Tale of Honour and Uniform
Vandana & Chandrahas Kulkarni
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Army remembers its Heros who sacrificed for the Nation..
TALES OF HONOUR AND UNIFORM Col (Retd) TN Raman
The Inauguration of the War Wounded Foundation’s Chapters of Southern States was held on 20 October 2012. As the Government had taken the decision to honour the Martyrs of 1962 Indo China War, consequently, the Chief of Army Staff who was to attend the function had to cancel his visit at the last moment. However, General S Padmanabhan, our former Chief of Army Staff had kindly consented to be the Chief Guest.
The inaugural function went off as per schedule, with the hearty support of the General Officer Commanding ATNK & K Area and the Commandant of Officers’ Training Institute (OTA). . A total of 69 War Wounded Disabled Ex-Servicemen (ESM) from the four Southern States, which included two from the 1962 War, attended the function.The Venue was Chanakya Auditorium in OTA, Chennai. The details of the function have been reported by the Media The real life story which I am going to narrate now, was not covered by any media, may sound like fiction to some. There was an elderly couple in the gathering, both in their seventies, strolling on the path way to the Auditorium. The lady was constantly chirping in a low voice audible only to her husband. I was inquisitive. I approached them to help them into the Auditorium. The lady introduced herself as Kamalam, wife of Naik ME Shariff. Shariff just smiled. Then I noticed that he had both the hands below his elbows missing and to top it, he was also blind. But, he was always smiling and his wife Kamalam was also quite cheerful. She said, “Today we are very happy because somebody still remembers us and calls us for a function like this”. Naik ME Shariff was serving with 7 Engineer Regiment, Madras Engineers Group, when he first met Kamalam in Bangalore in her house. Her brother was his friend. It was love at first sight. But, the 1965 war broke out between India and Pakistan and he was called to the front. On 17 September 1965, somewhere in Sialkot Sector, when his Section was clearing the enemy mine field, an air strike in the area triggered off several mines in close vicinity. Though the other members of his Section escaped, he sustained severe injuries. He was evacuated to the Jammu Military Hospital, where the Surgeons battled to save his life. His life was saved, but at the cost of his hands and eyes. “I knew that my life would not be the same again. I cannot marry the girl I had loved. The treatment continued for nearly a year. Then I was shifted to Coimbatore for recuperating. Kamalam came to know of my condition and came to Coimbatore and stayed there looking after me. I told her that the marriage plans must be abandoned. But, she would not agree”. Kamalam then started talking. “Sir, how could I marry any other man than the one whom I had loved? We had overcome the first great obstacle to our marriage which was the Religious barrier. I am a Hindu from Kerala and he is a Muslim from Tamilnadu. You could visualize what tough time we both had in convincing our parents for the proposal. After he was wounded, initially there was absolutely no chance of our marriage. But, I had decided to live only with him, despite all his handicaps. We got married in 1967.” Were they happy after marriage, against the wishes of their parents? The three children they bore is the testimony to their happy married life. Their eldest son is around 38 years and is employed in the District Soldiers' Board in Salem. The second son is managing a Dabha. The third one is a daughter who is also married and settled well. They now live in Coimbatore. Kamalam says, “I was fortunate to get him alive after his miraculous escape. We were in love for two years before the tragedy struck him”. Love, definitely is a many splendored thing. It always wins, ultimately. ( I must end this episode by mentioning the wonderful way the couple was taken care of by the Commanding Officer (CO), 25 Punjab Battalion, located at Pallavaram, Chennai. On reaching the Railway Station they were picked up by a vehicle and transported to the Unit. The CO personally escorted them to a married Jawan's quarters and made them comfortable. Today, I rang them up to find out whther they had reached their home in Coimbatore, safeley. Shariff insisted that I bring out this point if at all I write about their story. Army has not changed!!)
Life is not waiting for the storms to pass.........its about learning how to dance in the rain.
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