I am Siachen…

How am I ever gonna say all that is there in my mind, I wonder! Earlier, I tried to give you a glimpse of a retired soldier's journey when I posted I am coming home - a poem very close to my heart. 

Now, this is the least I could do as my mind took me the cold, wild, harsh fronts of Siachen. A land that is silent and violent at the same time. I am Siachen... is therefore an attempt to bring you face to face with the toughest battlefield in the world. Compared to LOC, this place has remained forgotten and not been an active part of the "news". However, this place is no less than a hell for the soldiers who serve there. It is strategically important for keeping a hold on Ladakh and Kashmir too. Therefore, in spite of the hardships and the harsh weather conditions, soldiers consider it their pride to serve a tenure of 90 days here.

Siachen is known for the legendary soldiers like Capt. Bana Singh (PVC) who went against all odds to capture the Quaid Post in 1987 (now named Bana Top) and regained control of this place. I and my partner in crime, Shwetabh Mathur dedicate this poem to the dare devilries like these and we salute the utmost commitment of every soldier who has dared or will dare to serve under the extreme weather conditions of Siachen.

So up, close, and personal - Here's Siachen for you - the most unforgiving battlefield of the world! Come walk with us as we march through this cold, numb, bone-chilling land. My friends, my lovers, my companions - Let us all go hand in hand...

"I am Siachen..."

I am Siachen… the land of wild roses.

I am the highest, coldest battlefield of the world, the bone of contention between two countries.

Life is anything here… but rosy.

At 21000 feet above sea level and temperature as low as -65° C, I can be a cold hell; sometimes even worse than the arctic.

Yet those guarding me go about their job in the bone-chilling climate which freezes weapons and makes walking a mammoth task.

I cover an area of 700 kms… for I am Siachen.

The more “active” of my counterpart extends till here – the LOC.

The world treats me as a demonic place where angels fear to tread and death seems to be something which lurks at every corner for the soldiers.

But believe me, it’s not me who takes their lives, it’s my climate which is too extreme for their bodies.

The melting glaciers and avalanches aren’t my fault too, yet I am seen as a brat.

I am Siachen…the land of wild roses.

I have seen wars fought for my control; such heroic sagas are embedded in my history.

I have witnessed Operation Meghdoot in 84 and then Rajiv in 87.

I have seen sweat turn to ice, fingers and limbs lost to frostbite more than hostile fire.

Where kerosene stoves are used just to keep weapons warm, the green parkas becomes black, food comes from cans and oranges become hard as cricket balls.

Where hunger and appetite take a backseat at these heights and food is eaten just to keep the body energized.

Where choppers behave like oversized bumblebees.

Where artillery guns have opened up in support of the soldiers whenever needed.

I have seen Lt. Rajeev and others sacrifice themselves in the capture of Quaid post.

I have seen Bana Singh defy elements to capture the same post with just 4 men.

With a fury of a wounded tiger he avenged the death of his comrades and captured the post.

I have seen the dying light and soldiers raging against all odds and elements.

I have seen them climb near vertical walls of ice without second thoughts, for this is what the Siachen battle school trains them to do - where only the fittest are sent to serve.

I am Siachen…

I share the jubilation of the troops at the bada khaana when they return to base camp after 3 months tenure.

They go as soldiers, return as veterans.

I share their gratitude to OP Baba for keeping them safe all throughout.

The faith in him so strong that soldiers vow to keep away from alcohol and tobacco during their tenure.

Ceasefire or not, soldiering continues, if not for surveillance, just to tread on trodden tracks so that the trail does not disappear in the snow.

There are angels here too, they are called as the Air Force and Army Aviators who make sure to keep the posts supplied all the year round in their choppers, in conditions which test both men and machines to their absolute limits.

Leave no men behind is their aim as they help bring casualties back irrespective of the weather.

In spite of all this, I am worried about the ecology of my own area.

Bio-degradable waste generated is a threat to me and I am highly affected pertaining to that.

I can be peaceful and tranquil to the human eye, but my wrath comes to the fore when I am exposed to such treatment.

My glaciers melt away causing avalanches, crevices which can open up suddenly to nearly 100 feet. I die out daily because of the imbalance that is created here.

It causes me pain and sorrow; pain because of my disturbed ecology, sorrow for the ‘purple’ bloodshed.

Soldiers are not born every day, they are special and thus it tears me apart when I see their blood being ‘purple’, so rare, being shed.

What’s the use of all this? Crores being spent on me just to maintain control and vigil on me.

Even then, we share a love and hate relation; they need me and yet tend to go carefree.

For now, I sit here as every year more brave-hearts come to prove their mettle as I pose challenges in front of them, to protect me and then be proud that they searched at Siachen.

