controls inside the cockpit of AN-32. After learning about AN-32, We had our lunch in Airmen Mess of 43 Wing of Indian Air Force. After lunch, we went to the huge hangars beside the runway to see Mi-17 V5 helicopters and indigenously made LCA Tejas where Corporal Amit Singh and Sergeant Nizamuddin explained us about the respective aircrafts. After that, Gp Cpt S Sriram addressed us again and we thanked everyone and left. From there, we directly went to Amaravathi Reservoir. Mr. Praveen, PGT Computer Science was kind enough to come with us and show us around.
We reached Sainik School Amaravathinagar at around 1930hrs. We had our dinner and Lt Col Deepu K, Administrative Officer of Sainik School Amaravathinagar interacted with us. He said, “It is a tradition in Armed forces that you go and meet if someone of your region visits your place”. He was from Bengaluru. The next day we had our breakfast and left the school after thanking everyone at around 0730hrs.
We went to Isha Foundation, Coimbatore where we had a spiritual experience of yoga. I learnt that the bust sculpture of Adiyogi situated there was the largest in the world (112 ft). From there we started our journey back towards Sainik School Kodagu. We also visited Bannariamman Temple on the way. We had our dinner at Chamrajanagar and we saw some elephants on the way. We reached school at around 0200hrs on 9 November 2023.
I would like to thank our school, all the escort teachers Mr. Raghavendra Raje Urs, TGT English, Mr. Y Venkataramana, TGT Social Science, Mr. Manjappa G K, TGT Kannada, Ms. Rukmini, Counsellor, Mr. Rakshith, Warden, Mr. Prakash, General Employee, staff of Sainik School Amaravathinagar, Officers and Airmen at Air Force Station, Sulur, bus drivers and everyone who gave us an opportunity to learn all these things.
-Cdt. Nishanth Narayan
Roll No 1311, IX C
(Technical help-Cdt. Nishant P Sambrani,
Roll No 1581, IX C)
