An old man was sitting next to me silently sipping a cup of tea, as if he was lost in his own world. I asked softly, "Are you local of Jammu?" He took his time to finish his last sip, stared into my eyes and replied, "Yes" in a deep & serious tone. I introduced myself saying am from Karnataka state. Immediately, his smiled a bit. He later shared his visit to Bengaluru long ago on duty. , From there, we spent a good time discussing from climate to traffic to pollution. From IT companies to present lifestyles to politics.
Two days were passed, since NRC bill was approved. I enquired about the situation in Jammu, he asked back, "Did you see any issues around?". I said, "I see soldiers standing here and there, I didn't see any problem anywhere. In fact, throughout my journey from locals to soldiers, people were very helpful." He replied, "That is it! This is how it has been all throughout since Aug 2019. These opposition parties are unnecessarily creating wrong impression among the citizens." I nodded in acceptance.
When i came to Jammu after having darshan at Vaishnodevi temple, the bus dropped me at some location which I had no clue about. We are so used to the modern internet technology, that my hand immediately snapped my mobile from the pocket to open the Google maps! Only to realise that the data n/w was disabled by the govt in whole of Jammu & Kashmir. This made me to fall back on the most reliable, time tested good old human technology of asking the people around! :-) I walked a little and came to the opposite side of a "Super Speciality Hospital". I looked around and saw two of our nation's most respected men, the soldiers, standing there. I asked them, with my broken Hindi, for the address I was looking for. One of them casually enquired about from where I had come, etc. He then explained, that the address was a bit far from here and asked me to catch a mini bus till a particular place and then to take an auto. He further went on to explain how much it will cost me and what does the mini bus conductor would shout about that place while nearing the bus stop, and even the different names with which he calls the same place, etc. Our dear jawan seemed still not convinced that I understood or I could manage as I had to cross two roads passing through a subway. He informed the other soldier and accompanied me till the bus stop. As we walked, I thanked him for helping me out, in hindi. He said "Why thanks, its my duty to serve you. I am privileged to do so." I was quite humbled by his act! We both then reached another road. He stood there and asked me to cross the road to reach the bus stop. I followed his instructions. After waiting for about 5mins, I got the bus which could take me to my destination. He signalled me from the other side of the road to get into that bus. The soldier was standing there till i got into the right bus.
My solute to our wonderful soldiers! The ones whose very goal of life is to protect the civilians even at the cost of their own life just as the mothers do.
Next day morning, close to my room, I had a chance to meet three soldiers standing guard. They were from the SSB ( Sashastra Seema Bal ) which is one of the para military police forces along with ITBP, BSF, CRPF and CISF. Each where from different states. After we exchanged greetings and some casual talks including our home town, one of them said, they were deputed on the election duty, to Bengaluru, the capital of the state that I belong to. Naturally, the next talk was about the weather and then the IT industry. Another jawan joined the conversation and said, one of his relatives is working in an IT company there. Then the conversation was about family and how they spend their holidays.
When a soldier is a bachelor and have just joined the services, during their visit to the home town, often they spend time with their friends like many of us do meeting the people, chatting with friends, partying, drinking, etc. As a Jawan get seasoned with discipline, he becomes capable of taking up any responsibility thrown upon him - from polishing his shoes to sweeping the floor to serving food. Saving the civilians during flood to guarding them from terrorist activities to fighting the enemies at the borders! Towards whom he owes his responsibilities now, are two fold - his smaller family in the home town and his much larger family, the nation. the way he looks at life and society has gone through a great transformation!
However, back in his home town, his friends are living the same mundane life as most of us do. Their greatest challenges in life are multi fold! On one side, their office or business or in search of a suitable job and on the other hand, their family of a handful members. Unlike their friend in the border, their fight is not only far more fierce, it also requires extreme intelligence. That's because, while they can fight, out of their own choice, they are not entitled to kill their enemies. And, these enemies appear and disappear every now and then. Sometimes, their spouse become the enemy, sometime the children, sometime parents or in-laws, or one's own self! Its not surprising that the some educated intellectual class expects the govt to provide free medical assistance, free education and free food too for all the citizens (in honour of their bravery?)
Anyway, coming back to our three musketeers, one of them shared his thoughts, "when I get leave and go to my village, like before, my friends wants me to spend time in having drinks with them. However, I no more find it sensible enough. Moreover, my parents, wife and children will be waiting for months before I am granted a holiday. Neither the holiday is guaranteed nor the number of days I would stay in home. And if I go home having drunk, it doesn't look fine, isn't it?" I nodded in agreement and thoughtfulness. "But they do not understand the subtleness. All they would expect from me is to join them in partying!" At this time another senior called them. I saluted them and they left the place saying goodbye.
Dear brave fellow citizens, let us raise above our comforts, let's be inspired by the discipline and services of these great men. When you meet a soldier next time, a salute to him will do far more good to you and him both, than a selfie. Try and see!
A very Happy Army Day!
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