26-07-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Kargil Diwas: Of folded flags, blurred letters, and unfading memories
(Retd) Col Sada S Peter and his wife Maria Anita from Chennai
Anita recalls the days before the Kargil War began: I had just delivered my second baby in November and was about to join my husband after a break from his field post in Sikkim. In May 1999, he was about to take me and the babies to his regiment in Delhi. Then suddenly, I fell sick, so I could not go with him right away.
After 10 days, I got a call from him saying, 'You won't be able to join me. I have been assigned to something bigger. I can't tell you over the phone. Right now, you look after the baby and continue the [elder] child's education. We will talk about it.'
Then, a month later, he called me, and his voice was feeble, and the call got disconnected soon. Later, through the media, we got to know the situation he was in. It was not what we were expecting. After that, every fortnight, he tried to call me. In those calls, I could sounds of bomb shellings.
