An Article on the Book

A warm wishes to all my folks..!!

As you could've sensed by now, yeah it's about a book. So you may ask me "then it's a Book Review?". No not exactly. Though you are partly right, it's an insight into the book that is packed with emotions.

It's a pleasure to write about this book. Wish you all would like it.

Name of the Book - India's Bravhearts : Untold Stories from the Indian Army

Author - Lieutenant General Satish Dua (Retired)

        Let me start this with a question. How do you define Army? When you Google it, this is what it shows up : "An organised military force equipped for fighting on land". But an Indian Army fan knows that it isn't sufficient. Personally, I couldn't define or constrict Army within a few words. I would like to remind you readers, a poem of Mahakavi Bharathi on the Goddess Kaali. Without words to describe her beauty he simply states "adada adada adada". And that was a perfect description. 

"India's Bravhearts : Untold Stories from the Indian Army"  is a book full of anecdotes and experiences of the author Lt.Gen. Satish Dua. Every page on the book marked the brotherhood, discipline, vigilance, trustworthiness and elegance. He brings it to the notice of the readers, the hardship of every soldier and their pride to work for the country.

Lt. Gen. Satish Dua belonging to the 8 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, a specialist in counter-terrorism, a Commando Instructor and also Defence Attache to Vietnam, Colombia and Laos.As Corps Commander he executed the Surgical Strike in Kashmir in response to the Terrorism Attack at Uri.

All the anecdotes relate to the time when he was the Commanding Officer of 8 J&K LI. As a CO of his battalion, he taught his Juniors the courage and exceptional bravery. He recalls he never wore a helmet nor a bulletproof jacket during encounter with terrorists. He marks his exceptional attitude, when he crossed the LoC, and walked across, even after being warned by the Pakistani Troops. As he shares his experience, it gets us into the field and witness the incidents.

The Author never failed to give us surprises. Nearly, three times he was about to be killed. Thanks to his QRT (Quick Reaction Team) that saved him many a times. This one surprised me the most:

There's another unbelievable twist. Naib Subedar Karnil Singh brought rifleman Kamal Deep from one of the assault teams. He said "Sir you won't believe this!". He showed me a bullet hole in front of Kamal's helmet right in the centre., just a little above forehead. Then he showed me an exit hole at the back of helmet.A bullet had penetrated his helmet a little above the forehead and exited from behind, travelling through the couple of inches of space between the helmet and head. Really, I am stunned. How luck was he!

If you get there alive, you'll live. What a good propaganda for an Army Hospital! The hospital were Heart Attacks and Diabetes are rare; what's common are hypothermia, frostbite and chilblains. The Author makes a strong mark, to pay tribute to all the Doctors and Medical Professionals of the Army. He never missed out to bring out their dedication.

Being a Commando Trainer he also gives us an insight of the happenings that time. From, catching the snake till a tribute to Captain Pawan Kumar, it got me on nerves. "The most painful event in Army is the death of a soldier" is what I thought till yesterday. That's not the actual part, where difficulty lies. In Army, an officer or a soldier, they are trained for hand-to-hand combat, jungle survival skills and many more, except this: Breaking Bad news to family. This is something that one is not - and can never be - trained for. 

There is no substitute for leading from the front. Leading by setting an example is the key to leadership. Soldiers defend the lines drawn by someone else on the map. In soldier's world the line between life and death is always a thin one. When Lt.Gen. Satish Dua was asked about the biggest achievement to him at  the Army, his answer was remarkable : "The greatest satisfaction for me was the re-marriage of the widows of two of my brave hearts who died during operation".

The book is simply a tribute to all those who laid their lives soldiering and a treat to all the ardent fans of "Indian Army and it's brave soldiers".

Jai Hind..!!

See you all at my next blog.

Until then, Ba Bye.