Jai hind ki sena

aye mere vatan ke logo                                   (O! the people of my country!)
zaraa aankh mein bhar lo paani                   (have some tears in your eyes)
jo shaheed hue hain unaki                              (those who have become martyrs)
zaraa yaad karo qurabani                               (remember their sacrifice)

Every time I listen to this beautiful song, tears roll out of my eyes and take me to that day which defined my life.

May 12, 1999

Army Quarters, Jammu

I could sense that he was desperate and passion to make love was running high. Any man would be that way when he meets his love after six long months of loneliness. I had a steamy shower and came out with lovely red dress to make his manhood run riot.

The clock stuck nine,

He sipped a pint of wine,

Then his lips pecked mine, and

I got what was mine.

He just pushed me to the bed and I could feel the warmth of his skin on mine. He conquered every inch of me with his moist lips and the terrain wasn’t too rough for the horse to gallop. We were on fire and the burning desire was just helping us travel higher and higher towards Venus. We reached the wild land of ecstasy, our lips met, our hearts spoke, and we cuddled there, breathing hard and before I could open my lips to ask for one more, phone rung frantically.

I felt cozy under the blanket and was listening to Abhi speaking

“Hello,

Sir,

leaving immediately Sir,

Okay Sir”.

Abhi came back slowly, sat by my side and before he could open his mouth, I asked him with great sense of sadness when he was supposed to leave and Abhi said “Abi Kargil jaana hai, Operation Vijay keliye(Need to leave to Kargil immediately for Operation Vijay)”.

The bags which he had brought that morning hadn’t been opened and he took those and left home at 11pm along with so many others in the quarters.

Once he had left, I was again forced to share my life with loneliness and the wait for a call from Abhi, was the only thing which was really worthy.

July 10, 1999

The news channels were wrecking my nerves about the intensity of the war and the casualties of the same. The absence of any news from Abhi was getting me tensed and pushing me into depression.

Finally, I got the call, the final call from Abhi

Abhi: Hey Pooja, situation is bad and couldn’t call

Pooja: Aap safe ho

Abhi: Yeah, I am fine and I have been assigned the capture of point 5140.

Pooja: Sambaalke (Careful). I am waiting for you

Abhi: Either I will come back after hoisting the Tricolour, or I will come back wrapped in it, but I will be back for sure dear. Love you.

July 24, 1999

The phone rang again for the final time in the army quarters at Jammu, to inform me that Lt.Abhimanyu had been wrapped and was being sent to our home at Delhi for the final rites. The news pulled the life out of me, shattered my heart and every time I tried to gather myself, I broke down. My crying got my neighbors to console me saying that it was a brave death and those ladies were bringing down the gods not to give them the same plight as mine.

I rushed to Delhi, bidding adieu to all those in the quarters who were by my side when Abhi was away.

I swam through all sorts of emotions when I travelled from Jammu to Delhi. I felt the great loss, the permanent void he had created, the deadly remorse, the pride that he had shouldered the nation and the love I would miss. We generally departed to meet and met to depart but this time, we departed to depart.

July 28, 1999

The fighting ceased on July 26, 1999 and India had succeeded in Operation Vijay. I was expecting Abhi would be brought in at any time and I had made up my mind not to break down when he was brought in with all honors and I did succeed in doing so till all the final rites were completed.

When I was left with the great memories, Captain Surya came near me, held my hands and told me “Your husband was a great son to this country. I went for his cover when he was severely wounded in his leg and told him thera biwi wait kartha hai(Your wife is waiting for you) and you need to leave the field. Abhi ne bola, sir, meri maa bhi (my mother India is waiting too). He fought like a warrior and when he was about to succeed the mission, his fate was decided the other way around. When he was sweating to death in his chaps and iron chest plate he said “Khush rahanaa desh ke pyaaro ab ham to safar karate hain” (Stay happy, beloved citizens of the country, now we start our journey)”.

I broke down with great pride of being the wife of Lt.Abhimanyu who laid down his life for India when I read the last page of his diary “Some goals are so worthy, it’s glorious even to fail”.

August 15, 1999

The pride I carried was acknowledged by the Indian government when Abhi was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra (India’s highest gallantry award) and when I went to collect the award, it wasn’t me alone, I had Arjun in my womb, Abhi’s gift of love for me.

