Making of a King

Teak was carrying forward his family tradition of the eldest son acquiring military training. While his predecessors had been sent to academies in Europe and the US, the king chose the Indian Military Academy (IMA) for him.

‘‘I have four younger brothers. All of them are having loads of fun while I am carrying forward the tradition,’’ says Teak, who feigns a sulk, but then gives the joke away with a childlike grin.

Today, after nearly two gruelling years of training with the IMA, and a brief stint as a lieutenant, Teak looks like he hasn’t had enough.

After he got the commission in January this year, Teak was assigned to the 61st Cavalry, the elite horse regiment of the army, headquartered in Jaipur.

And every moment of his stint in India, which may end soon, has been memorable. ‘‘I was never treated like a prince and never made to feel I was special. That is what the king had sent me here for—a common man’s life,’’ he says.

His title, in fact, marked him out for that extra bit of ragging from the seniors in the Academy. ‘‘They would ask everyone to do 100-150 push-ups. And then ask me to do another 30 for my country. That way, I ended up getting ragged more than the other cadets.’’ He is also unlikely to forget the time he watched his first film at the Academy, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. ‘‘I was made to watch it with my face on the floor and legs on the chair.’’ No wonder, he never took a liking to Bollywood. ‘‘I like watching English films on my DVD. Bollywood masala is too heavy for me.’’

The spartan life of a cadet wasn’t something that bothered him much. ‘‘When I was a child I was told I’d be sent to India. So I was mentally prepared. Also, my schooling in Australia helped me get in touch with the realities of life,’’ he says.

The trip to India is, in fact, a welcome change for Teak, who has to put up with a dozen bodyguards and the relative lack of privacy in

his country. ‘‘But nobody knows me here. I have all the freedom in the world. How I will miss it when I go back,’’ he says.

Teak is passionate about polo, a game he has quickly mastered since he joined the army. ‘‘In Malaysia I could organise my own polo match whenever I wanted to with just a clap. Here, we all have to wait for the commanding officer’s permission. But that’s discipline.’’

His regiment, which has produced the best polo players in the country, has benefitted from his passion. Recently, his father gifted 28 polo ponies bred in Argentina to the team. “We want the team to get better,” says Teak.

The horses and a Ford Endeavour his father gifted him are the only luxuries he’s been allowed. ‘‘My grandfather is very strict. Recently when I got injured in a polo game, he came all the way from Malaysia to see me. And guess what he told me: ‘Come on boy. Be a man. Get on with life’.’’

The exacting schedule has turned the once overweight boy (90 kg with a 42-inch waist) into a handsome young officer. Like any other young officer, he should be much sought after by the girls, right?

‘‘Who has the time for them? Anyway, I have a girlfriend back home who resembles Aishwarya Rai. Why should I think of anyone else?’’