Lieutenant Commander Ashwant P is on cloud nine. The sense of pride is very much evident from his voice, when he says that a team of 54 NCC cadets consisting of 18 girls and 36 boys, led by him, has completed a 10-day backwater expedition. They traversed a distance of about 400km through the backwaters of Kochi and Kollam. According to the Naval Unit, the event was conducted to acquaint the cadets with long-distance backwater voyage and nuances of sailing and pulling, to develop a spirit of adventure and to promote team spirit among NCC cadets. The expedition was undertaken in three 27 DK whaler along with one safety boat.
Elaborating on the objective behind organising the event, Lt. Ashwant says, “It is indeed a proud moment for the Kerala Naval Unit NCC. We have accomplished a new record. Though the expedition was part of the academic activities of the NCC, the event is very special this year as it is one of our major trump cards for winning the Most Enterprising Naval Unit of the country award. That is the sole reason why we planned the event in an elaborate manner. Unlike other years, the expedition was for 10 days and not the usual eight days. The distance covered was also longer. In addition to this, we indulged in Swachh Bharat Abhiyan activities at our stopovers.”
However, it was not that easy for Ashwant to train the students for a tougher expedition than the usual ones. The greatest challenge he faced was when the students, who were in the third year of the college, could not attend the expedition as their university exam dates coincided with those of the event. “I knew it was a challenge, but I believe that a Navy officer should always be ready to accept any challenge on the face of it. We trained the first and second year students and to my surprise, they did it brilliantly. Even the first year students became experts in a couple of days. I am glad we could victoriously complete our expedition, thus getting a step closer to the award,” he added.
