(Excerpted with permission from ‘Undaunted: Lt Ummer Fayaz of Kashmir’ by Bhaavna Arora, published by Westland)
The floods had taken their toll and the Valley was slowly recovering from the ensuing devastation. Communication lines were still down, and in this general state of disarray, Ummer’s parents could not make it to their son’s passing-out parade.
Ummer was eternally grateful, however, that his uncle from Delhi could come down to Pune and attend the ceremony. It was a proud moment for all cadets who had successfully completed three years of rigorous training and their parents and relatives. The passing-out parade was like the ultimate culmination of rigorous training the boys had gone through to become men. The values of an officer were ingrained in them irrespective of the services they chose.