Payel Chowdhury

The Burnt Phoenix I felt blinding light on my eyes.Strong essence of moist soil is overpowering my senses.I could hear footsteps and voices of people.I opened my eyes to a dimly lit sky and group of men staring down at me.They were men of my troop..I gazed at the gigantic willow tree far away.On gaining my senses I realise that I was lying on a damp forest ground upside down.A sharp excruciating pain grappled me as I try to twist over.Realising my body could be broken, the men carefully lifted me up on a stretcher.My alert mind scanned the surroundings as I tried recalling past events of the last night. It has been four years since I have been posted as a Lieutenant General of Indian Army on the Western provinces of Kashmir. There has been significant rise in the militant activity in the adjoining areas of Western Kashmir. The prime cause behind it is illiteracy and poverty among people, which is being played upon by the terrorist. The situation worsened last three days back when a group of militant bombed at a coaching centre leaving twelve children and their teacher dead.We came to know from our sources the militants camped up amidst the forest at the end of the lower valley.It becomes very difficult to track their movements as they either encroach to the deeper regions of the forests or takes shelter in the villages on the outskirts of the forests.Our intelligent sources confirmed their hand in smuggling goods to and fro the borders of India and Pakistan with the aid of the villagers luring them with money and drugs. We geared up for a midnight mission to trace and take in the militants.The team was decided to be split into three units.We set out at 1:30 am,the forest was damp and dark.It had rained few hours back.The hooting of owls were accompanied by the careful footfall of men.The sky was still cloudy as we adjusted our vision in the pitch darkness of the night.Its been almost an hour still there were no signs of the militants.I began wondering whether the information is correct.Suddenly we heared loose rolling sound of stones nearby and in no time there were flashes and gunshots.The men were instructed to take cover as they valiantly started firing towards the bushes.We were almost at an edge of a valley,the only cover we could take were small wild bushes and pine trees.The militants had appeared and by now were standing in the middle ground.I could see few more flashlights amidst the bushes on the other side.All of a sudden I heard a trigger very close to me ,I dragged my leg back and on doing so I lost my balance and started slipping off and rolling down until everything turned black. It was close to dawn now as my stretcher moved towards the rescue helicopter.It was obvious that the Militants knew about our whereabouts and our mission.A black sheep in the troop has informed them.The rescue team from our base camp headed to our location on hearing bullet firings through the satellite phones.The casualities were huge and the mission was a complete failure.The terrorists knew our routes and planned the ambush accordingly.There were dead bodies and blood everywhere.My heart was filled with despair as I turned around to look at one of the wounded soldier Rakesh Singh.He was severely wounded and his intestine was torn apart by bullets.The paramedics were on toes giving him medical aid to prevent his condition from detoriating before reaching the hospital. I started contemplating on the purpose of my job and all the armymen.We work day and night for the safety of our motherland and then there are certain miscreants who sell off their motherland’s pride for some mere money!Its been two weeks since the incident.I had recovered as there were no major injuries.I was walking across the parade ground in the base camp of Srinagar.Rakesh Singh,the soldier whose intestine was torn apart underwent six surgeries.His rib was broken,femur bone was broken and intestine was dangling from the bullet wound.His was rescued from the bottom of the valley. After undergoing the surgeries he is in liquid diet and the nurse says he hasn’t spoken since then. I was struck by grief and guilt that I could’nt save my men.He is suffering due to my inability to execute the mission successfully.There was a sudden urge to speak to Rakesh.I thought maybe I can channelize thousand soldier’s motivation through my briefings.I called up the hospital and requested the nurse to hand him the receiver.I spoke –“This is General Lieutanant D.K.Sharma....Can you hear me Rakesh Singh?How are you?Rakesh Singh can you hear me?” There was pin drop silence and I could’nt speak a word for two to three minutes.I paused for a while and spoke again:”Rakesh Singh ,how are you?We are eagerly waiting for you..When will you be ready to join us?”No response came.I held the receiver tight ,time was ticking and with each passing moment my heart was sinking.I was about to put the receiver down when I heard a feeble voice,”I have some trouble in my intestine else I’m fine.How are the other members of the troop? I was overjoyed and stared at the fluttering National flag with my tearful eyes as the sun disappeared in the Western Horizon.