Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla revisits NDA, surprises Hunter Squadron Cadets with push-ups

Shubhanshu Shukla recently headed back to a place that clearly still holds a massive piece of his heart - the National Defence Academy, and what started as a standard official visit ended up becoming something way more emotional than he probably expected.

He was back at the NDA to give a guest lecture, but the second he stepped through those iconic gates, you could tell the years just melted away. In a raw, nostalgic post he shared on Instagram, Shukla talked about how the nearly 24 years that have passed since he was a student suddenly felt like nothing. It was one of those "glitch in the matrix" moments where time folds in on itself, and he found himself standing face-to-face with the younger version of the boy he used to be.

Honestly, you could practically feel the nostalgia dripping off his words.

He didn’t just breeze in for the lecture and head out. He actually took the time to wander the campus, hitting all the spots that used to be the backdrop of his daily grind - the library where he probably spent countless hours, the Cadets’ Mess, and, of course, his old stomping grounds at Hunter Squadron. Every corner he turned seemed to trigger a new memory, reminding him of the grit, the brotherhood, and the high-pressure experiences that essentially built him from the ground up.

There was one moment in particular that really seemed to hit home.

Standing in Habibullah Hall - the very place where he used to sit as a cadet, probably daydreaming or scribbling notes during lectures - Shukla found himself on the other side of the podium. This time, he was the one on stage, looking out at a fresh batch of wide-eyed cadets. It’s the kind of full-circle moment that’s honestly hard to put into words, and he admitted it felt surreal. For him, it wasn’t just about "giving a speech"; it was about occupying that same physical space as a completely transformed person, shaped by decades of life and intense career milestones.

But it wasn’t all formal and serious. There were some great, lighter moments, too. While hanging out with the current cadets of Hunter Squadron, Shukla actually dropped down and joined them for a round of push-ups. It was a small, spontaneous move, but it instantly stripped away the "senior official" vibe. It was his way of saying that no matter how high he’s climbed or how many titles he’s earned, a part of him still belongs to that world and that brotherhood.

And then there was one tiny detail that really stuck with me.

When he was introduced to the Adjutant during the visit, Shukla’s body just took over - he instinctively snapped to attention. There was no overthinking it, no second-guessing - just pure, deep-seated muscle memory kicking in after twenty-odd years. It was such a quiet, powerful reminder of how deeply that academy training gets under your skin. It stays with you forever, long after you’ve hung up the uniform or moved on to new things.

Looking back on the whole trip, Shukla didn’t talk about the NDA as just a school or an institution. To him, it’s something much bigger and harder to define. It’s a standard of living, a permanent internal compass that’s almost impossible to explain to someone who hasn't lived through it.

He spoke with so much pride about being part of that legacy, noting how places like the NDA never truly leave you. Even when life takes you in wild, completely different directions - even into space, in his case - those roots stay wrapped around you in ways you can't really shake off.

And maybe that’s why this visit felt so heavy and special.

It wasn’t just a trip back to a campus in Pune. It was a return to a version of himself that still quietly lives inside him—a version forged by those brutal early mornings, the tough-as-nails drills, the shared struggles with his mates, and the lessons that never get old.

Some places don’t just give you memories. They literally become the fabric of who you are.