“Your inner strength will guide you in amassing good fortune, and your physical strength will empower you in fighting for it.” How simple it seems yet so concrete and ennobling, this is what they teach you at the home of fitness, the den of lions, the provenance of courage and valour. I never knew about stories of bravery, will power and substance that reside in the Army School of Physical Training (ASPT) until I actually visited it as a part of the Paragliding Course-Civil 2016.
On February 21, with the other participants and of the Civil Paragliding course, I arrived at the ASPT. The hospitable environment and the serene skies warmed our hearts. We were guided to our respective rooms that included a mini fridge and an LCD TV, which obviously we never got a chance to use because of our tight and stringent routine. From February 22-25, every morning we woke up at 5:30am, preparing our sleep-dripping eyes and lazy bones for a better and bigger day.
At 6:25am sharp we were to rush to the mess for breakfast, which we needed to complete in about10 to 15 minutes, not a minute more, not a minute less. At about 6:35am we needed to run, crawl or fly to the main ground for morning fall-in. That was when the actual drill started. And if I phrase it that it was like when you get chills under brooding sunlight it would not be wrong. From 6:40am onwards our ground training used to start. No, it was not something like running here or jumping there; it was something far more adventurous. We were to function in full military way, starting from the morning mile, following more miles if not done properly at first, then again running rounds of the main ground with the glider on and spirits high.
A normal paraglider has a full-sized reserve, harness and other accessories, which mostly weighs about 45lbs, so the struggle to run with the wind carrying all that weight was one tough nut to crack. The course is divided into three phases. Starting from ground training that prepares one for ramp training, and finally, the glorious final jump from the mountains of Mang. The ASPT not only improved our physical capabilities but also challenged our mental limits.
We were to memorise all the details of a glider. Starting from wing, which is also called a canopy or sail (the wing is what actually helps the pilot to fly); lines or risers (rigging cords usually of four or five different colours, efficient for different purposes attached to the underside of the canopy, named as A lines, B lines, C lines, and the most important ones, the break lines, all are used to control the glider); and the mighty harness. A harness is basically a soft chair that provides support and balance to the pilot while on the flight, and it also keeps the pilot safe for it has multiple straps that provide the pilot to gain full balance and lumbar support. Now comes the favourite part: helmet. And of course a pilot can simply not fly without it.
The training is surely tiresome and intense, but once you take off from the magnificent mountains for your final jump, air pressing against your raw skin, the majestic sight of the land sends waves of realisation of being away from the earth and closer to the glorious sky, closer to its blues and hues. Nothing can feel the way it feels then. That is when you thank your Lord Almighty for the wonders He has created and for the world you live in.
Before the partition, the regiment centre of the army physical training corps was at Ambala. After the partition, the Muslim staff of the corps was shifted to Pakistan, and the army school of physical training was established at Chaklala, which was later shifted to Tobe Camp at Kakul in August 1948. In 1978, it was renamed as the army school of mountain warfare and physical training, and shifted to its present location. In September 2000, the school was renamed as the Army School of Physical Training, and the mountain wing was shifted to Rattu. This school is located at Kakul, about nine kilometres from Abbottabad. It conducts numerous courses per year, which include Officers Physical Training Course, Unit’s Physical Training Instructor Course, Advance Physical Training Course, Hang Gliding Course, Unarmed Combat Course, Sports Coaching Courses and Paragliding Course. Every year, the school offers six to seven civilian paragliding courses, eight to 12 paragliding courses for cadet colleges, and paragliding courses for officers and ex army personnel.
It has been months since the course ended, but the discipline, tolerance, punctuality, and will power the ASPT has inculcated in me will forever reside within me. Above all, what sends shivers down the spine is the mere fact that it rekindled the meaning of life, and living the life one is blessed with, immersed in other core values and blessings. And maybe it is not just me but every individual who has ever been to the ASPT for some course experiences the same thing. I will forever keep the promise I made to the worthy staff while leaving the ASPT that no matter where I go, and where I stand, I will always serve my nation in all possible ways, by all possible means, for the ASPT mark beginnings and no ends.
The writer is a paraglider, and can be reached at [email protected]