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Till my last breath
>> Monday, February 11, 2013
Till my last breath
A Short Story by G.S.Vasu Kumar
Based on true incident
It was misty early morning of 8th January 2013, Lance Naik Hemraj Singh and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh along with other soldiers were on a patrol near the border. Suddenly, gun fires were heard from the enemy side. Lance Naik Sudhakar rushed ahead, and fired back at the enemy side. He was followed by Lance Naik Hemraj, who too opened fire at them.
‘Bharat Mata ki Jai (Glory to Mother India),’ Sudhakar cried, before he fell prey to the enemy bullets, and breathed his last breath.
‘No!’ Hemraj cried.
The bullets pierced through the thick fog and hit Hemraj. Hemraj to fell down badly wounded, he crawled to the nearby rock. He knew that he didn’t have much time left. He remembered his family.
Also he had spoken to his wife the previous day over phone. He had informed her that he would be coming home on 17th Feb. Then he did not know what the cruel destiny had in store for him the very next day morning.
He had been home in last October and left two days before Dussehra.
‘Beta, please stay back for two more days,’ His mother urged him to extend his leave, ‘so that you could celebrate the festival with us.’
‘No, Maa..I don’t want to be reprimanded by my commanding officer!’ Hemraj had replied.
The pain in his body was unbearable, but the pain that he would never ever see his family again was much more than that. He took out his family picture, which he always kept in his trouser pocket. He used to stare at this picture whenever he missed his family badly. He had one last glace at the picture in his hand. A drop of tear escaped his right eye and landed on a grass blade beside him.
Meanwhile, at some distance away from him, the enemy emerged from the fog...many held guns, while one of them had a sword in his hand. Before they could reach him…the rays of the morning sun pierced through the winter fog and touched him gently. The image became blurred and he breathed his last breath. The wind carried away the photo, which he was holding with his fingers. It flew up in the sky and then just disappeared.
***
‘Would you like to be a farmer like me when you grow up, Beta?’ His father had asked him when he was a small kid, while he was with his father in the field.
‘No, papa..’ He replied, without hesitation.
‘Then what would you like to be?’ His father asked his curiously.
‘I…I want to be a soldier when I grow up, papa!’ Hemraj said, smiling at him.
‘Shabash, Beta!’ His father said, patting gently on his back.
Hemraj has two brothers Paran and Jai, both of them are farmers like their father. Maybe, Hemraj would have been alive today, if he too had chosen it. But he never had interest in anything else other than matters of military.
The year 2001 was a big year to him. He fulfilled his ambition, joined the Rajputana Rifles and never looked back since then.
***
In the year 2003, he had gone with his family to see a girl for his marriage. He was rather shy they asked him to see her properly and give his opinion. Also when the girl came to hand him the cup of coffee, he stood up and took it from her hands.
It was then their eyes met…she liked him immediately, and so did he. It was his shyness and respect for the other person which had won Dharmavati’s heart.
‘Brother, why did you stand up? Don’t you like her?’ asked his brother Jai, pulling his leg.
‘No!’ Hemraj said, sitting down, and sipping the hot coffee. It burnt his tongue. ‘Aaaaah!’ He cried in pain.
‘Do we need to see another girl for you?’ Paran asked him.
‘ No..I..I like her…but please ask her opinion too.’ Hemraj replied.
Dharmavati just smiled at him and then blushed. She nodded her head in approval. He got married in that year. They have three children – Nirmal (8), Prince (5) and Shivani (2). Hemraj doted on Prince. Perhaps, because his birth coincided with his promotion. He bought a piece of land at Chata near Mathura- to ensure he could get his son admitted to a good school later on. He is yet to make full payment for the property.
***
Two army officers arrived at Meena Devi’s door to tell her that her son, Lance Naik Hemraj Singh (32), had died a hero’s death on the border. It was sometime later; his son’s remains being carried in a tri-colour draped coffin arrived.
‘Let me see my son one last time, Please!’ Hemraj’s mother pleaded with the officers.
‘No, Maaji..it would be too shocking for you!’ One of the officers told her and Dharmavati.
‘Maa, who is in that box?’ Prince asked his mother, tugging at her saree.
‘Your father, beta,’ She replied, ‘He is sleeping peacefully inside it!’
