As I stood here today, looking at the hundred odd boys getting trained to join the Army, I wasn't quite sure myself - Is it worth it? Is it worth giving your life to a nation that remembers you for a week through FB status updates and Breaking News in various channels, and then like a blazing newspaper, dies out with faded print - fading memories. Does the supreme sacrifice deserve nothing more? I remember the day when I adorned the uniform the very first time. I remember the moist eyes of my mom, who gave her son to the nation and the pride in the eyes of my dad - so proud to see me here. I am sure that Navdeep's parents must have felt pretty much the same. And hardly a year into service, drapped in the tri-color with the mortal remains of their son, with the load of a million shattered dreams - he must have come home.
What a moment that should have been for the family. What a moment it should have been for that mother. I can not imagine. For a nation which gives more support to its cricket team than its martyrs, I cant expect anything more than this, if I was in his place too. But, I have promises to keep, and goals to attain, and with that sacred thread of conviction, I tread. Steadfast. Steady. Still heavy in the heart.
God bless the valiant soul of Lt. Navdeep.
