My frenz and rest wud hav grown up lovin celebs nd other stuff but I….I am proud to say…I grew up loving the army…our army…my army! It was nd is my first love….i loved my dadz unifrm…I loved the stars he had on his shoulders nd obviously I loved the parties, d parades, the bands (nd nowadays YOs…hehehehe…ummm..fr civie frens…YO = young offcrs)…dere was nd is nuthin else I loved soooo passionately as d army….i wud try fitting into my dads shoes as a kid nd I tried wearing his beret nd I wud salute d sepoys nd sentries nd den smile d widest smile dey wud hav ever seen….i grew up in a fairytale wrld wid my mum narrating stories of fairies nd charming princes but I was craving fr a deeper reality….sumthin wich I saw everyday…my own wrld in ma dads unit!….fr dose who haven’t known army its difficult explaining why ur unit is called ur family…..it was my fantasy wrld…I belonged dere….
Chandigarh(1996): I nd dad went to d mess fr a party…nd I saw a young man…fair nd smart..(ummm..i hav had dis thing fr fair guys ever since I was a kiddie…hehehehe)
Me: “Whoz he daddy?”
Dad: “Hes a bachelor”
Me:” What’s a bachelor??”
Dad: “unmarried men”
ND that’s hw I came to noe what a “bachelor” means…I used to adore dis uncle ( gee…hav to use it!)
Kashmir 1999: dad was posted dere nd kargil was on….mahn….hav u felt dat??? Havin ur father away at war nd all u can do is wait…calling was not easy nd I saw my mum worry wid rumours cumin up like a bombardment where dad was posted…nd mum wud freak out( actually bombs were indeed dropped where dad was stationed)…I used to miss dad a LOT nd wud cry silently into d night when mum wudnt be watching…bcoz I din want to shw her dat I was “weak”…but we kids we weren’t aware of things like death….we KNEW dat our fathers wud returned!! I remember dis young man (I salute him) who I used to respect coz he was soooo nice wid us kids nd wud give us chocolates to eat (as kids, uncle + chocolates = nice man!)….i dun remember his face but I remember wishing all good things fr him…..one night in my dream I saw gun shots…nobody had told me dat a martyred soldier is given respect wid 21 gun salutes…I heard in d morn dat he had sacrificed his life fr us…..i cudnt believe it…I never knew death…hw cud he hav died??? …I KNEW he wud return nd I kept telling myself dat nxt tym I visit dad he wud be there…he HAD to return…hw cud bad EVER happen nd dat too to a gentleman like him..”he wud return…I hav seen it,…ppl survive gun shots….he IS alive”…nd I cry nw when I remember hw hard it was wen I didn’t see him dere…..he was indeed gone…hw cud he???…but I din cry….i wanted to b strong…..
My fren lost her father to kargil nd I remember cryin wid her at school…..WHY Him…WHY NOT PAKIS…WHY GOD???? My dads next posting made me frget kargil….
When I saw RDB nd d flight Lt guy is being given 21 gun salutes everything came rushing back,….all dat which was buried deep in my heart nd I cried my eyes out…sumthin which I hadn’t dun as a kid bcoz death was unreal….but my magic had died….d magic which made me BELIEVE dat dey wud all return …d martyrs…nd their wives nd kids wud laugh once again…….but I also remember d gud tyms…”WE WON>>>WE WON KARGIL”…..i had been escalated…nd we had our mini celebration in dat small park in jammu cantt….
Kashmir(2008): I had been on a holiday nd d sun was setting , we were crossing a pass….16000 ft…nd dere as light fell on a board I read it, “AS YOU GO HOME TELL THEM OF US FOR THEIR TOMORROW WE GAVE OUR TODAY”…I stared hard….nd in dat lonely moment I realized that my soldiers had fought in dere …when I was wrapped in shawls…dey had been dere…alone in dose frigid nights…(18 grenadiers widout sleepin bags)…a chill ran dwn my spine…dey had laid dwn dere lives for us…for me…..
We stayed for one night at dis transit camp…Petsui….13000 ft….it was AWESOME!!!!! Dere was a vast expand of absolute nothingness…just snowcapped mountains which I adore nd streams nd ARMY…yes nuthin but army dere! Little camps nd as d convoys passed me…I luked up nd smiled….”thnx fr protecting us…thnx fr takin care of us….we love u….I love u…will always….take care nd do cum back derez sumone waitin at home especially fr u…..”
k(R.C.)
rubaina (10:19:12) :
…i love kashmir….