‘When would he wake up?’ He asked innocently, unaware that his father is no more.
‘Never, my son!’ She said, tears flowing down her cheeks.
The villagers were helpful. They provided generator sets at night and even donated 8 bighas of common village land to the family for the cremation. Hemraj was cremated with over 6,000 mourners, barely 300 meters from his home, at 9 pm on Wednesday with soldiers firing volleys to salute to the real life hero, Hemraj Singh.
Army chief, General Bikram Singh visited the family later to pay his tribute before the portrait of Lance Naik Hemraj Singh at Shernagar village, near Mathura, in Uttar Pradesh.
The villagers want him to receive an Ashok Chakra, but then they also want to build a memorial in his name there. He will always be an inspiration for the coming generations. They still have nine others from the village on duty at the border.
***
Thirty-year-old Sudhakar Singh returned to his village, not striding into his small home as usual, but in a coffin draped in the Indian Tricolour. His father collapsed as the martyred soldier's body reached the Dadhiya village, in eastern Madhya Pradesh, in an Army vehicle.
‘My son...my son..’ His father cried, with tears running down his cheeks. He recalled what his son had said last time.
‘Please take care, my son,’ His father said.
‘Death is inevitable for all of us, papa,’ Sudhakar had replied.
At their home, the pride of place is reserved for a colour photo of Sudhakar Singh, in uniform, holding his rifle. The father of a 4-month-old baby boy had served in the Indian army for 11 years.
It was a poor farmer's life that compelled Sudhakar Singh to join the army, his brother says. ‘There was no money. Not enough to feed everyone.There was no choice. If we could afford it, we would have educated him more and forbidden him from joining the army.’
His last letter to his father arrived in October last year. Sudhakar wrote that he was missing his family and wanted to visit home soon. The saddest thing is that his son would never see his father again nor have his love and affection for the rest of his life.
***
‘I don’t want sympathy. I’m not expecting government compensation. I’m that mother who wasn’t allowed to meet her son even after his death. But let his killers know that ‘Sar kata sakte hai woh log, Jhuka nahin sakte!’ (They could cut the head, but they can’t make the head to bow!)’ Hemraj’s mother said
A Short Story by G.S.Vasu Kumar
Based on true incident
It was misty early morning of 8th January 2013, Lance Naik Hemraj Singh and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh along with other soldiers were on a patrol near the border. Suddenly, gun fires were heard from the enemy side. Lance Naik Sudhakar rushed ahead, and fired back at the enemy side. He was followed by Lance Naik Hemraj, who too opened fire at them.
‘Bharat Mata ki Jai (Glory to Mother India),’ Sudhakar cried, before he fell prey to the enemy bullets, and breathed his last breath.
‘No!’ Hemraj cried.
The bullets pierced through the thick fog and hit Hemraj. Hemraj to fell down badly wounded, he crawled to the nearby rock. He knew that he didn’t have much time left. He remembered his family.
Also he had spoken to his wife the previous day over phone. He had informed her that he would be coming home on 17th Feb. Then he did not know what the cruel destiny had in store for him the very next day morning.
He had been home in last October and left two days before Dussehra.
‘Beta, please stay back for two more days,’ His mother urged him to extend his leave, ‘so that you could celebrate the festival with us.’
‘No, Maa..I don’t want to be reprimanded by my commanding officer!’ Hemraj had replied.
The pain in his body was unbearable, but the pain that he would never ever see his family again was much more than that. He took out his family picture, which he always kept in his trouser pocket. He used to stare at this picture whenever he missed his family badly. He had one last glace at the picture in his hand. A drop of tear escaped his right eye and landed on a grass blade beside him.
Meanwhile, at some distance away from him, the enemy emerged from the fog...many held guns, while one of them had a sword in his hand. Before they could reach him…the rays of the morning sun pierced through the winter fog and touched him gently. The image became blurred and he breathed his last breath. The wind carried away the photo, which he was holding with his fingers. It flew up in the sky and then just disappeared.
***
‘Would you like to be a farmer like me when you grow up, Beta?’ His father had asked him when he was a small kid, while he was with his father in the field.
‘No, papa..’ He replied, without hesitation.
‘Then what would you like to be?’ His father asked his curiously.
