THE DILEMMA BETWEEN MOTHER AND MOTHERLAND

CHAPTER 1 –THE HOPE

The day is January 15^th, 1998, read the side wall calendar in the military quarters. Major Veer felt a plethora of emotions when he saw the encircled date on the calendar ‘January 17th’. He went down the memory lane, recalling the saccharine bond he shares with his baby sister. He envisaged his younger self in his late teens, dressed meticulously in his school uniform holding the hand of his younger sister, his doll who was about 4 years old then. He relished how astonishingly endearing she looked in her grey tunic, white shirt school uniform with hair tied into two side braids. She had the nervousness and solicitude of her 1^st day at school and he could still feel her unyielding grasp on his hand out of anxiety. Now it was his turn to be perplexed, he would hold those same hands and lead his sister to the mandapa for her marriage in 2 days.

 He knew how dear his sister was to him, her mischievous eyes, innocent face, her vibrant ways and charm was unforgetful. He reminisced how little she was at his wedding looking super cute in her pink lehenga choli caring nothing but for the sweets and running all over the place. The noise of her anklets was music to him. Her joyful laughter echoed in his ears. She was one of the best things that had happened to him, he wondered.

His train of thought was interrupted by his close aid and colleague, Major Farhan, “Veer, Are you ready to go home, I know how excited you are for Gudia’s wedding.” Veer nostalgically folded the dupatta meant for his sister’s wedding and could just say, “very much.” He closed his bag ,adjusted his cap, braced the medals on his shoulder for they were his and his family’s pride, after all, Veer, the soldier, was his mother’s dream. Veer picked up his bag, hugged Farhan with the words, “I’ll bring you lots of sweets from the wedding” and was about to leave when there was a screeching sound from the radio transmitter.

Farhan adjusted the frequency and they could hear the message loud and clear, “Heavy shelling has been detected from across the border. Our intelligence sources have confirmed increased deployment of military personnel on the other side of the line of control. In this war like state, all military and para-military personnel are required to report to their respective battalions. Any ongoing leaves or sanctioned leaves stand cancelled with immediate effect.”

For Veer, it looked like shattering of one sweven to pursue another. He had always dreamt of a fairy tale wedding for his sister. Also, he had pledged to keep the honour of his nation high. It was a conflict between the mind and the heart.

                                    CHAPTER 2- THE LONGING

Major Veer, in all righteousness, locked his bag and emotions in the cupboard and reported back to his duty. He, along with his teammates prepared for the impending war, constructing bunkers, receiving additional forces and ammunition, chalking out strategies to be better than the enemy, checking and re-checking the preparations. His family had taken a back seat. Regular radio interceptions kept them updated about the latest activity. Recently, there was news about diplomatic negotiations between both the countries, it’s result would decide the fate of tonnes of soldiers and civilians. No one knew what the next morning had in store for all of them. 

They took turns to sleep to avoid being attacked by the enemy off guard. When his turn came, Veer kept tossing on the bed unable to sleep. He was disquietude and far from peace. Of course, his nation came first but he had a promise to keep, a vow he had made to himself, an unsaid affirmation he had given to his family and his sister to be present with them in their thick and thin. But he knew he had only kept the oath towards his nation, to safeguard it’s pride and completely forgotten about his family all these years.    

He realized he had never stood with his family in their moments of joy and sadness. He has missed everything, his sister’s graduation, her engagement, the birth of his kids, their bringing up, their childhood and a lot more. His vision was flooded with images of his parents ageing sans the support and comfort of their only son, his children growing sans the protection and care of their father, his wife living life, sans the love and stut of her husband. He longed to be with them. Pondering, he slowly drifted to sleep.

His sister danced with joy upon seeing him. She still had the innocence of a kid, he thought. His mother admired him, as if she was seeing him for the first time. His father proudly patted his back, his kids ran towards him and embraced him. His teary eyed wife hugged him burying her face in his chest. There was an ambiance of festivities all around, there were drums beating, people dancing and singing, there was joy, there was happiness and laughter and cheerfulness. Everything about Gudia’s wedding was magnificient and overwhelming. The wedding ceremonies continued from the henna ceremony to the haldi applying ritual to the sangeet program. All looked like a dream come true. Finally, the wedding day arrived. His sister, his little doll looked breathtakingly beautiful like a princess out of a fairy tale in her wedding attire. She was adorned with mesmerizing jewellery and her innocent eyes added to her charisma. Veer fulfilled all the responsibilities of an elder brother, taking care of the guests and making sure everything goes on smoothly. The wedding took place with pomp and show.

His slumber was broken by a chaos all around. The wedding was nothing but a dream. Reality donned over him. The enemy troops had advanced in their region and war had begun.                     

 CHAPTER 3- THE CHOICE

Over the next few days, there was firing and counter firing from both sides. Soldiers had lost track of time. Dawns and dusks passed by and the only constant was the noise of bullets and grenades being shot, ailing soldiers being wounded and dying. In the middle of this thunder, Major Veer was summoned by his chief.

Veer entered the office, saluted the officer and stood at ease. The chief broke the news, “Your mother has suffered a major heart attack. She has been hospitalised and kept in intensive care unit. Her condition is critical”. A shiver ran down Veer’s spine. These words pierced him like a shrapnel but he maintained his stance. The chief continued ,”Looking at the sensitivity and the gravity of the situation, you are being allowed a leave under extra ordinary circumstances. Major, you should leave as soon as possible.”

Veer definitely made his country proud by what he said, “Sir, I am in the middle of saving the honour of my motherland and I cannot abandon it. My mother can wait but my motherland cannot. Even if my mother dies in my absence, she will die in peace that I am serving my nation, fulfilling my duties and realizing her dream. This service to my nation is my tribute to my mother. If at any point, I am in a dilemma of choosing either my mother or my motherland, I have no doubt about choosing my motherland.”