Boots Belts Berets; Tanushree Podder; IndiaInk; Rs.295. BOOTS BELTS BERETS. Book titled ‘ Boots Belts Berets ‘is all about the NDA which would interest all officers. It is authored by a Tanushree Podder, the wife of a cadet of the 70’s. It describes the life and times of cadets at the NDA in such graphic details (even if somewhat exaggerated in parts !) that it is hard to imagine that she and not her husband actually scripted it. Full marks to her because she has not only written in the most glorious prose but made it so funny and nostalgic for any NDA cadet of the past while giving a truthful glimpse of it to those of the present and future. Its style is good and the anecdotes familiar to us all, which makes interesting reading!
Best wishes.
Madhav
1st Course JSW
We have to thank Chetan Bhagat for popularising a genre of writing that most Indian book editors would dump into without skipping a beat. After chick lit and college sagas comes Tanushree Podder’s Boots Belts Berets delves in to the lives of the freshers at India’s premier defence academy, NDA.
The book starts off with a batch of freshers undergoing training at the NDA. Most are greenhorns but soon fall into line when they realise that there’s hell to pay if they don’t. There are unforgiving seniors whose only joy in life is to bug the freshers, bark orders and make their lives even more miserable. The teachers are as varied and while most spell doom for the poor freshers, the man behind the breakfast counter is the most loved. Even those with fastidious tastes develop a respect for food of any kind.
A motley crowd of freshers is thrown together here, most sticking with each other due to the proximity of their rooms. But that’s another thing about hostels — they teach you to be more tolerant and to live with most people. While there are pranks galore there is also an element of seriousness. But mostly it confirms that life at the academy can be a riot if taken in the right spirit. The NDA is not a place for the faint-hearted. Read it if you’re planning on joining the forces and otherwise too. It helps pass a few hours...
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