For Father’s Day, Army Daughter Hails the Dad Who Made Her Proud

I still remember days when my mom and I would wait anxiously for the phone to ring, hoping my dad was safe.

My daddy strongest! (Photo Courtesy: Pranjali Bhonde Pethe)

Not that I need a special day to express my love for him, but for a daughter whose father has served the Army (and during his tenure, braved ambushes and heavy gunning while I waited anxiously for him), Father’s Day is more than special.

The Forests Along Burma

I can still recall several instances from my dad’s tenure as a ‘Major’ in the Assam Rifles.

Several kilometres away from civilisation – where the forests are dense and only venomous insects thrive – my dad with his team of men would leave for insurgency operations that involved nabbing insurgents along the Burma border. Thick vegetation and deadly insects like the ‘Dum Dum’ and the Naga Bees are all that you will find in these jungles. The Naga bees are fatal! Their poison could even kill a horse, let alone a man. The gun and the helmet were his only protection.

Several kilometres away from civilisation – where the forests are dense and only venomous insects thrive – my dad with his team of men would leave for insurgency operations. (Photo Courtesy: Pranjali Bhonde Pethe)

“There was no sleeping. You had to manage a few winks while you were walking. You could not sneeze, even if you had a cold – the sound of mere breathing could alert the enemy. We would keep walking for miles until we reached the infiltrators holed up on the Indian side,” my dad remembers.

Back home in Phek (Nagaland), where we were stationed, mom and I would anxiously wait for his return. Day after day, dead bodies would be flown in and our hearts would just stop beating – only to be restored after their identities were disclosed.

For a daughter whose father has served the Army (and during his tenure, braved ambushes and heavy gunning while I waited anxiously for him), Father’s Day is more than special. (Photo Courtesy: Pranjali Bhonde Pethe)

My mom would sit by the phone and wait for my dad’s call, which obviously was difficult considering he spent most of his time in far off areas cut off from the city and closer to the jungles. Sometimes it would take a week for dad to return and sometimes it would last more than a month – the times when he and his men had to keep waiting near the enemy camps for the insurgents to show up; braving the rain and the cold.

Once, he and his troop of men had cordoned off an entire village – when they received news of insurgents being holed up in that very village. One by one they interrogated each villager and eventually managed to locate the infiltrator. They tied him up and dragged him to the Army headquarters.

My mom would sit by the phone and wait for my dad’s call. (Photo Courtesy: Pranjali Bhonde Pethe)

Every time I think of the beautiful hills of Phek, my heart still shudders, remembering how we would anxiously wait for dad to return – sometimes even before he had left home.

Line of Control

As if the hills of Nagaland were not enough, a few years later, when dad was a Colonel, he was sent on deputation to a place close to the LoC in Rajouri. It is difficult to forget the terror-struck place, rife with heavy bombing and shelling.

Newspapers at the time would be strewn with images of heavy infiltration and firing, and the minute we heard dad was going, we could barely sleep.

The night dad reached Rajouri and retired to his shelter, the Pakistani side suddenly opened fire and there was an exchange of fire from both sides the entire night. Luckily for him, the bullets just managed to char his shelter’s metal door. My dad had escaped the shackles of death that night.

It was often difficult to hear from my dad, considering he spent most of his time in far off areas cut off from the city. (Photo Courtesy: Pranjali Bhonde Pethe)

Even today when I remember these episodes, my chest swells with pride. Amongst the giggles and cheers which are part of most of our conversations, pride takes centre stage.

Like in most family gatherings, this Father’s Day too, the entire family will sit down and flip through the family album. Because these pictures tell a thousand stories (many still untold).

Perhaps this time he will talk about his anti-mining operations in Punjab or his tenure along the Tibet border.

Like in most family gatherings, this Father’s Day too, the entire family will sit down and flip through the family album. (Photo Courtesy: Pranjali Bhonde Pethe)

He’s not just another dad! To me, he is my Rocky Balboa. My daddy strongest!

(A freelance food and fashion blogger, Pranjali Bhonde Pethe aims at getting people and their favourite food and style closer through her blog moipalate. Email her at [e-mail] and follow her on @moipalate.)