150 Women create ripples in Dal Lake The iconic Dal Lake in Srinagar on Sunday witnessed the first ever women’s boat race. Around 150 enthusiastic women participated in the unique competition, organised by sports association JKARS. Celebrated Kashmiri water sports athlete Bilquis Mir volunteered as the chief organiser of the event | PTI DHARMAPURI l Monday l October 28, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION BRAVE HEART ASHOK CHAKRA 25 APRIL 2014 44 RASHTRIYA RIFLES (RAJPUT REGIMENT) ‘Putting Up a Brave Face For the World’ ‘Ashok Chakra Gives Us Sense of Pride’ Three-year-old Arshea would not let go of her grandpa R Varadarajan, instead clutching on to his thighs and telling the lensmen who wanted her to pose for their cameras in a squeaky sweet voice, “I want my thaatha.” At the Officers Training Academy Arshea was with her mother Indhu Rebecca Varghese, widow , of martyred officer Major Mukund Varadarajan, and grandmother Geetha Varadarajan, to unveil her father’s bust at the Jessami Company block, where he was trained and graduated from, in 2006. It was in April 2014 that the officer laid down his life defending the country against militants in J&K. Varadarajan breaks into tears when asked about his son’s absence from his life. “It breaks our hearts whenever we think of Mukund and there is not one day when we don’t think (of him),” he said. He calls her daughter-in-law a very brave girl. “I have not seen her cry on as many occasions as we did and that is what Mukund would have wanted. He wanted her to be an Army man’s wife,” he added. But Indhu agrees to disagree. “Separation and pain is personal and also perspective. The outside world sees my bravery but behind closed doors I am still grieving. I need to put on a brave face because if I didn’t, it would mar the opinion of the Army my , family and my child,” she said. Among other things that he was good at, the Major was also good at convincing people. “We were from different religions. It was left for him to convince my parents and it is always the daughter’s parents who are protective,” said Indhu, who married Mukund after meeting and falling in love while studying at Madras Christian College. “I miss those phone calls, the warm hug. I miss his physical presence. We went through so much to be together and to have it all cut short…” Indhu trails off before adding that he still lives with her in spirit. With the passing of time, has she wondered if what her husband did – sacrificing his life and love for the good of the country – was worth it? “Unlike earlier, I get sensitive when I read in newspapers about terrorist activities and I do think if what my husband and many other brave soldiers before him did was meaningless,” said Indhu. “But if I knew Mukund well and if his spirit was roaming around somewhere here…” she said pointing at the Jessami hall, “…he would say it was worth something and that is all that matters.” Their daughter, Arshea was a little too young to understand the commotion around her when news broke of her father’s passing. “One would expect children not to remember too much, but Arshea is sensitive. She asks about her dad whenever she comes across men in uniform. I tell her that her father is in God’s office. But she asks me, ‘when is he coming back?’” says Indhu. “However as far as the Army is concerned, she is their daughter and they take care of us,” she adds. Barely four months after the death of Major Mukund Varadarajan in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir after he had killed two militants, the family is still finding ways to cope up with the tragedy But that did . not stop them from expressing pride when they heard about the recognition of Mukund’s sacrifice with the Ashok Chakra, the highest peacetime gallantry medal. “Though it is an unbearable loss for us, we are proud that he has been rewarded for his hard work and sacrifice,” says his father R Varadarajan, a retired bank manager. Over the past few months, the family has seen visitors, many of them complete strangers coming to console them over the loss of their son. “Some of the students who were going to join the Army came to visit us. They said they want our blessings. They told us that we should not grieve about his death because he has done a great service. Sometimes I wonder, I don’t understand what drives these young people. Even after an incident like this, it does not stop them, they only want our blessings to go forward,” he says. Mukund’s mother Geetha says that for weeks after the incident, she couldn’t watch even the TV “When someone switched on the news . channels just to know about Mukund, I couldn’t bear it. I would shout at them and ask them to switch it off....I am able to cope better now,” she says. It is more about her granddaughter that she is now worried about. “He spent very little time with her. What did the little child do to deserve this? I am still angry with God. Sometimes, she says she wants to talk to her father on Skype. Indu tries to make her understand but it is difficult.” Indu Mukund, their daughter-in-law is now in Bangalore with their granddaughter working as a teacher in the Army Public school. “I am proud that my husband won this prestigious award. I only wish that he was there to share this happiness with me. I wish we did not have to receive it posthumously says Indu, over phone from Bangalore. ,” Major Worked at BPO Before Realising Childhood Dream Major Mukund Varadarajan (31), who was killed in an encounter with militants in South Kashmir, was just another lad from Selaiyur, proud to have studied in the Madras Christian College and working in a call centre until the time came for him to chase his childhood dream of joining the defence forces. His father R Varadarajan, a retired bank manager, recalled his son, the youngest of three siblings, telling him at the tender age of six that he wanted to join the forces after having been inspired by his uncles already in the defence forces. An alumni of Officers Training Academy the Major was posted in various locations , including Jammu, Kashmir, Mhow cantonment in Indore as a lecturer in the infantry school and as part of the UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon for a year before being posted in Shopian in December 2012. “I remember him telling me