Unconditional Love

 Love is unconditional, it is said . It is a spiritual state of mind when you love someone or something unconditionally. It’s something that’s very hard to do .Unconditional love is not an emotion, it’s a zen state of mind . Something that is not easy to attain . 

Lieutenant Ajinkya had recently passed out from the Indian Military Academy, Dehradoon and was commissioned in Rashtriya Rifles. He was on his first mission at the LOC . 

“Balidan param dharma” or “Sacrifice before duty”, was the war cry imbibed in him and his senses . He was taught to love  his motherland unconditionally and protect it at all costs. 

“ Mom, I am posted on the LOC”, he said on the brief telephone conversation he had with his mother. “ Don’t worry, I will look after myself . I have been taught to rise to the call of duty “, he said . “ God be with you . Take care of yourself and your motherland”, said his mother , her eyes brimmed with tears , yet her voice strong , albeit full of emotions. 

Ajinkya was a brave officer . He was deployed in the Kargil war at the LOC , fighting the enemy with all his might and bravery. The exploding artillery shells fell all around him , blossoming into an orange hue in the dark of the night . The rattle of the machine gun boomed endlessly creating a spray of concrete and earth. He and his team of 6 soldiers were surrounded by fire from all sides . Undeterred, they moved on in the dark of the night . “ Staying alive is most important  in winning a battle, no battles are won with the loss of lives “, he kept encouraging his soldiers . “ We are here fighting for our country because we love India unconditionally “, he kept telling his team of soldiers . However, in the heat of the war, Ajinkya got separated from his unit . The entire team was broken into bits by the approaching enemy fire . Ajinkya plunged forward into the thick of things and strayed away . Firing into the dark of the night , he lost track of his terrain and suddenly found himself alone among the mighty snow clad mountains and biting cold . He kept walking in what he thought was the general direction leading to his homeland, India . 

Tired, thirsty and exhausted, he fell and went into a deep slumber . His walky talky was both out of range and battery , he was not traceable by his unit . He lay on the rocky mountains for hours, until he was found by a group of young boys on their way to school . They ran all the way and told their teacher “ there’s a soldier dying “, the teacher along with the young boys and a couple of villagers went to see who the soldier was . “ Bharat Mata ki Jai”, they heard him chanting incessantly in a weak whisper.  The villagers gave him  water to drink and got him to the village . “ He’s not one among us”, said the village headman .” He’s from across the border”, said another . “ Let’s hand him over to the local army “, said the third , while the young boys looked on. “ Let’s first nurse him back to good health “, said an old elderly woman, eyes full of compassion and care . Ajinkya was kept under a 24 hour vigil in the unknown village across the border while he was nursed back to good health . Back home , Ajinkya was put in the missing persons list as his name was not among the Prisoners of War list . His unit had launched a search operation for him, which was abandoned after a few days of no results and dead leads . His family was still hopeful though . His mother prayed for his well-being day in and day out . 

Ajinkya soon got well enough to be handed over to the enemy’s army . Ajinkya suffered a lot of hardships and struggles at the hands of the enemy . He was promised freedom in lieu of leaking sensitive information , but his unconditional love for his motherland kept him going and gave him the strength to endure the torture and hardships meted out to him. 

On one dark night , he somehow managed to escape with bated breath and the continuous chant of “ Bharat Mata ki Jai “, which kept him going . He walked at nights and hid during the days , ate whatever crept , crawled and grew . He walked miles on end on the harsh snowy terrain  , with frost bite on his toes and fingers , until he reached a small village and heard the bells ringing , smelt a familiar fragrance of incense and heard the divine chants of “ Jai Mata di”. 

His unconditional love for his motherland had managed to get  him home .