Voice of the Silent Ranks – Part 2

“Most Deployments are Tough, But Military Families are Tougher….Through the Stress and Strife, They Continue Loving Them and Praying for Them….so that They Proudly Serve our Nation ”

Here comes another story from my childhood . This was during the year 1989-90 when my dad was posted in Kurnool , a beautiful laid back city in Andhra Pradesh. Me & my sister were studying in St Joseph’s. We were having a very peaceful and cheerful growing up years . Then came the sudden call of duty. My dad had to report immediately to the base at Siachen Glacier. For those who aren’t aware of this beautiful mountain range , here’s some piece of information . This glacier is located in the eastern Karokoram range in the Himalayas. It is also referred to the third pole sometimes. It is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and second longest in the world’s non-polar areas. It’s the highest battle field in the world. The moment this news came in , my mother’s blood ran cold. We two were too young to understand the gravity of the situation.

Next day early morning he left for Siachen, with clear instructions to us that he wouldn’t be able to communicate for at least a week . We nodded like matured adults . We all waited for more than a week to hear a word from him. Almost after a span of 10 days, we got a call from his unit informing that everything was fine. Listening to my dad’s voice had become a farfetched dream. We carried on with our daily routine. School , home , play and so on and so forth. I can never forget the pain in my mother’s eyes behind her fake smile. The thought of that look brings back such heart aching memories. How beautifully she would wear that smile and go on with daily chores , taking care of all our needs so perfectly. Days turned into months. We would hear about dad off & on. Some random messages from the unit would be passed on to us through an Army jawan. We would rarely get to speak to him.

One day we were informed that he was returning back. We were brimming with joy. Two days after getting the news , dad arrived home . The feeling of hugging him after so long cannot be explained in words. Due to the high intensity of sun rays on the mountains , his skin was charred. He had lost lot of weight and he had a strange conspicuous bent on his back that I couldn’t ignore observing. Maa knew that very instant , that something was critically wrong. Dad settled down and heaved a sigh of relief looking at us . We had a hearty family lunch that day . I could sense lot of restlessness in Maa , as if she was waiting for a window to talk to Dad.

Later on during the day we understood that Dad had severe back ache. It had aggravated so much that an urgent treatment was imminent. That night I was not able to sleep . Suddenly around mid-night I heard Maa sobbing in the other room. I rushed to her immediately. The scene in the room frightened me to the core. Dad was crying out of pain , lying on the bed and Maa was trying to massage his back , sobbing uncontrollably. I did not know what to do. I heard Dad, ask Maa to call the medical professor living next door . Luckily the Defence area where we stayed was also shared by few professors who taught officers undergoing the two year specialized course. One of them , who happened to be our neighbor was a mentor to my Dad. Maa rushed out of the house to call him. He came running to our rescue. He and maa removed the mattress from the bed and made dad sleep on the hard bed. Dad was shrieking out of pain. Then he turned him and made him sleep on his stomach . It was so difficult for me to witness all this. I did not even realize when I started crying. Uncle gave him an injection and within minutes dad slept off.

I heard him telling Maa that it seems like Spondylitis at an advanced stage which necessitated immediate treatment . The nearest place where he could get necessary treatment was Hyderabad. The next morning , I couldn’t wake up on time for school and since Maa was also exhausted the previous night , she decided not to wake us up too. I woke up ,listening to dad’s conversation with someone requesting for a vehicle to reach Hyderabad. He was explaining about the severe back pain he was suffering and how important it was to get immediate medical treatment. Finally after an hour or so , a huge vehicle arrived. In Fauji jargon it’s called a 3 Tonner (Looks like a truck) . I was horrified thinking about the long journey dad had to cover in this huge vehicle which in every way would make his condition worse.

But , as they say , men in the Defence Forces are made of iron. He happily climbed up to the seat , next to the driver . We bid him good bye with a heavy heart. Inspite of his excruciating pain, he always had a smile for us not wanting us to know what he was going through. He reached Hyderabad after a tiring journey of 6 hours. He was admitted to the Military hospital as soon as he arrived. Treatment went on for almost a month and every passing day felt so long for all of us , back home. The doctors finally declared that he has been suffering from Ankylosing Spondylitis. This is a form of arthritis that primarily affects the spine, although other joints can become involved. It causes inflammation of the spinal joints (vertebrae) that can lead to severe, chronic pain and discomfort.

So in my father’s case this disease was in a dormant state which kept getting aggravated by serving in all hard field areas. However after serving in such extreme weather conditions at Siachen , it worsened. His neck & spine became very stiff & has remained like this for life. He still has to consume daily medication to keep the pain at bay. But, as expected, he cherishes his days in the Indian Army (specially in the border or field areas) without any complaints or regrets. He always is proud of giving his bit for the Army and the nation.

There are many such men in uniform who have sacrificed their youth, their family, their health, some of them their lives…..to serve our mother nation. They do not fear either the insurgents nor the insurmountable climatic conditions (whether in the forests, on the mountains, at sea or in the air). So many soldiers have had permanent disability whilst serving in the hostile areas. They demand nothing, expect nothing. They celebrate Diwali, Holi, new year with their comrades in spite of wanting to be with their families as all of us want to. It’s not only my father who faced this, but millions and billions of men in uniform who sacrifice everything and keep fighting battles on duty and then battle with health post retirement. I salute all brave men and their families who have been through a similar journey, yet smilingly and unassumingly kept on doing their duty….”No questions asked, No Doubts raised”.

Jai Hind !!