TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING
Witnessing the Combined Graduation Parade at Air Force Academy had filled us with pride. The perfection and smartness on parade, truly reflected the virtues of regimen and discipline.
Even so, many of us couldn't help but notice two major variations in the parade.
The parade commander’s words of command were stretched much longer than normal. This resulted in monotonous, long-drawn-out commands. Most of us simply accepted the change. But a revered senior seated next to me didn’t hide his disappointment at this trend coming to AFA. "This style of command has come to AFA through the IMA and NDA route", he said.
We also noticed that pauses within multiple movements, in response to commands like Salami Shastra and Baju Shastra, were made longer than necessary. External prompts on the public address system were now required for synchronising movements.
This parade took me 50 years back, to the Passing Out Parade of my senior course. The words of command by the parade commander, Pilot Officer RL Kamath, still ring fresh in my mind. I recall those words of command as crisp and yet rhythmic with changing tones. The loud and clear commands, not lost in monotones, were well understood by those in the galleries also.
An extra pause was introduced between movements. The parade couldn’t adapt to the new timing. But the chief instructor didn’t want the timing indicated by ‘clicks’ on the PA system. Well, we got it right when an instructor asked us to sing with him, “1-check-left-rt-2, check-left-rt-3.. check-left-rt-10. Just one extra pause had indeed made the parade movements look elegant.
It's human to push the limits of what is aesthetic, effective and furthermore, appreciated. But too much of a good thing may become overwhelming. This is what seems to have happened with our parade. Stretching the lengths of commands and pauses hasn’t done well for the overall effect.
Should we have to follow the Army? We made a change in our manner of saluting in 2005. The distinct Air Force salute has been acknowledged as one of the smartest, besides being uniquely identified with an air warrior. Keeping the basic parade structure same, hopefully we can bring back truly rhythmic commands and crisp movements.
Witnessing Ceremonial Parades continues to give us veterans a sense of pride. Comparisons with our times come out naturally. One sure thing.. Today's Air Warrior is outstanding. Whatever he does would be better than us!
Air Mshl PV Athawale
