When we celebrate, we must give a thought to those who are in their bunkers day and night

When we celebrate, we must give a thought to those who are in their bunkers day and night

Year 2001, operation Parakram, punjab pak border- every time, be it day or night, whenever we go to our particular bunkers, we used a thick stick to ward off the snakes who had been occupying our bunkers, at times we found them inside our sleeping bags. Such things are still happening....

Year 2001, operation Parakram- natural calamities such as flash floods ate away young soldiers, such things are still happening...

Year 2001, Operation Parakram- we, the Ghatak team, special mission party stayed underground at the border, sleeping from first light to last light and awake from last light to first light, guarding the motherland so that no infiltrators come during inclement weathers and darkest hours. Our three meals for the day used to come by 0330 hrs. We suffered from indigestion because of the cold from the mud beneath. Such things are still happening...

At many happening pubs across the country, people are still dancing till 0400 hrs. Many people are bewildered wondering how to spend their coming weekend, which 5 star hotel to visit, which dresses to show off....and they are still confused as they have far too many choices, such things are still happening...

Year 2001, Operation Parakram- the chilly winters of Dec, Jan, Feb, the entire country were cosying up, warming themselves up with room heaters, bhukharis and there we were waiting for last light to happen to establish minefields, working all nights, digging  6 feet height underground tunnels, such things are still happening...

Year 2002, when the situation became normal, I spent one whole month retrieving all the mines that was laid 6 months before. Man, it was hell of an experience, as due to seasonal change like monsoon, all the anti personel mines got drifted. I worked extra harder with a lot of pressures...pressures of going slow, there were days where i could retrieved 30 mines in a day and there were days where i found only one mine a day after almost digging the size of a mini swimming pool. My team faced sufferings from all quarters as we were slow in the process but we ensured that we found all mines so that the villagers and animals of the village do not suffer later on. Such things are still happening...

Year 2003, Khanpur camp, Delhi- while on preparation to represent the country as ambassadors for United Nation peacekeeping, we guys really sweated a lot. People crib about Delhi weather, about the frequent power cuts, about the extreme heats...we guys braved it all seasons living in tentages, such things are still happening...

Year 2004- Lebanon, during UN peacekeeping , we had overflowing rations. We were getting 740 varieties of ration. Rations from across the world. However, after every 14 days, we had to dig ditches to throw away the extra rations. We could not distribute to the poor people, neither to the villagers, as medias were always hungry to write negative stories about armed forces. When we even distributed biscuits to the children in the street during our patrolling, medias used to report, UN personnel selling rations...medias always project negative image about armed forces. There are so many umpteen good deeds and welfare measures that we guys do in the remotest villages, however the medias are never interested in highlighting those things as it would never give good TRP ratings. However, they would jump like hungry wolves in scandals, scams, such things are still happening...

Year 2005- Battalik, guarding the LOC at inhospitable terrain, we were deprived of basic amenities in life. Electricity were replaced by lanterns, green colour(chlorophyll) was replaced by snow white, STD telephone communication was replaced by handwritten letters, the most dangerous enemies were the natural environmental hazards, snow bite, gangrene, frost bite, avalanch. Such things are still happening...

Year 2005- Batallik- i was with 120 soldiers, each one of us was getting 10 mins time to use STD phone to speak home once a week. Many times, the soldiers spent 6-8 minutes on trying to get it connected and could speak for 2 minutes just to give all okay report at home. Such things are still happening...

There were times where the pressure cooking stove bursted killing soldiers, burning weapons at those extreme dangerous climate. Such things are still happening...

Indpendence day midnight:- Pakistanis were decorating their post from 13-14 Aug midnight. They put around 1000 kerosene lamps across the LOC. The entire we, were collecting used cans, lamps to prepare it the best Independence day celebration ever. We collected over 4000 used cans, filled it up with kerosene and twigs, and man, with full pride and enthusiasm we were lighting those lamps on independence day midnight. We were refilling it with kerosene till the first light. All our chest were swelled with pride. Such things are still happening...

Dec 2005- i was supposed to go on two months leave for my sister’s marriage. Leave already sanctioned from 01 Nov as my sister’s wedding was on 14 Dec, and it was going to be church wedding as well as hindu wedding. However, snowfall started and my reliever came by 01 Dec. My sister who was teaching at shillong those days, took leave for 4 days, went home , arranged everything for the wedding and rejoined her school as students final exam was approaching. As i reached home by 04 Dec, everything was done, all invitations cards distributed. All preparations were completed. I felt like a lump of stinking shit, useless guy to the family when i was needed the most. Well, i was engaged protecting the country at the cost of family. Such is the soldier’s life and such things are still happening...

Flash flood in Leh- when the entire people are trying to move out to safer places, we soldiers were rushing to the dangerous spot, playing with our lives, to save some other lives. Such are selfless soldiers. Such things are still happening...