Ishq-e-Watan

Chapter 35- His Sherni

CHAPTER 35

HIS SHERNI

Karan crossed his arms, looking at the cadets who stared at him expectantly. "Cadets, organize yourself according to your subgroups. Alpha iss side, Foxtrot uss side, baaki sab beech mein. Fall out!" The cadets looked at each other, before they all fell out of the ranks, forming into small groups.

"Ek commando ke laane hand-to-hand combat jaanna bahut zaroori hoto hai", Sanju started. "Jab koi hathiyaar naa bhi ho, tab bhi dushmano se ladna aana chahiyo. Tum jhingooron ko humne sparring sikhaayi thi. Aaj ek pratiyogita karto hain."

Sid raised his hand. She nodded at him. "What's prati... whatever?"

The six trainers heaved a sigh in unison. "Competition", Karan said.

"Oh", Sid said. "Thank you. Continue." Sanju smiled a little, shaking her head fondly.

"Sparring ke rules woh hi rakhenge. Don't be too hard. The moment blood is drawn, match khatam", Karan said. "Jo bleed kar raha hai, woh haar gaya. Agar aap apne opponent ka neck jerk karte ho toh bhi aap jeette ho. If you pin your opponent for 10 seconds toh aap jeet gaye. Are the rules clear?"

"Sir!" The cadets echoed.

"Yeh baat hui sparring ki", Karan continued. "Ab aate hain competition par." He patted the box that sat on one of the benches. "Iss mein tum sab logon ke naam hai. Sanidhya bimaar hai isliye bache tum 48 cadets. Charlie, tumhaara ek cadet missing hai, toh tum mein se ek dobara spar karega. You can choose who goes the second round. Whoever wins gets 2 points. Match draw hua, toh 1 each and jo haara, use 0 points."

"Ab prize bhi bata dete hain", Faizi said. "Jo subgroup jeetega, use do din ke liye weapon training karne ko milegi. Matlab, guns." The cadets looked at each other in surprise, eyes lit up in excitement. "So, try your best, cadets."

"Are you ready?" Karan asked.

"YES SIR!" The cadets shouted, grins on their faces.

Sanju grabbed the box, as Ustaad ji went to the board, writing the names of the seven subgroups at the top. "Sabse pehlo", she announced. "Alpha se Megha, aur Echo se Sonakshi."

Karan leaned against the wall, as the spars went on. "Sun", he said, leaning over to Faizi. "Tujhe kya lagta hai? Kaun jeetega?"

"Foxtrot", Faizi said. "Achhe fighters hain."

He hummed. "Tujhe kya lagta hai? Monami lad legi?"

Faizi hesitated. "Nahi. Sparring mein thoda aggression toh zaroori hai."

Karan grinned lightly. "Hazaar ki shart."

"Theek hai. Par hum bhi chahte hain ki hum yeh shart haar jaaye." He glanced at her. "Hum bhi dekhna chahte hain ki aisi kitni khunkaar sherni dikhti hain tumhe iske andar ki bina confidence ke bhi jeet jaayegi."

He smirked. "Bahut khunkaar hai. Tu darr jaayega."

Faizi looked at Koel. "Koel jeetegi?" He asked. "Shart lagaani hai?"

"Koel par? Mujhe haarne ka koi shauk nahi hai. Pakka jeetegi. Peetkar aayegi." Karan chuckled slightly at Faizi's grin.

"Foxtrot se Siddharth aur Bravo se Tushar", Sanju announced. Karan narrowed his eyes, glaring unhappily at Tushar. He would love to chop that annoying brat into pieces, and stuff him into his punching bag.

"Go, Bhai ji!" Bala cheered, clapping and whistling.

Sid stepped on, offering a friendly grin to Tushar. He stared back with narrowed eyes. Sid's smile wavered, and he shrugged, bending his knees slightly and holding his hands up.