Sample Copy. Not For Distribution.iii The Mighty Mustang 'You can take a Soldier out of the Army but not the Army out of the Soldier.' Ronit Ranjan EDUCREATION PUBLISHING (Since 2011)

Sample Copy. Not For Distribution.

i

The Mighty Mustang


ii

Publishing-in-support-of, EDUCREATION PUBLISHING

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© Copyright, 2018, Ronit Ranjan

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Printed in India


iii

The Mighty Mustang

'You can take a Soldier out of the Army

but not the Army out of the Soldier.'

Ronit Ranjan

EDUCREATION PUBLISHING (Since 2011)

www.educreation.in


iv


v

Acknowledgement

I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone who

has inspired me to write this book.

I would like to thank Prof. Biju, Christ

University, Bangalore for proof-reading the book

and help me find the shortcomings.

Thanks to my friends, especially Ananya

Shukla and Varsha Ramesh for lending their ears

whenever I wanted to recite a poem after finishing

it. I would also take a moment to thank Rishav

Pandey, Pranjal Singh, Piyush Sinha, Snehal

Kumar, Swati Shikha, Shraiyashi Bhatt, Paawani

Tewari, Lakshya Raj, Karan Daryanani, Aastha

Agarwal, Urvija Shree, Praveena Makesh, Anupama

Pulikapa, Ishiva Shreya, Manya Agarwal and Harsh

Poddar for always being by my side and supporting

me.

I also thank Educreation Publications for

selecting my book for publishing and giving me a

platform to share my story with the world.

Thanks to my sister, Rewati Ranjan. She’s my

lifeline and her support always motivates me to

strive in life. Thanks to my parents for being a

constant source of inspiration.


vi

Thanks to my ex-girlfriend for being there

during the initial stages of the book. Thank you.

And if I have missed anyone, please pardon

me. I extend my deepest gratitude to every single

individual who has contributed directly or

indirectly.


vii

This book is dedicated to:

My parents

My sister

My friends

Her

And most importantly, to every individual who

has fallen down at some point in their life and got

back up…


viii

Index

Sr. Poem Page

1 Alpha 3

2 Bravo 6

3 Charlie 9

4 Delta 19

5 Echo 36

6 Foxtrot 39

7 Golf 47

8 Hunter 50

9 India 53

10 Juliet 56

11 Kilo 59

12 Lima 63

13 Mike 67

14 November 71

15 Oscar 74

16 Panther 80

17 Quebec 83

18 Romeo 86

19 Sierra 89

20 Tango 93

21 Uniform 96

22 Victor 100

23 Whiskey 106

24 X-ray 109

25 Yankee 113

26 Zulu 120


ix


The Mighty Mustang

1


The Mighty Mustang

2

The Mighty Mustang

INTRODUCTION:-

You remember how in school we had ‘houses’- red,

green, blue, yellow. Similarly, in the National

Defence Academy (NDA) we have squadrons-

Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and so on. Now, every

squadron has a soul- Alpha-Apaches, Bravo-Braves,

Charlie-Cheetah, Delta-Daggers and so on. I was in

the Mike squadron of the 135th course. Our soul is a

Mustang horse- one of the strongest, wildest breed

of horses. We were called ‘The Mighty Mustang’.

But all of this didn’t come so easy. Nor did it

end well. My life is completely different today. This

book is on the two biggest falls in my life and the

entire journey of getting back on my feet... Well,

I’m Ronit Ranjan. I’m an ex-NDA, presently

pursuing my graduation at Christ University,

Bangalore and here’s my story…


The Mighty Mustang

3

Alpha


The Mighty Mustang

4

I was a below average kid during my mid school

who never had any prior active participation in any

field. Average grades, average in sports, extra-

curriculars, fitness, everything. But, something hit

me in 8th Grade. I don’t know what. I just

remember that day- it was the Hindi period. And

halfway through the class, my Hindi teacher just

stopped teaching and started asking us about our

future plans. (P.S.- I still don’t know why she did

that but I’m glad she did) And when my turn came,

I remember exactly what I said- “Ma’am, I want to

join the Indian Army.” She didn’t say anything. She

just smiled and patted my back. I think she knew

that I was onto something.


The Mighty Mustang

5

Whatever it Takes

Being ordinary in every field

He used to think;

Some people are meant to be

Below the brink of the hill.

Ambitions, goals and desires

Were far out of his reach,

The shackles of self-doubt

Cuffed his fancy dreams.

But destiny flipped those pages

That chapter came to an end

The whiff of fresh pages

Put up ambitions in his head.

Astounded by the valour

Startled by the march

Longing for those salutes

And that black uniform.

A spark led the mighty flame

The storm was set to unleash

He had whatever it takes

To be who he wanted to be.


The Mighty Mustang

6

Bravo


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Sample Copy. Not For Distribution.iii The Mighty Mustang 'You can take a Soldier out of the Army but not the Army out of the Soldier.' Ronit Ranjan EDUCREATION PUBLISHING (Since 2011)