However, as she would discover over the years, the army was a lot more than what those words implied. In these delightful vignettes, the author introduces us to little-known aspects of life behind the cantonment walls. It's a world that flummoxes her with cryptic messages like 'sab Tik Tok hai' and 'guarding the igloo' (in the searing heat of the Indian plains). Where wives of army personnel are veritable ichhadharis, shape-shifting beings, who can take on multiple avatars over the course of a day. It is also a world that unfolds scenarios that never cease to surprise her even after all these years, a world where Murphy's Law is forever waiting in the shadows to strike.

Quirky and fun, Drills, Thrills and Spills: An Army Wife's Tales brings together two disparate worlds and demonstrates how what emerges from the collision is a whole new experience that exemplifies 'method in madness. Or should that be madness in the method?