Which ‘Day’ was it TODAY? KARGIL VIJAY DIVAS!!

Did we remember?

I was quite amused when I had come to know for the very first time that something called Rose Day and Valentine’s Day existed when I started college after high school. What a discovery! Posters stuck here and there that were screaming out Valentine's Day and Rose Day messages on the faces of the passersby, Archie's Cards shops overflowing with cards conveying lovey-dovey messages and the young college goers flocking towards the display of these cards to buy the one with the best message.....that was the scene so totally new to me. On the contrary, now, it would be amusing if the children of today are unaware of these days. What a dud!

Then we know of all sorts of days, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Women’s Day, Chocolate Day, Kiss Day apart from the important commemorative days.....the list is endless.

Last morning, I was pleased to be reminded of the importance of the day by my friend and school classmate Mitul, who is the wife of an Army Officer. An active member of the AWWA (Army Wives Welfare Association), she posted an image on Whatsapp that set me wondering how conveniently most of us forget the sacrifices of our Armed Forces Personnel and move on with our respective lives.

My memory jogged back to year 2000 when I had taken up an assignment with a new firm in Mumbai. All the employees had recently joined as it was a very new set up by a multinational company. A beautiful young girl caught my attention. I wondered why! She was just like any other girl. Something about her face and expressions struck me and intuitively I knew there was a missing link.

Eventually, news traveled and I got to know that she was the widow of a young Army Officer, a Captain, who had sacrificed his life for the country. They were married recently then, and he had had to soon move to his post in Kargil. I could see that lost look in her eyes, dreams shattered, yet the courage and poise she exhibited in moving on with life was something that made her stand out.

So in response to the image posted by Mitul, our other friend Preeti responded with snippets of her days in the Indian Army as Major Preeti Menon. We complete the trio of the school classmates that met after 25 years, since we parted ways from our time together in Kendriya Vidyalaya, Fort William, Calcutta.

Preeti: “I can’t imagine that this time in 1999, I was a part of this…seems like a different lifetime and different person altogether."

Me: “A matter of pride Preet to have such memories….”

Preeti: “Yes for a minute I could see it all so vividly, my tent, my office tent, my ration store tent, counting personal ammunition every morning and night, sleeping with your personal weapons, evenings with fellow officers…..good times….when I look back, then we were just waiting for it to get over.”

(It took 60 days.....26th May-26th July)

Me: “Goosebumps!” (I am still getting those Goosebumps as I am documenting this.)

Mitul: “I personally knew some of the martyrs. It was like a ringside view of the war. Hope never to face it again.”

Preeti: “True, all these 'divas' can only be celebrated by those who are alive….”

Me: “But sadly it’s forgotten by most of us!” (I too hadn’t remembered it.)

Can we possibly fathom the intensity and magnitude of the scenario beyond our imagination that is usually guided by visuals from films and news clips compared to what our soldiers have lived through or died for? Ones like Preeti who have witnessed it and the others like Mitul, the families who waited upon the return of these valiant breed; they are a testimony of real unity in diversity bonded by the pledge of one mission, the call of duty and the spirit of going beyond this call.

The soldiers, sailors and airmen, they are certainly a different clan. They rise above all the regional barriers of language, caste, community colour, socio-cultural backgrounds, united by their pledge and brotherhood, for just one purpose and that is to protect their country from its foes. Even today its just that one goal, to safeguard their country from terrorists, intruders, external attacks and be ever-ready to hold their posts in the battlefield. They are simply Indians and they hold no prejudices of what their origin is. Being a sailor’s daughter, I resonate with the pride and dignity of these brave-hearts and their families, and these words that are stuck outside the Principal’s Office in Army Public School, Bengaluru……..

This is my bit in honour of our brave-hearts. The Leadership Skills and Team Spirit they learn, imbibe, exhibit and pass on are unmatched. They could teach us a many lessons about the skills and attitudes we strive to develop in the corporate scenario. And here's the song that my children often get engrossed listening to repeatedly, and they get charged up with that feeling of valour, patriotism and gratitude rushing through them. That sensation is devoid of 'What's in it for me?'

"Either I will come back after hoisting the tricolor, or I will come back wrapped in it, but I will be back for sure."~~~Capt. Vikram Batra, PVC

Jai Hind!