At times, it’s necessary to revisit the reasons for which I started this blog. There are certain stories which need to be told and stories which will always remain close to my heart. Recently I read this somewhere – In the past, we used to write diaries and now we write in social media. We used to get upset if someone would read our diaries and now we get upset if no one is reading our social media update. What’s your opinion on this? 

The Pulwama attack

It was the unfortunate day of 14th February, when the incident happened. Since many words have been spent on this, debated, discussed, so let’s keep aside the political part in this post. With an experience of working with Army personnel closely and having friends as well who have been posted in Kashmir and other places which are unsafe – my first thoughts were about the losses. The losses were not only in the form of a son, a father, a brother, a husband, an uncle or the many human roles that these lives were playing but somewhere all the lives associated with them got changed in a moment. Some dreams remained unfulfilled forever, some moments got into the memories forever and some lives underwent a U turn to uncertainty. 

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That was the first time Tugga was attending one

The memorial for Pulwama Attack – Tugga’s first

Life at a far distant mainland with no one close in the Army went on at its regular pace and we checked in to Raajkutir for that weekend. There was a niggling feeling about the losses and the way things were shaping up. With as much sugar coating as possible, we shared the stories yet there were more questions compared to the answers we had. On the other hand, the entire country was in a state of mourn. The news across various channels were all about the losses, the number count and a strong grief all across. As citizens, the easiest yet best thing that we could do was to pray for the martyrs and remember the families as there is a healing power in collective prayers.

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The preparations started and the staff started falling in line

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In Raajkutir, General manager and Businsess Head of Raajkutir Subrata Debnath had also planned a mourning session with the entire team and guests. He insisted that Tugga takes part in the session and he needed an explanation though and the toughest part, was to make him understand what is mourning and why we are doing it . He followed the steps to the T with guidance from the ever helping staff of Raajkutir. He will realise what is mourning at much later stage of his life but when he reads this, he would also come to know that this was the first time his father, was also attending one. He would realise later that on that evening, at a far distant place in some home, a boy would have been waiting for his father, a mother was still crying for her loss and a wife would have been staring blankly at a honeymoon picture.

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In remembrance we offer you gratitude for keeping us safe

Final words on Pulwama Attack and this post

As I type in the final words, I have a feeling that this post is too late for the day but again, at times there are the pictures which you scroll through and they call out to you. I am uncertain how my regular readers will like this post, some of the online friends made me realise that I suffer from imposter syndrome where I am always doubtful about my accomplishments. I think I will take that up for another blogpost. It may sound like a sermon and cliche but war never heals, instead the collateral damages are irreversible and the people who pay the highest price for a war are the ones who go into oblivion. There is lesser tension now between the two countries, India retaliated, it may again happen but some losses will never be fulfilled. 

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The candles kept burning remembering the loss and a hope that history doesn’t repeat itself