For I am… the land of wild roses. I am Siachen…

 

“Quartered in snow, silent to remain… When the bugle calls, they shall rise and march again.

To every man upon the earth death cometh soon or late. And how can a man die better, than facing fearful odds, for the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his gods”.

- Scroll of honour at Siachen War Memorial.    

 Post Script: This poem is written in collaboration with Shwetabh Mathur

Tech Talk: When Technology Backfires!

By Ila Garg 

Technology is ever growing, ever expanding! With the market flooded with gadgets of all shapes and sizes, it is nearly impossible for a person to pinpoint one gadget that they won’t get bored of. Well, yes eventually we all find something new, something better that tempts us to dump our prior gadget and happily switch to the new one. every other day a new gadget is launched with an array of fancy features, but do we really need them? Are they ever going to match our expectations?

But even after changing your gadgets multiple time, you encounter similar issues, don't you?

Technology fails you just when you think you have found the right match. Even iPhones don't hold your interest for too long then how can smartphones ever match your ever changing desires!

Only a few months back, I got this pretty hyped smartphone by Xolo – Omega 5.5. I thought it would be nice to get a hands-on experience of this gadget as it is not only affordable but offers a 1.4GHz octa-core processor. This means I can use multiple apps without cutting on the speed. With a HD display and a 5.5 screen size, this seemed to be a promising product at that time.

Next in its specs list was a 13 megapixel rear camera equipped with flash. I was hooked instantly as the shop assistant told me that yet I decided to act rationally. Before I could ask for other options, this assistant told me that it has a 2 megapixel front camera, 1 GB RAM, HIVE UI skin, and has a 2600mAh Li-Ion battery.

Of course, I bought it.

So my experiment started. I was disappointed by each passing day. The 2 megapixel front camera wasn’t worth anything as howsoever hard I tried to click a selfie, it was blurred. An abrupt haziness surrounded my pictures and I was compelled to stop taking selfies. From a phone filled with thousands of selfies, switching to a phone that doesn’t allow me to click one single shareable selfie was a pain. Anyways, I survived that somehow.

Only after a month of my purchase, the screen of this “smartphone” cracked, breaking my heart into pieces. How? Oh no, it didn’t fell. I had nonchalantly kept some books on it and later when I finally reached for my phone, it was cracked. Oh wait, that’s not all. I was gradually coming in terms with the cracked screen as the phone was working fine but suddenly another problem started to occur. The touchscreen encountered some defaults making it impossible for me to type anything correctly in one go. I had to at least tap multiple times before seeing an input on the screen.

And the problem just worsened when I woke up from my slumber only to find my phone super-heated. A pop error message said – Overheated. Remove your battery immediately – I was obviously scared. We have heard cases of battery blasts, haven’t we? With shaking hands, I finally managed to remove the battery. It was so hot to touch. I kept it separately for some time and then replaced it back into the phone. I breathed a sigh of relief as the phone finally came back to life.

But this experience has made me lose my faith in technology. It can backfire anytime, anywhere. For now, I am seriously about to dump this “smartphone”, maybe I need a smarter phone and not just a smartphone.

Time to explore the market once again. Any suggestions? Did I hear someone say iPhone 6s? Do you think that would satisfy my longing? Will it satisfy yours? Let's put our thinking caps on and maybe for once let the rational mind think and decide.

Dangerous liaisons: ‘Mum’s’ not the word anymore!

By Ila Garg

In Indian society, mothers are always seen as epitomes of sacrifices. They are a daughter’s best friend, a confidante, and a counsellor. It is said a mother goes through enormous pain during her child’s birth but what if this friend turns into a foe? What if this person who brought you in this world decides to end your life too? Sounds unthinkable, right? But the traditional Indian mother is no longer traditional and the modern version seems to be nowhere near to the old one. So what is making these mothers so dangerous?

In the country that claims to preserve its age-long traditions, the crime rate has increased like a tornado. People have suddenly stopped thinking rationally and let alone brotherhood, mother-child relation also has lost its sanctity. Cases of honour killing have suddenly stormed up too. With the daughters being raped by their own family members and mothers telling them to suffer in silence, it is evident that an accusation on the mother killing her own daughter is no surprise at all. 

NewsGram brings to you, some of these cases where mothers were accused of being the murderers, after all ‘Hell is right here’:

24-year-old Sheena Bora was murdered by her mother Indrani Mukherjee. This controversial case recently got the attention of media when some evidences were found. The case is apparently laced with several murky twists and turns with Indrani Mukherjee being the prime suspect. The most shocking issue is that she never fully accepted Sheena Bora to be her daughter. On the contrary, they were both referred as ‘sisters’ till it was finally revealed that Sheena Bora was Indrani Mukherjee’s daughter. Though the exact reason for the murder is still under wraps.

