In this season of remembering 26/11,not all stories are of loss and heartbreak. Some are of joy,and hope. Three days from now,as the nation pays solemn homage to victims of the worst terrorist outrage on its soil,one of the heroes of Mumbai will be in Kerala,far from the memories of a year ago,celebrating the beginning of a new life journey with his long-time sweetheart. NSG commando Captain Amritendra Kumar Singh,who was left partially blind in the operation at the Trident,married newly-commissioned Army doctor Captain Madhu Singh on November 19. After a trip to Vaishno Devi,the couple will find just enough time for a short honeymoon before both of them report at work. At the Singh residence at 14 Furlong,Race Course,Lucknow Cantonment,Capt. Singhs mother,Amrawati,tries to dissuade this correspondent from asking her son about the events of a year ago. Its been only three days since he has finally got to marry Madhu,his long-time sweetheart, she says. Archana,Capt. Singhs sister,explains more clearly why her brother does not want to talk about the operation that won him a Shaurya Chakra but led to his losing vision in the left eye. We dont talk about it any longer, says Archana. Not because my brother lost vision in an eye fighting the terrorists,but because he has not yet been declared fit enough to take on the nations enemies again. Capt. Singhs mother adds,My son does not want 26/11 to be his last operation as a serving officer. He is working hard to regain full fitness. Last month,in a shooting contest,he came first. Capt. Singhs father,retired Subedar Chhatradhari Singh,says his son,a commando of the NSGs 51 SAG,is due for a promotion in December. He was very upset when on medical grounds he was not allowed exertion,and was confined to desk work. But now he is fit enough to take up physical exercise. At the Trident,Subedar Singh said,Amritendras group hurled a grenade to break open a door,behind which the terrorists were hiding. The terrorists retaliated with a grenade attack of their own. It left Amritendra with a splinter injury in his eye, he says. The injury,said Archana,could have left Capt. Singh blind. Efforts by the doctors and intensive treatment in Chennai,however,ensured there was only partial,reversible loss of vision. Madhu was the first to fly to Mumbai after news of Capt. Singhs injury came,said S K Singh,the brides father. She spent as much time as she could with the commando as he recovered. They knew each other since the time they attended coaching classes together for a medical entrance examination, said Madhus brother,Vinay Tomar. She got through and went to Hyderabad to study for an MBBS,while he went on to pursue his Army dream. Madhu was commissioned this year,and has been posted at Lucknow. The couple had decided to get married before 26 After their honeymoon,Amritendra will be reporting back at the NSG camp in Manesar,and Madhu will start work by the end of the month, said Archana.
