Fifth and the last part of 'Books, Books and books..'.

Regimental soldiers' always looked down upon 'book worms', yet the Schools of Instructions in the Services like to project an image of Scholar-Warriors. There is a nice promotional video clip on the subject and it is even available on the you tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muY3TF1lcmk

But God knows that you cannot do much profound thinking with a 2 kg steel helmet on your head and as an infantry soldier soldier you are more concerned about the well being of your knees than your head.

Be that as it may, Schools of Instruction like National Defence Academy, Army War College, National Defence College , and College of Defence Management boast of great libraries. These institutions get massive budgetary allotments for library and the funds are well utilized to build up quality collections on Political Science, Geopolitics , Defence Startegy, Counter-Insurgency and Counter-Terrorism. And of course , there would be an equally good collection on Psychology, Philosophy, Sociology and Self improvement.

At Armoured Corps Centere and School, I literally feasted on the history of Tank battles, by Liddel hart, Guderian, and Manstein. The effect of this reading on my grades was adverse if any; after all wide reading and army grades don't go together.

To sum up I have always been impressed with army libraries and my stay in a cantonment has always been enriched by regular visits to these libraries. It is not just the books, but the ambiance, as well. They are clean, well maintained and are surrounded by vast open spaces and plenty of greenery.

Here is a picture of St Peter's Anglican Church, at Fort William , Kolkata, built in 1784 in the Gothic style. It is presently the Eastern Command Command Library . The biblical saga narrated in the medium of stained glass is one of the finest in the country.

Today, I am glad that I chose to settle down at Mhow, with three good libraries in a radius of 2 km .

http://mi59.blogspot.com/2010/09/books-books-and-books.html

http://mi59.blogspot.com/2011/01/books-books-and-books-ii.html

http://mi59.blogspot.com/2011/01/books-books-and-books-iii.html

http://mi59.blogspot.com/2011/05/books-books-and-books-iv-regimental.html