From Shaken Cadets to Lifesavers: The Haunting Memory of Latur
The earth didn't shudder, it roared. Like a monstrous beast awakened, the ground beneath our feet at the National Defence Academy in Khadakwasla, Pune, erupted into a violent dance. September 30th, 1993, began not with reveille, but with chaos. Doors jammed, lights flickered out, and the air crackled with a raw, primal fear.
The dust settled, revealing a world tilted on its axis. News trickled in, each syllable a hammer blow: Latur, Maharashtra, decimated by an earthquake, lives extinguished in the blink of an eye. The numbers climbed, a macabre symphony of loss: 30,000 souls swallowed by the earth's fury.
A call went out, a plea for volunteers. It wasn't a question, it was a summons to action. We, the NDA cadets, were soldiers-in-training, but on that day, we became something else: ...