Opinion

You can be your own Hero

An Army Officer wife’s message

“I contemplated a couple of times, before actually jotting it down.
I know probably a few, will still not agree with me & try to bash me left right & centre, but I don’t care, as long as this post of mine, brings POSITIVITY, to even one, in the group.
We shifted to Kashmir, when it was going through one of the roughest phase – the death of Burhaan Wani – resulting in the burning of Kashmir to another level.
We shifted there, just a couple of weeks after Burhaan Wani’s death & were locked inside the home.
My husband went on duty & I was inside the Cantt with no internet, no connection to him or family whatsoever. We would desperately wait for internet connectivity.
I managed everything alone, cooking, cleaning (had a male househelp, but if there was a curfew, he wouldn’t be allowed to come inside). I had 3 dogs back then, took care of all of them alone. We didn’t have access to any online shopping (no food delivery, no Amazon, no Myntra). A vegetable van would come once in a week & we would stand in a queue to get vegetables & necessary stock, for a week.
Made great friends in the community, (because all we longed was support & everyone displayed impeccable community spirit).
We would call our parents whenever we would get network, life went on.
My dog’s learnt to pee & poo inside the washroom, because the situations were such & also when it used to snow.
We couldn’t step out often. There were threats issued at times & the whole area came under lockdown.
At times there would be complete lights off & people would keep their kids inside; would have minimal lights; would pray that we just survived another day; pray for husbands who were away for duty.
When there was relaxation & we went out – we would hear slogans like – Indian Army go back, Indians go back, dogs go back.
It was the toughest time of my life, but I survived.
I survived my days of pathetic pregnancy there. We used to go in a military van with full bulletproof jacket & gear to get advance checkup to the main Cantt (that was some 15 kms away from the Cantt I lived in).
I flew in my 8th month of pregnancy all alone, with a Medical Certificate, as there was curfew & nobody knew how the situation would be if there was a total lockdown.
You know what kind of entertainment we had?

  • HOW TO SURVIVE IF THERE IS AN AIR RAID?
    How to survive if there is a bombing?
    How to survive if there are terrorist attacks inside?
    How to survive if there is infiltration?
    But I SURVIVED..
    Why am I sharing all of this?
    Because I am deeply pained seeing all the cribbing going on for everything locked down, less of grocery available, maids not coming home, kids can’t go out, blah blah…
    Just imagine if it was not a lockdown due to a virus, but an actual WAR!
    Would you still like to send your kids downstairs?
    Would you still go for a walk?
    Would you still crib, if you had limited grocery?
    Then why crib now?
    Did I do anything heroic? NO!
    I just did whatever was necessary, for a very basic human instinct: SURVIVAL.
    I had made a choice of getting married to a Fauji & I embraced it .
    We have the same choice now.
  • Embrace the situation.
  • Embrace the situation for yourself, for your kids, for your future generation.
    You can be your own Hero.
    You are a Soldier now, so please abide by your duties.
    You can fight this situation & would have stories of bravery, you can tell your grand children.
  • Can we please rise above all our political inclinations once?
  • Can we please rise above individualism?
    This isn’t about politics anymore.
    Your child won’t even remember which political party was ruling then, but he/she would definitely remember how their parents reacted in the time of panic.
    Now is the time to show solidarity; afterall social distancing doesn’t cost anything. Afterall, staying at home doesn’t need a budget allocation, isn’t it?
  • Teach your kids, RESILIENCE.
  • Teach your kids, the ART OF SURVIVAL.
  • Teach your kids, LIFE SKILLS.
  • Teach your kids, PATIENCE.
  • Teach your kids, to COUNT THEIR BLESSINGS.
  • Please do not teach them cribbing, blame games & a chalta hai attitude.
    This Too Shall Pass, trust me, but please let us spread POSITIVITY & see the greater good of our NATION.
    Love & Peace”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button