PS: The warriors had only one request, remember them.

Jai Hind

Maya

 

Bapu- were you intelligent???

From,

Maya,

Chennai.

To,

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi,

Hell.

Dear Bapu,

Sorry Bapu for placing you at hell and referring you with such an unpleasant nick name. I know half the nation would have started looking for me after the disrespect I have shown to you. But I know that you would be patient as you had never reacted to such petty issues. You have been, you are and you shall be revered as the father of the nation but only a few including you and me know that you were a father of four pillars which crumbled without a puff of dust being displaced. All your sons were Gandhis but none of those Gandhis ruled the roost. Your generosity had no limits as your surname survived, survives and shall continue to do so in the modern political world whereas the historians are still searching for your descendants.

This was the moment which created a lot of anguish in me and made me call you an intelligent fool. You were intelligent in saving our mother from the British brothels but you were a fool in handing over our loving mother to the pimps of contemporary politics.

I feel really proud that you were instrumental in the upliftment of the outcaste and giving them the title of ‘Harijans’ but don’t hang me if I call you a dismal politician. The first thing on your agenda should have been to have a media channel in your name to telecast, all through the day, the lunch you had in a Dalits’s house portraying your interest on their welfare . Something which should have been constantly maintained by you was that you hated publicity and you didn’t know how your secret schedule got leaked to the media. This would have definitely ensured a great vote bank. For a long time, I felt Zee TV was your benami holding as most North Indians pronounced it as Gee TV. I shall take the blame partially but the major blame shall be on the general nomenclature system followed. (i.e.) is to have the first letter of the politician as the name of the channel (A, B, C, V, J, K and so on).

Your political career has not only brought about a loss for you and your family but also for your fellow men at Porbandar. If you had been like any of the present day politicians, you could have made Porbandar the capital of Gujarat and if you had tried harder, it could have even been named as the capital of India. You could have also brought about a few railway stations connecting few of the airports and sea ports in Porbandar. You missed out cheaply on playing the right cards at the right time. Sometimes, I felt whether you ever knew to hold those cards. I feel pity for the people of Porbandar as Information Technology is still a distant entity and if you had just moved your coins to the correct squares, the IT corridor would have proudly stood at Porbandar making it the It hub of India. If you had been like one among the current politicians, you wouldn’t have let Gujarat be a liquor free state and would have fought to make Gujarati a Classical Language (Semmozhi in Tamil).

You were a leader of the Indian national Congress but for no use as I have never heard buses being burnt. I am completely innocent about politics without destruction of public property. I am amazed that you never knew all these things.

I completely blame you for starting the Non-Cooperation Movement as this has been religiously followed by the opposition in the parliament till date. The purpose for which it was started by you has been forgotten but the concept is very strongly embedded, “Non-Cooperation”. The ‘Quit India Movement’ which raised eye brows all over the country during the time you started receives a lot of eye balls in the form of media coverage as the principle is still being followed with a slight alteration, that the word ‘India’ is being substituted with the state concerned. Politicians today have forgotten where they belong to.

I have been criticizing you all through, but I still feel a great sense of regret in not seeing any of your sons in the cabinet. I personally feel, you lost the golden egg yielding machine when you walked out of the Indian national Congress and never thought of starting a new party competing the INC.

Something which was common between you and the present day politicians was that both of you have been arrested for so many cases, you for civil and they for criminal. If you had had a few criminal cases under your belt, the ticket for contesting in the elections would have been a cake walk for you. Bapu, weren’t you a fool in following the good for nothing philosophy of ahimsa and giving us that rotten philosophy. Your philosophy made us lose a lot of blood, flesh and precious lives of fellow men. In return ahimsa gave us our land back and gave us something more too in addition, your assassination. If you had been an intelligent criminal, it would have been Nathuram calling ‘Hey ram’ and not you.

One last thing, If you had not struggled, The British would have controlled the delicate womb of our mother and deflowered her in front of the world. We would have had roads reflecting our faces, skyscrapers blotting the skies and emotions blotting our hearts but what you have left us, is an air free to breathe, a great culture to follow and a beautiful life to live.

Be proud Bapu for being revered as the Father of the Nation instead of being spat at, as a father of a few and a husband for many.

Love you Bapu

Ram Ram

Idhuvum Kadandhupogum

Maya