Letter
From Kargil
"I am quite a sight now with an unkempt beard
and vaseline cream all over my ugly face to counter
the icy winds. Please tell maman that combat is an honour
of a lifetime and I would not think of anything less.
What better way to serve the nation. I am proud to be
in Infantry and especially in our illustrious Battalion".
So wrote Major Padmapani Acharya to his father,
Wg Cdr. J. Acharya, who lives in Hyderabad in
Hastinapur Colony. He wrote this on 19th June
1999 from somewhere on the Kargil front. Nine days later,
on June 28th, near Tololing, he downed four enemy
intruders in a hand to hand combat and laid down his
own life.
 One
year has passed. The road in Hastinapur Colony leading
to the house of martyr Major Padmapani is now named
after him. Life is going on, but how? Especially for
his young wife Charulata and mother Vimala
Acharya.
An occasion to get an inkling of this presented
itself when the two of them arrived at the Rajasthani
Snatak Bhavan opposite the Ramakrishna Theatres.
The Hyderabadi poets had reacted to the Kargil situation
strongly and had written poems. A collection of these
poems, 'Sarhaden bula rahi hai' brought out by
Geet Chandni, was to be released by martyr Padmapani's
wife Charulata.
 While
releasing the book, Charulata was too young and emotionally
moved to say a few words. Instead, her mother-in-law
Vimala
Acharya spoke. The coming of Charulata, the release
function and the speech by Vimala Acharya were all significant
because it was for the first time after the martyrdom
that Charulata was stepping out into a social function.
Vimala Acharya's speech was seeped in blunt realism
and emotional upheaval. Right from the opening
sentence it began to get etched on the listener's mind.
She thanked Geet Chandni for inviting her daughter-in-law
to release her poetry-collection and said, "This
is not the time to express sorrow or shed tears. I am
a mother and it is my duty to safeguard the family members
from sorrow at any cost. That is why I try to bear the
brunt of all sorrows. I am a human being and I too get
hurt easily. But I want my family members to be saved
of such hurts, such pains".
After my son's martyrdom, we were showered with
affection and love. In every field, be it art, theatre,
music, dance, military, business or education, there
was a strong goodwill towards all of us. My daughter-in-law
is very young. How can she bear the hurt and the pain.
She never went out. She did not concede to any of their
invitations. I know, this gave rise to talks in some
quarters. They said that we were not allowing her to
come out. That we wanted to hog all limelight and publicity.
I have lost my son. How can I derive publicity out of
him? But as a mother I wanted to protect her from sorrows.
I myself am not a veer-mata. I am only a veer
ki mata ( I'm not a brave mother. I am only
a brave son's mother).
Today she has recovered her poise. She is ready
to face people, pain and sorrow. Her tolerance has increased.
That is why I have brought her out for the first time
to this august gathering of poets and literateurs. I
have brought her out so that you all can bless her.
From now onwards she'll go everywhere. She has a little
daughter, Aparajita. She will educate her and
make her into a brave daughter.
Yes, make her into a brave daughter. That's what martyr
Major Padmapani had wished. For, he had concluded his
last letter to his father with a piece of advice: "Tell
a story a day from Mahabharata to Charu, so that your
grandchild imbibes good values."
This is our Kargil hero. This is our Kargil wife. And
this is our Kargil mother.
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9:49:57 PM 
