All good things come to an end. The Spice Jet flight was ready to take us homewards to Mumbai after an incredibly memorable trip covering across several favorite destinations (including Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonamarg) over ten days ending with capital Srinagar. As we ascended to the blue skies, like a kaleidoscope images flashed across of majestic, magnificent mountains and the rivers gushing, the lush meadows, gurgling streams and gorges, the grazing animals to the breathtaking flora that assume amazing hues as if nature was at its best form ! Cliched it may sound we’re as near ‘Jannat’ as never before.
Yet, images also lingered that with this beautiful backdrop of natural grandeur has been a long story of political turmoil and upheaval and scenes of valour and sacrifice in fierce battles fought on most difficult terrains & of the vigilant soldiers deployed everywhere. There are many perspectives apart from a tourist’s view, so here’s a ‘ground one’ I got ! The insight came from a inscrutable young man curled up in window seat next to me.
I really didn’t notice him but he had measured us up as archetypal tourists. ‘Did you visit North Kashmir, it has less discovered sights that’re amazing’. I guessed that he was 22 years old so I asked him what he did. I bolted upright as he calmly said ‘I’m an Army Officer (Artillery) posted near Kupwara since the last ten months, am going on a 20 day holiday to my home in Nasik’. He was an NDA product and looked boyish. He confessed that being from such a place initially, when he was first posted to a base at 12000 feet & where temps went down to – 23 degrees and snow all around, he struggled to survive.
To show my patriotic fervor I told him we had gone way up to Leh to see the Memorial for the ‘Kargil Heroes’. The said that his Unit had also fought in that War and they had many untold true stories. About his job, what he explained was unbelievable. The ‘Big Guns’ weigh as much as 17000 kgs when put together and so when the war is on the high terrain and steep mountains, the Guns are dismantled and the entire unit (with the help of loaders) physically carry the parts up the mountains, (which one would never dream of even attempting to climb) and then again reassemble it, ready for firing . I was looking at this young man with sheer amazement, imagining sheer physical endurance.
‘How long will you be here in Kashmir, I queried’ ? He said that by next April, he would be promoted as Captain and get another posting. He explained that Army really needed its Officers to command the troops and it couldn’t afford to waste them. On our asking, what the Jawans did the whole day just standing, he said he would get up at 4 am when he commanded a surveillance troop across the city watching the entry of every vehicle. We told him that Army was doing a great job but for long ? He said that the Army had by now employed almost 50% of the labour in its various activities specially as loaders. The flight was about to land. He had moved on with a languid pace. I had not asked his name.. but it doesn’t matter. These are the nameless and faceless men in uniform who are on their feet day and night, ready to protect their people and defend their country !
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