Reminiscing the Bharat Darshan
Former POTUS Barack Obama is a big fan of Jazz. He said, “There is something fearless and true about jazz. This is truth-telling music.” And if you ask jazz musicians, it is the improvisation allowed in jazz that makes it fearless, letting each musician leave their own identity in the musical landscape. Bharat Darshan, also known as the Winter Study Tour of the IAS probationers, had no such room for improvisation. It was planned in great detail, with most places having 180 of us simultaneously. We moved like a giant mad elephant, leaving ruckus and chaos on our way. The schedule had little flexibility except for the few times we were in smaller groups of 15-20 people. We began our journey with full enthusiasm, at 4 AM on the 2nd of May. Little did we know morning fights were going to be the norm than the exception. The first attachment was with the army base somewhere in Tinsukia, Assam. We lived with the army for the next 1 week and learned their ways. It was here that I discov