When television host Manish Paul set foot on the Border Security Force camp in Jammu, little did he know of the challenges that lay ahead for him. From playing kabaddi with jawans, to performing arduous drills, to witnessing talented men sing and dance before him, Paul was rather taken aback at the vast repository of talent that our armed forces often house.

His afternoon began with an a visit to the Martyr’s memorial, where he spent a moment of silence remembering those who gave their lives for the nation.

The silence was gradually overtaken by the dynamism of the jawans, who then went on to perform a series of difficult drills. The first drill on display was monkey rope – a task in which jawans climbed up a rope vertically and then moved along it horizontally, some even with rifles on their back. It is here that Manish, too, faced his first task – something that he successfully completed.

Monkey rope reminded Paul of a similar event in his school days, which left him with “bruised palms.”

The next challenge ahead of Paul was Kabaddi, where he was literally grabbed by the players, as soon as stepped into the opponent’s territory. After tasting defeat at the hands of the jawans, Paul bantered that he had gone in “with the intention to hug.”

He also fired a rifle, filled with fake bullets, and posed with them for selfies. Following this, the programme shifted indoors, where Paul began by asking jawans to imitate their favourite bollywood characters. From Shah Rukh Khan to Amitabh Bachchan to Salman Khan, the jawans left no stone unturned in delivering dialogues most iconic to the three superstars.

But the best part of the day was reserved for jawans whose vocals and dancing skills left Paul in awe.