The People We Don't Know About

I typed this on March 24, 2019 on Quora but I'm pasting it here because I want everyone to read it:

  

Sunday is really an awesome day and today I was watching Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana and was getting inspired for becoming IAS. Suddenly I heard sound of Dornier Do 228 which is operated by Indian Air Force. For more information see this:

(Source: Wikipedia)

Me and my dad went for walk after that and we were watching it. Then one uncle was standing and watching that. My dad asked why it has come then he said 2 soldiers were killed in Poonch that's why to airlift them and they are coming by helicopter from Kashmir.

Nowadays it's common in news to read soldiers getting killed in Kashmir and we take it casually. I too just used to read that and since number of soldiers getting killed in which area is not important from UPSC point is view, so usually I used to forget that. Then me and my dad started returning back home. While returning we were talking:

Dad: Dekha beta kitni shaan se seena chaudha karke chalte hai aur ab shaheed ho gaye. (They used to walk with pride but now they are martyred)

Me: Hmmm….

Dad: Unke ghar pe log Holi mana rahe honge aur wait kar rahe honge ki wo jab aayenge toh ye karenge wo karenge ab ho gaya inka. (Their family members must be celebrating Holi and must be waiting for them to come back and then they will do this and that but now they are done)

Me: hmmm… lekin agar sab koi aisa bolega toh border pe kaun rahega? (If everyone will say like this then who will fight in border?)

Dad: jinke ghar pe 3–4 bacche hote hai ye unke liye hai. Aur waise bhi sarkar kya karegi inka, inko pension dena band ho he gaya hai, ab bas ek baar paisa de denge bhale he ek saal main kharch karo ya ek mahine ya ek din mein. Sarkar inko facility he kitna deti hai. (This job is for families which have 3–4 children. And what government will do of these people now because then have even even stopped pension scheme. Now they will give money to the family at once and whether they spend it in 1 year or one month or one day, it's their week l wish).

Me: Hmmm….

Actually though government just says that we will give them befitting reply but government and still not able to find permanent solution to this problem and that's why every other day you find 1 or 2 soldiers killed in this and that area, this has actually angered the personnels of armed forces.

So I came back and searched:

(Source: Google.com)

After that we came back. Then at 2 PM I heard sound of helicopter and again I went to that place with my cycle. By that time many soldiers had reached. Then the ceremony started and it was quite different. The feeling of watch that was just something which is hard to put in words. It was just something like silence and kind of numb at the same time. One was taken out from a truck and kept on table while one was taken out from helicopter and kept on table, and on third table there were flowers. During that time there were few people around me and they were talking something like:

Person 1: kithe hai? (How many?)

Person 2: 2 hai (2 are there)

Person 1: Dono helicopter se aaye kya? (Both came by helicopter?)

Person 2: Nahi ek truck se aaya hai lagta hai kyuki uspe kaala jhanda hai (I think one came by truck because there is a black flag on that truck)

(This is the first time I came to know the meaning of black flag on am army truck)

Person 1: Haan lagta hai CH (Command Hospital) se laaye hai.. (Yes he might have been brought from CH).

Then Army Bugle sound started coming because someone was using it to produce the ceremonial sound. Then:

Person 1: Jaante ho ye jo bajate hai na inka dil bohot bada hota hai (the ones who play this have too much courage)

Person 2: wo kyu?? (Why so?)

Person 1: Maine dekha hai ki wo poora baja bhi nahi paate aur rone lagte hai (I've seen that they start crying because even completing it)

Person 2: Hmmmm…

Person 1: waise yahan toh bohot kam hai jab main Thoise mein tha tab toh har week 1–2 dead body Zaroor aati thi. Wahan toh patrolling karne jaate toh zaroori nahi ki wapas aayenge, bohot baar barf mein dab jaate they. (It is still very less here, when I was in Thoise then every week 1–2 dear bodies used to arrive. There it was not sure if patrolling team will come back and many times they used to get under avalanche)

Person 2: Haan wo toh hard area hai (oh yes it is hard area)

(For those who don't know where Thoise is, I'm attaching a pic for you)

(Source: Wikipedia)

Person 1: pata hai ek Baar bohot lamba traffic lag gaya tha fir bhi military ke truck ko sab raasta de rahe they kaala jhanda dekh kar (you know once there was a big traffic but still people gave way to the military truck because it had black Flag on it)

Person 2: traffic kyu tha? (Why there was traffic?)

Person 1: kyuki iss lane ke log bhi doosri lane mein ghoos gaye they truck ko raasta dene ko. (Because people entered their car in opposite lane just to give way to the truck)

Person 2: Hmmm. Ek baar haridwar ke paas bhi 6 kilometer ka traffic tha uss time bhi log truck ko raaste de rahe they. (Hmmm. Once there was huge traffic near Haridwar and that time too people were giving way to the truck).

This talk was this much only and then they went back because the ceremony was over and they (the boxes which had soldiers and yes they had Indian flag on those boxes were kept in Dornier for their further journey.) While returning I remembered one incident. After my Ex's mother came to know that her daughter is in love with a son of military personnel then she told him he is from middle class and he wants just your money (her dad used to earn 2.5lakhs per month and he is in a Japanese brakes making company). And after I asked her further then she told me that in her area people just think that military people are middle class and they literally see their families as beggars with little money. Btw she lives in Faridabad sector 28 I guess, ummmm let me try telling you- when you're moving from Old Faridabad towards Manav Rachna- Badkal Mor metro station then just after 50 metres of this metro station there is a starting of Badkal flyover in left and on right side there is Badkal road which goes to a society. (In this area there is a school called Dynasty school). She said in her society most people are like this only. (I didn't said all people in that area but most of people). It was quite strange to hear like this about military but I got to know the reality which was once said by my Nana ji.

And then I remembered what my Nana Ji who is retired army man once told me: Beta fauj mein Jaana hai toh jaao par yaad rakhna ameer logo ke liye tum sirf ek middle class insaan he hoge, wo tumko koi respect nahi denge. (Beta, if you want to join military then you can but remember you'll just be a middle class human for rich people and they will never respect you)

And then I was thinking about CRPF people. Actually compared to Air Force, Army and Navy, people give less respect to CRPF, BSF, ITBP etc. (As per my observation) and there are many less facilities provided to them still they give life for country. Ummm may it was first time I saw dead people for this much long or maybe this time I saw what actually happens in real which is not shown in news, but all this made me sad. There were days when I used to think that I don't have female friends and I used to get sad because of that but this showed that there are people going through much worse than me and their families who will go through much worse time after seeing those dead bodies. So yeah I'm not sad because of my earlier reason but I'm sad because I'm red-green colour blind because of which I can't join military. I gave AFCAT and got screened out but I know that even if I'll clear everything still I'll not get in because of my eyes.

Seeing those dead soldiers in box just made me sad today. This memory will remain forever with me, I wish could post some pics of that but we are not allowed to take photos of runways and military area that's why I didn't took but after that Dornier take off I took one pic:

With this I did a final Good Bye to them. And today's weather too became cloudy when they were put in plane (before that it was sunny) maybe because even nature was sad on their loss.

Thanks for reading till here and if possible kindly respect soldiers and their families because maybe they are not as rich as most of private job people but they are risking their life for you. Take Care and if possible either join military or pay your taxes but do your part of duty towards country.

So this was my post posted on March 30, 2019 here. Please comment how it was and I hope you enjoyed reading it.