‘I…I want to be a soldier when I grow up, papa!’ Hemraj said, smiling at him.
‘Shabash, Beta!’ His father said, patting gently on his back.
Hemraj has two brothers Paran and Jai, both of them are farmers like their father. Maybe, Hemraj would have been alive today, if he too had chosen it. But he never had interest in anything else other than matters of military.
The year 2001 was a big year to him. He fulfilled his ambition, joined the Rajputana Rifles and never looked back since then.
***
In the year 2003, he had gone with his family to see a girl for his marriage. He was rather shy they asked him to see her properly and give his opinion. Also when the girl came to hand him the cup of coffee, he stood up and took it from her hands.
It was then their eyes met…she liked him immediately, and so did he. It was his shyness and respect for the other person which had won Dharmavati’s heart.
‘Brother, why did you stand up? Don’t you like her?’ asked his brother Jai, pulling his leg.
‘No!’ Hemraj said, sitting down, and sipping the hot coffee. It burnt his tongue. ‘Aaaaah!’ He cried in pain.
‘Do we need to see another girl for you?’ Paran asked him.
‘ No..I..I like her…but please ask her opinion too.’ Hemraj replied.
Dharmavati just smiled at him and then blushed. She nodded her head in approval. He got married in that year. They have three children – Nirmal (8), Prince (5) and Shivani (2). Hemraj doted on Prince. Perhaps, because his birth coincided with his promotion. He bought a piece of land at Chata near Mathura- to ensure he could get his son admitted to a good school later on. He is yet to make full payment for the property.
***
Two army officers arrived at Meena Devi’s door to tell her that her son, Lance Naik Hemraj Singh (32), had died a hero’s death on the border. It was sometime later; his son’s remains being carried in a tri-colour draped coffin arrived.
‘Let me see my son one last time, Please!’ Hemraj’s mother pleaded with the officers.
‘No, Maaji..it would be too shocking for you!’ One of the officers told her and Dharmavati.
‘Maa, who is in that box?’ Prince asked his mother, tugging at her saree.
‘Your father, beta,’ She replied, ‘He is sleeping peacefully inside it!’
‘When would he wake up?’ He asked innocently, unaware that his father is no more.
‘Never, my son!’ She said, tears flowing down her cheeks.
The villagers were helpful. They provided generator sets at night and even donated 8 bighas of common village land to the family for the cremation. Hemraj was cremated with over 6,000 mourners, barely 300 meters from his home, at 9 pm on Wednesday with soldiers firing volleys to salute to the real life hero, Hemraj Singh.
Army chief, General Bikram Singh visited the family later to pay his tribute before the portrait of Lance Naik Hemraj Singh at Shernagar village, near Mathura, in Uttar Pradesh.
The villagers want him to receive an Ashok Chakra, but then they also want to build a memorial in his name there. He will always be an inspiration for the coming generations. They still have nine others from the village on duty at the border.
***
Thirty-year-old Sudhakar Singh returned to his village, not striding into his small home as usual, but in a coffin draped in the Indian Tricolour. His father collapsed as the martyred soldier's body reached the Dadhiya village, in eastern Madhya Pradesh, in an Army vehicle.
‘My son...my son..’ His father cried, with tears running down his cheeks. He recalled what his son had said last time.
‘Please take care, my son,’ His father said.
‘Death is inevitable for all of us, papa,’ Sudhakar had replied.
At their home, the pride of place is reserved for a colour photo of Sudhakar Singh, in uniform, holding his rifle. The father of a 4-month-old baby boy had served in the Indian army for 11 years.
It was a poor farmer's life that compelled Sudhakar Singh to join the army, his brother says. ‘There was no money. Not enough to feed everyone.There was no choice. If we could afford it, we would have educated him more and forbidden him from joining the army.’
His last letter to his father arrived in October last year. Sudhakar wrote that he was missing his family and wanted to visit home soon. The saddest thing is that his son would never see his father again nor have his love and affection for the rest of his life.
***
‘I don’t want sympathy. I’m not expecting government compensation. I’m that mother who wasn’t allowed to meet her son even after his death. But let his killers know that ‘Sar kata sakte hai woh log, Jhuka nahin sakte!’ (They could cut the head, but they can’t make the head to bow!)’ Hemraj’s mother said
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