when he was in Class III that he wanted to join the forces. After graduating in journalism, he studied diploma in MCC only because he wanted to study there. He worked in a call centre for a month before passing the SSB, though I encouraged him to study MBA,” recalled his father. A proud Army Major who knew the perils of his job, Mukund never used to tell his family about his injuries. “But we knew about his job. Once a bullet grazed him. But he never told us,” he added. “But we knew about his job. Once a bullet grazed him. But he never told us because he thought it would scare us. When I asked him after seeing the injury he simply said ‘Even if you walk on the road, you can , die of an accident’,” Varadarajan recalled. Having visited his parents in January Mukund wanted to pay , his wife Indu, who was living in the military quarters in Bangalore along with their 3-year-old daughter Arshea, a surprise visit on May 1. “We sent him a message on Whatsapp wishing him on his birthday on April 12. He replied saying he was busy When he last called me, he said he was planning to avail of leave . for a week for his daughter’s surgery and told me not to tell his wife as he wanted to it to be a surprise. But now, he has given us a surprise,” Varadarajan said with tears in his eyes. Mukund’s family members said it was through a relative in Dubai, who first saw the news of the Major’s death online, that they got to know the news. “Then I called his phone. Someone picked up and hung up. His brother-inlaw again attempted and got through and we were informed about his demise,” Varadarajan said and added that Mukund’s mortal remains are likely to be brought to Chennai late on Sunday evening. Mukund Varadarajan, who passed out of the OTA in 2004, is survived by his parents, R Varadarajan and Geetha Varadarajan, sisters Swetha and Nithya, wife Indu and daughter Arshea. Major With Roots in City Killed in Shopian Gunfight An Army Major, a soldier and three militants were killed in a 22-hour-long gunfight in Shopian district in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday “Based on inputs on the presence of three militants in Manlo in Shopian district, a . joint operation was launched by the Army’s 44 Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operations Group of J&K police and paramilitary CRPF men last evening to flush out the militants hiding there,” said army spokesperson Lt Col N N Joshi and added that after sealing all the escape routes, security men zeroed-in on the residence of a person called Farooq Ahmad and asked militants hiding there to surrender. “The militants rejected the offer and fired with sophisticated weapons on the security men. The fire was returned by the troops, triggering an encounter,” he said. Police sources said security men blew up a portion of the house from where militants were firing on them. “After firing from the militants’ side stopped, security men entered the house to retrieve bodies of the militants. As they stepped in, a militant rose from debris and fired indiscriminately on them, causing the death of sepoy Vikrant and critically injuring Major Mukund Varadarajan,” they said and added that Major Mukund was evacuated to the Army hospital in Srinagar, where he later succumbed to his injuries. City Bids Tearful Adieu to Braveheart Major Amidst a pall of gloom that descended on East Tambaram, there was also pride. Yes, the steady stream of mourners who bid a tearful adieu on Monday to Major Mukund Varadarajan took pride in the local boy being a martyr for the motherland. Three days after he died fighting insurgents 3,000 km away in distant Shopian in Jammu and Kashmir, the Major’s tragic homecoming in Tambaram was mourned by the entire locality as everyone from politicians to autowallahs paid their last respects. Mukund’s classmates from two institutions in Tambaram — Madras Christian College and Chandrasekarendra Saraswathy Viswavidhyalaya — flocked Parkview Apartments in Professor Colony , Selayur for a final look at his face before the final nail sealed the coffin and the Tricolour covered it. One among them was Professor Jojan Job of MCC, who said with pride, “I taught both Mukund and Indhu (Mukund’s wife).” “I have served from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and never got a chance at such a glory ,” this reporter overheard an Armyman sitting in a nearby tea shop lamenting with jealousy and pride in equal measure towards Mukund Varadarajan. Sweepers and labourers, mostly women working in the neighbourhood, too shed tears as they looked at the coffin, and saw the martyr’s three-year-old daughter Arshea in the arms of one of Mukund’s friends as she nibbled her biscuits. Minister of State for Animal Husbandry T K M Chinnayya accompanied by Kancheepuram Collector K Bhaskaran, presented the martyr’s family with a cheque for `10 lakh on behalf of the State government. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had announced the solatium on Sunday Congress leader E V K S Elangovan said, “Mukund has given . himself to a cause that is not just limited to Tamil Nadu or the nation but the entire world as he died fighting terrorists.” Other who paid their respects include AIADMK candidate K N Ramachandran and DMK candidate Jagathrakshagan. The Major’s coffin, covered with the Tricolour, started on its final journey by 10.30 am to the Besant Nagar crematorium, where he was cremated with full military honours. R A A J K A M A L Stalin joins in mourning DMK heir apparent MK Stalin offered his condolences to the family “Even as I salute the brave sacrifice . of Major Mukund Varadarajan, my heart aches to think of what his family must be going through,” read Stalin’s message. ENS Mukund Memoirs • Awarded Ashok Chakra, India’s highest peace time gallantry award on August 15, 2014. • Was awarded `10 lakh solatium by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in April 2014. • Felicitated by actor Arjun during the audio launch of his movie Jai Hind 2 in September 2014. • Bust inaugurated at Officers Training Academy in June 2015 to commemorate his martyrdom and Ashok Chakra award. F I L M S I N T E R N A T I O N A L KAMAL HAASAN PRESENTS S IVA KA RT HIKEYAN IN W R I T T E N & D I R E C T E D B Y R A J K U M A R P E R I A S A M Y Releasing Worldwide on 31 October 2024 st