Some goals are so worthy, it's glorious even to fail

The surging crowds were jostling to get a glimpse of it. In a city of abt 3 million,almost one third of the populace was present.Was it another case of mass hysteria in a country where people wait for miracles to happen ? The public reaction was overwhelming. People of all caste,creed and culture had thronged the narrow bylanes of the place.I pushed through the crowds to steadily make my way through. I did not want to lose this chance,it was a pilgrimage. And what was this which was creating this Hullaballo ? It was a CORPSE !!

In a family of three sons and a daughter,he was the eldest.His father was a street side vendor,and their life was replete with abject poverty and devoid of almost everything.In the scorching heat of the sun, the father stood from day to night to eke out a living.The one room home could make anyone feel claustrophobic.The future of his children seemed bleak. But the eldest lad dreamt of doing something unique and making a identity of his own.

At an age when adolescents like to adorn the Denim, he liked to dress differently.The attire of the military uniform seemed to cast a spell on him.His courage and undaunting spirit manifested itself throughout his schooling days in the Army School at Lucknow.The Bronze medallion wrapped in a purple ribbon always fascinated him.And finally when he joined the army he was asked why he wanted to be in the armed forces. "I want to get the Param Vir Chakra," he replied. "Is it a toy?" The officer asked. To this he said that he would prove it in the course of his career.

They nicknamed it "Operation Vijay".The strife between India and Pakistan turned into an ugly battle.The Indian Army was determined to thwart the nefarious designs of the enemy.The battleground was Siachen,one of most difficult terrains for combat battle.Siachen which ironically means the "Land of Roses", gets temperatures upto -50 degree celsius.The inhabitants had to be on a constant vigil.

On July 2, the Gorkha regiment got orders to clear up some of the enemy positions in Khalabar in the Batalik sector. They travelled for 14 hours on foot and were short of 400 metres from their aim when there was suddenly heavy fire on their column. The fire came from two directions, from the top and other from the side. At that time the troops were split into two and he led the division of about 30 people.They had lots of casualities but the spirit of this young man remain undeterred.

Bullets were flying past them. He told the battalion not to worry as he would be able to finish his task.Although wounded in the shoulder and leg, he pressed on his solitary charge with grim determination, till he closed in on the first bunker. Then in ferocious hand-to-hand combat, he killed two of the enemy and cleared the first bunker. It was the turning point. Inspired by their leader's spontaneous valour, the troops charged at the enemy and fell upon them. Unmindful of his grievous wounds, he rushed from bunker to bunker urging his men on. Critically bleeding, he collapsed at the final bunker and finally succumbed to his injuries, but not before the last of the enemy had been annihilated. His last words were, "Na Chodnu" (Don't Leave Them).

This was the corpse of Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey.

Strangers were trooping into the living room of the old senile father, just to talk to him or hold his hand.The donations had been flowing from the federal government and people alike. But that was immaterial for the aging parents who had just lost their young son.The profound grief had surpassed the feeling of pride for the glory that their son had brought to the country.

Public memory is shortlived. They built a memorial in Gomati Nagar in the fond remembrance of this valiant soldier.I salute the spirit of this juvenile ideal, moreso, the words from his diary are a personal source of inspiration for me - "Some goals are so worthy, it's glorious even to fail".