21-year-old Bhawna Yadav was killed by her parents too. Two love birds got secretly married. They were happily leading their life. And then the girl’s parents took her away, promising a grand wedding. What happened then? The girl was murdered. Why? Well, this is a clear case of honour killing, a very sad one indeed. Bhawna Yadav was murdered in 2014 for marrying a Punjabi. No, there was no khap panchayat involved here. 24-year-old Abhishek Seth when he married Bhawna Yadav was deeply shattered and demanded a death sentence for her parents.

14-year-old Aarushi Talwar was murdered by her parents. In 2008, at a tender age she left the world only to let her murder be a mystery. Her parents were convicted of murdering her and the case was dubbed as honour killing when the domestic help Hemraj came into the picture. The media didn’t let this case die down so easily but yet no headway could be made. Her parents continued to deny the charges and CBI did investigate the case but still many questions were left unanswered. So Aarushi’s murder continues to be a mystery.

26-year-old Deepti Chhikara was strangled to death by mother. This is another case of honour killing that came in records. Deepti Chhikara was a primary school teacher, who belonged to an orthodox family. They were against her wish to marry a man from another caste and thus forcefully married her to a man of their choice. She had returned home from her in-laws’ place a few weeks ago. It was then that her mother, brother and uncle strangled her to death and later dumped her body.

23-year-old Kiran Kohli was killed by her mother. This comes across as a shocking case. Kiran’s mother killed her only because of her outrageous lifestyle. Kiran apparently was addicted to smoking and drinking. She also loved to party till late hours. Her mother made a few attempts to kill her and she tried to poison her food and smother her with a pillow. It was then that she hired her brother to get rid of her daughter; and this is not all.

Every year, the number of these incidents is increasing. Some come to light while others are still shrouded in mystery. Instances like these are countless. The apathy is apparently rampant and shockingly mothers are the culprits this time.

This article first appeared on NewsGram.

From Sania to Saina: Rise of Indian women in sports

By Ila Garg

Since ancient times, sports has been an integral part of Indian history. We have some legendary sportsmen like Milkha Singh, Kapil Dev, Dhyanchand, etc. ruling the charts. Today, women are also becoming the face of Indian sports. Women sportsperson these days are taking Indian sports to a new height. Sania Mirza and Saina Nehwal have gradually emerged as popular youth icons and are creating ripples in the stagnant ocean! NewsGram takes a look at their journey:

Sania Mirza took Tennis to the global level. In the days when the patriarchal society of India was revering in the notion that women cannot excel in sports, a determined Mirza changed the course of Tennis. Born on 15th November 1986, she started playing tennis at an early age of six. She found her first coach in her father Imran who diligently took her talent forward and carved it well so that she could be an inspiration for others like her.
She started taking part in international tournaments from the year 1999 and soon became a pro at the game. Her strength became evident from her very first game. In 2003, she managed to enter the list of world’s top 100 tennis players. She is the first youngest Indian player to win the Grand Slam title too, thus creating a stir amongst the masses.

The ace player Sania is currently ranked world number one in the women’s doubles (she retired from singles recently). Now, she is all set to receive Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the highest honour in the field of sports. It is indeed a big achievement for the star tennis player as she is the second tennis player after Leander Paes to be recommended for this award. NewsGram congratulates her for being an inspiration to many people around the world and opening new doors for the tennis aspirants.

Saina Nehwal has proved her mettle as a promising Indian female Badminton player and continues to reach heights. Like Sania Mirza aroused the interest of the youths to pursue the game of tennis, she is opening a whole new arena for them to follow.
She was born on 17th March 1990 with the game instilled in her genes as both her parents, Dr. Harvir Singh and Usha Rani were former State Badminton Champions. Her training started at the age of eight and since then the badminton racket has been her companion. In the year 2003, she made her presence felt when she won the Junior Czech Open Tournament.

Subsequently in 2004, she became the National Junior Champion and in 2005, she won the title again. This shows her dedication towards the game. In 2006, she won the bronze medal at the Commonwealth games thus creating a benchmark for herself.  From small steps, she soon took leaps as she won the Superseries Title in 2009.

She has been decorated with awards like Arjuna Award (2009), Padma Shri Award (2010) and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (2010). Her zeal has motivated many others to follow her path.

 

From Sania Mania to Saina Style, Indian women have been rising in the field of sports and overcoming all hurdles. NewsGram feels that more and more women should come forward and take sports as career. Only required tools are diligence, hard work, and passion.

This article first appeared on NewsGram.