Gaurav Hridaya attributes his fascination for the Armed Forces to the years spent at Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), Dehra Dun. “It was there that I interacted with many dedicated officers and found the motivation to choose a soldier’s life,” he said.

On Sunday, he not only realised his childhood dream and graduated from the NDA, Khadakwasla, but also proved to be a cut above the rest.

He was awarded the President’s gold medal for standing first in the overall order of merit of the passing out parade of the 116th course.

“It’s an incredible feeling. I grew up wanting to join the Army. I thank all those who recognised my hard work at the academy, my mentor at RIMC, V K Rai and my parents who supported me,” said Hridaya, who hails from Uttar Pradesh. His father works with Parag Dairy in Meerut and his mother is a housewife.

A cousin, Maj Abhinav Navneet, is now posted in the city while his uncle Lt Col D K Sinha is serving in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

“We are all proud and hope he keeps setting examples for his contemporaries throughout his career,” Sinha said.

Hridaya is looking forward to going back to where it all began, Dehra Dun. “The Indian Military Academy will be a challenging journey,” he said.

For the family of silver medal winner Prabhat Singh Rana, whose father and elder brother are doctors; this is the first tryst with the uniform. Interestingly, it was again the RIMC way of life that introduced Rana to “the world of uniform, discipline and valour.”

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