The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
Miles and miles of scrub land loomed ahead, interspersed with
glimpses of sand dunes. A narrow path led us deeper into this expanse, and not
a soul was to be seen anywhere. We had been driving for what seemed like hours,
and I began to wonder just how much farther we were, from our destination.
Soon, a tower made its appearance on the horizon, and we were able to see the
barbed wire fences, which we had expected to see. It fitted perfectly with our
idea of what a border should be like. What we hadn’t expected, was the young
woman who waited for us at the fence.
Our papers and authorization checked, we stepped out of the
vehicle. Another young woman was visible in the tower – doing her duty, keeping
watch. The young girl who was talking to us was doing her duty too, ensuring we
didn’t stray far!
It is only recently that women soldiers have been allowed to
patrol our borders. We had seen the news in the papers, but that is all it was,
to us – a news item. It was seeing the girls here that brought the news to
life, its possibilities, its implications, and of course, the immense change it
signifies.
The girls themselves were proud and enthusiastic, eager to
prove that they were just as efficient as their male counterparts.
I shall always wonder if it was the sight of the border itself,
or the women that made more of an impression on us that day. Having visited two
other borders of our country – at Wagah, and Nathu-La – the differences stood
out clearly.
Visitors to this part of our border are few. For one thing, the
drive is too long. For another, it lacks the drama our more famous border check
posts provide. Yet, this one provoked more thoughts.
Brightly whitewashed conical posts mark the International
Border. Barbed wire fences on both sides mark the lines of control. Check posts
and towers help keep watch, for any sign of motion, of the slightest threat to
our security. It does happen, but rarely, but watch has to be kept, constantly.
All this for a line, drawn by us, on a land we believe is ours to portion out.
A line which we are so possessive about, guarded by men and women, far from
their families, standing here, for hours on end, staying alert for every
second, for you never know when a moment’s distraction will prove too expensive.
We lingered a while longer, knowing our time was up, but
somehow reluctant to leave. A flock of birds flew over the fence, chirping
loudly, and headed straight for a water trough, evidently maintained by our
soldiers. “These are the only welcome visitors from the other side” laughed the
young soldier, lightening the moment.
Getting into the car, we were all quiet, overwhelmed by our
thoughts. We assumed we were headed back, till Chandra ji, our guide for the
day, said, that we weren’t done… yet.
Our next destination
marked an event which took place almost 45 years ago – the battle of Longewala.
On the night of the 4th of December, 1971, as the board at the site
informed us, the Alpha Company of 23 Punjab Regiment, of the Indian Army, stood
fast against an incursion by the Pakistani Infantry and Tanks. Despite being
heavily outnumbered, the soldiers stood their ground, holding out till the dawn
of 5th December, when the Indian Air Force could arrive to help. While
the Indian Army did suffer losses, it was the other side which suffered heavy casualties
and eventually retreated, leaving behind some of their tanks and heavy
artillery. Read a complete account of the battle and all the sections of the army who fought here.
The site of the War Memorial at Longewala is about 15 Km inland
from the actual border, and a couple of tanks of the Pakistani Army still stand
here, mute witnesses to the battle.
As I listened to the story, I wondered why it sounded so
familiar, especially since I am usually not too enthusiastic about war stories.
It was only as I wandered around, looking at the tanks, and reading the slogans
and quotes painted on rocks around, that I realized why….
It wasn’t the battle I was familiar with, but its story as
immortalized in the movie ‘Border’. Once I realised the association, I also
realized that most people visiting the site, just like me, related more to the
movie, than to the actual event.
Most visitors to the site were locals, enjoying a day out. As I
listened to them discuss the movie, and try to associate the real soldiers with
the characters who played them in the film, I wondered how much of it was based
on facts. Was it indeed such a one-sided battle, as it appears from the
memorial? Surely not, for we had casualties too.
Meanwhile, as I wandered around, reading about our brave
soldiers, my son was enjoying himself, in his own way, reading the many
quotations, imagining the battle, and asking questions about how the tanks and
other artlillery would have been operated. We of course couldn’t answer any of
his questions, which only led to more questions! It made me wish there had been
someone there, who could have answered them!
The War Memorial at Longewala could be called an Open Air
Museum. Abandoned tanks and jeeps have been left on the sand, not as they were
abandoned, but placed artistically to recreate the scene. A winding path takes
us to all these, as well as a few bunkers. Both sides of the path are lined
with the sayings and quotations I spoke about, earlier. There are memorials all
over the place – to the individual soldiers, who laid down their lives, as well
as memorials erected in the memory of the battle itself, inscribed with the
names of all those involved.
But above all, as I watched our Indian Flag, along with the
flags of the company, flutter over the trees, I wondered how much has changed
in the 45 intervening years. We are, once again, living in times of
confrontation, with skirmishes along the border increasing every day. While
this part of our border remains relatively secure, the line itself is more
fragile than ever.
Our trip to the border at Jaisalmer had begun with a request
from my son. For him, it was mere curiosity. for me, it was something else. To begin
with, I object to the idea of the border as a tourist place. Not because of
security or any such reasons, but because of the triviality with which we treat
the site.
I first visited Wagah
when I was a kid, when it was just a border check post and crossing. There was
none of the drama then. Later, as an adult, seeing all that happens in the name
of patriotism was a revolting sight. The situation at Nathu-la
was better, but not too much. I saw tourists behave abominably, refusing to
adhere to rules, and using the space as an excuse to shout out their
patriotism. Naturally, I wasn’t too keen to visit another such site.
However, this time was different. For one thing, there were no
crowds. For another, seeing our women soldiers patrol the border was an
incredibly inspiring sight. Even at
Longewala, the silent narrative of the battle scene, remembered through the
visual narrative of a film, was an interesting combination, but one that
brought the place alive.
A very special and heartfelt Thank You to Suryagarh, for arranging this
visit to the border sites. This wasn’t part of our original itinerary, but they
arranged it just because Samhith wanted to go, and asked. Besides, they, in their
inimitable manner, added to the experience, taking us to the War memorial as
well, which I hadn’t even heard of earlier! These are some of our best memories
of the trip, something that we will always cherish. For Samhith, this was the
highlight of the trip, the one part that he has been talking about to anyone
who will listen! As for me, I can only hope that the visit has instilled in him
a healthy respect for our armed forces, and a more balanced idea of patriotism.
I visited Jaisalmer in
September 2016 on invitation from Suryagarh,
who tweaked our itinerary to suit our interests, adding their special touch to
each trip. The experiences are all thanks to the wonderful people at Suryagarh,
without whom it just wouldn’t have been the same, but the words and thoughts
are all mine.
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