Comfort of strangers

A year later, with May 26 once again passing by, I am reminded of those days. Reading about the growing tension there and the increasing hostility between India and Pakistan was not easy then. As an Air Force wife I could understand the dilemma that many families would have been going through with their menfolk away at the border. News items on TV showed the courageous faces of their family members. But one could understand the tension and agony that they must have been experiencing.

I remembered the time during Operation Brasstacks in 1987 when my husband had moved with the other officers of the unit to some border area. We did not have any idea where they were. Those were pre-STD days when getting a trunk call through was a miracle. A letter from anyone’s husband was a cause for celebration; a rare one at that. We worried about our husbands but it was during those times that we all kept a brave face.

The women of the unit came close to each other as never before. We met everyday, played antakshari, watched movies and generally spent time together. Our children fell ill, maids ran away but we stayed as a family, helping each other. The CO’s wife visited everybody and organised lunches to keep us busy. But try as we might, the anxiety was always there. Finally Brasstacks concluded peacefully and our menfolk came back.

But not for long. Almost immediately Sri Lanka happened. That lasted for three-four years and our country lost more than a thousand brave soldiers. And does the nation remember the loss of its valiant sons in the Northeast?Can one forget Siachen where a war has been going on for the last decade and a half? Jawans are spending time there guarding our borders day in and day out. Pilots are flying from dawn to dusk to supply them with rations and something they most look forward to letters from their loved ones.

I have seen a bit of life in Leh. With the husband away most of the time, the lady of the house keeps the home-fire burning. Still, staying in a place where the temperature drops way below zero is not easy. When everything freezes, from toothpaste and shampoo in the bathroom to tomatoes and eggs in the kitchen, it is the satisfaction that she is staying with her husband in a tough area that keeps her going.

In these conditions, when one thinks twice before stepping out of the house, it becomes important for the families that they give each other company and spend time together. But there are those who have to stay away, mainly because of the children’s education.

Today, it is more than one year since Kargil happened. The country has gone back to its routine, Bill Clinton has come and gone, cricket is in the news again for different reasons though and the stockmarket is going crazy as usual. But, Kargil is not yet over. Our army and air force are still there and many families are still maintaining a brave front but I can sense the distress they must be going through. All that they need is the reassurance that we are with them always and all the time.

Let’s not forget them.