A Glimpse of The Major
Those
days I was serving in a private company.
My father had come to see us. He
had retired from his Defense Services.
He retired as a Major. He was
well built handsome came from a
village. With his hard work and sharpness he was promoted as 2nd lieutenant in the Army. He was married to a beautiful lady(my mother)
from the same village.
We
were, huge family of three brothers and five sister was like the Sound of
Music..
Do
Re Mi Fa So La Te Do……..
That
day, I was thrilled that father would come and see my posh office. I introduced him to my Boss. My boss granted me leave and so I spent the
hours with my father visiting the shops and purchasing things…
Later
we sat in a café for coffee…we chatted. His sparkling eyes wore a tired look.-
we returned home.
I
had realized father was aging. At night
massaged his feet with oil. My hands
felt the scars, bullets had pierced during war.
Memories kindled I could vishualise the harsh yesteryears. Fighting and
braving the attacks of the enemy. He had
narrated us his encounters in the harsh snowladen mountains
I
remember his bottle green uniform, decked up with medels.. we kids used to take
pride in polishing them. He had risen
from 2nd lieutenant to Major.
Father was stationed to
different places. He could get leave for
a couple of days to visit his family.
Life was very hard. During war
(with China in 1962) he was posted to remote place(NEFA Border).
We
families of our Regiment were stationed at Srinagar. It was like a big
community living together. Our happiness
and sorrow shared together.
I
recall the Sirens, the troops petrolling
in the streets. Our mother was a brave
lady taking care of her small childrens.
At
night there was total blackout. The
darkness and marauding planes would frighten us. The day, too did not feel secure . The news from the border was the topic in
every mouth. Where air raids from the
enemy had taken place? How many jawans
and officers were killed! How did the
enemy get to know the strategy of Commanding Officer with his troops stationed
…His area was bombarded! The slain body
was brought home to pay the respect from his near and dear ones.(A close friend
of my father.) Last rights were performed.
The Gun Salute reverberated the sky.
The
pangs of war victims are still there..vivid
No
news we received of our father.
Wives
of the Officers of our Regiment would gather .
Together with the families of the Jawans, kintted sweaters, glovers
socks mufflers for the jawans . Food
items too were packed and sent at the border. The winter was unbearable. They(Jawans) were short of
armaments etc. entailing large scale combat at the altitude of
4,250meters(14,000 ft). The worst
conditions they encountered.
Days
passed , and one day on the 20th Nov1962
the ceasefire was declared by the enemy.
It withdrew its forces from the disputed area. At last the war was over..
The
day dawned when Father knocked our door.
Our joys knew no bounds. Mother
and we thanked the Almighty for his return from the battle.
2 comments:
Not knowing whether one's father is going to return or not is very terrifying ! I and Gitu grew up listening to these stories. I did not understand the significance then. I was too young and innocent. Now I realise that this account sounds almost straight out of a movie starring Dharmendra !!.
I still see Him..fresh in my memory. He is standing straight at our doorstep..beaming, wearing his trademark hat with a booming voice. The Man had so much influence even though he could spend little time with me. Shows his depth of character.
Parag,
It is indeed a live drama we have faced with our father in Military!..I intend to write his biography which will yield all the episodes he went through! We are proud that we are his children. A Brave Dad's wonderful children.
luv
mom
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