India’s Braveheart: Untold Stories from the Indian Army

Braveheart's Experience through Lt. General's Point of View

 

India’s Braveheart: Untold Stories from the Indian Army

 by Lt. Gen. Satish Dua (Rtd.)-Review

 

“He was born on Army Day. I had only one Child. I gave him to the Army. No father can be prouder.”

This book is one of my favorite books that I have read so far. It tells the tale of an officer who was once a Lieutenant and retired as Lt. General later. This book has explained the circumstances, experiences, and hurdles of Braveheart. Also, it tells the experience of an officer and how he was shaped into a gentleman whom a lot of people look up and follow him.

It’s a privilege to hear the story of Braveheart from the experience of Braveheart. This book has twelve chapters and every chapter has its tale to talk about the story of a different soldier. It also shows the relation between the Commanding Officers and his men. Circumstances they face and experience they gain in dealing with the situation.

This book starts with the story of Uri's surgical strike where General Sahaab has shared the experience and action taken by him when he was the core commander. He has explained the operation in subtle language and without revealing any crucial information that is not needed to be in the public domain. This chapter is one of my favorite chapters where I could read it again.

There are two more chapters that I liked it a lot and has a special place in my heart. One of them is the “Mai aur Meri Helmet”, It gives insight into the safety measure followed by the soldiers and commanding officers. It intrigues me how a soldier and High-Rank Officers are equal if he is part of the operation. General Sahaab was ordered to wear a helmet as the Subedar Major Sahaab has instructed his men not to let General Sahaab be a part of ambush if he didn’t wear a helmet. It was a surprise that even General Sahaab has to follow the rules set by his team.

Another Chapter that made me introspect is “Don’t call the Soldier”, shows the worry of a commanding officer if his men are tense during the operation which could lead to fatal injury or mistakes during the ambush. He has mentioned how one of his men was so frustrated as a hot iron that he warned people around him. He had later solved the issue by discussing it with him. One must read this book to know how a leader should lead his team when they are in distress.

If one could gain from this book is the experience to tackle their problems and get to know how the soldiers feel and live in extreme conditions. This book is filled with so many experiences where one soldier will never tell his pain when he is injured. It tells the story of a father who lost his only child. A Child cherished by his parent has decided to give his life to the very people who threw stones at him. It’s a story of a true warrior who gives you experience and teaching to be followed.

This book is written in simple language. There is minute use of technical words which could be understood by any type of reader. If one has to understand the view and experience of the soldiers this book is an amazing read.

What was added in your vocabulary?

1.      Contingency- A possible future situation or event.

2.     Petering- decrease or fading gradually before coming to an end.

3.     Spurred- to encourage his plan to work harder/faster.

4.     Colloquially- used in spoken conversation, not in formal situations.

5.     Hinterland- the areas of a country that are away from the coast, from the banks of a large river, or from the main cities.

6.     Vacillating- to keep changing your moods or opinions about something, especially in a way that annoys other people.

“To the brave Indian Soldier, who asks for so little, yet is always willing and ready to risk his life for the country.”

Love Happens at Unexpected Place

 

Love Happens at Unexpected Place

 

Book: Love Story of a Commando by Swapnil Pandey

At some point in their life, everyone meets someone, with whom they want to be. You could meet that person anywhere. But feeling that spark with Braveheart sure is an unexpected experience. This book is a story of a soldier who met her love of his life in an unexpected operation. I have read this book three times and it always gives me the same overwhelming feeling as I am reading it the first time. This post is based on the story of a soldier who meets his soul in an operation. I want to share my views on this book written by Swapnil Pandey.

Brief of the Love Story of Viraat and Riya

It starts with a knight and shining armor who was kissing his princess in a painting when She fell on him. It was love at first sight for both of them. Both of them felt the sparks between them. However, the meeting was short and both of them got apart from each other. Destiny brought them together again in an unexpected situation in Mumbai where he saved her in a Terrorist attack and expressed his feeling. Looks like destiny has its plan and they end up parting from each other. She moved to Kashmir and they both collided there when they got attacked by terrorists again. Accidentally crossed the border. They fought, loved, and share their moment.

What Is the beauty of this Love Story?

If I want to pinpoint what I like the most. I like the way the character was named after the few soldiers whom I know as I could relate them to the story. I like the way the story ends with a beautiful and subtle view of living happily ever after. One should not relate this scenario to a real-life event as it is fiction and it would not have any chance of this incident to happen in real life. It also a privilege that you could read it again and again as I have done it three times. It still gives you the feel of the romantic novel.

Scenario Where I didn’t connect with character’s nature

I don’t think there is anything I dislike about this story. I just didn’t get the part where He has to leave her without any explanation. I could understand leaving her and not contacting her as it was just a sudden meet. But in the second meet, they expressed their love. One should have a chance to explain things to the other. One thing that could bug is Captain Viraat leaving his team to save her. It is weird for an SPG of a PM to do that when he is assigned. However, there is a layering of the guard so it could be avoided as it is fiction. I didn’t find it odd.

Characters for who you Fell for?

If you don’t have favorite characters from a story; I think you should read that book again to understand it. So, I do have a long list of my favorite characters. They are-

1.      Horse, Knight and Princess

2.     Terrorist in Taj Hotel

3.     Honorable Prime Minister

4.     Captain Aakash

5.     Major Tushar 

What do you want from this Story to take?

If I want to take away anything from this book is Captain Viraat with due permission from the writer. I felt a different feel whenever I read his story though I didn’t like his abrupt absence from her life in this story.

What was added to your Vocabulary?

As every book teaches you something that’s the best thing that has happened to you. This book has surely increased my vocabulary. The new words that have become part of my vocabulary are-

1.      Neanderthals- Neanderthals are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. 

2.     Cacophony- a mixture of loud, unpleasant sounds; noise

3.     Exuberance- effusively and almost uninhibitedly enthusiastic; lavishly abundant

4.     Moorish- The term "Moorish" comes from the Western European designation of the Muslim inhabitants of these regions as "Moors", which itself comes from Latin "Mauri"

5.     Demisexual- people only feel sexually attracted to someone when they have an emotional bond with the person. They can be gay, straight, bisexual, or pansexual, and may have any gender identity.

6.     Olfactory- of or relating to smelling or the sense of smell

7.     Panoramic- (of a view) wide and unobstructed, to take in an extensive area in all directions: In the north of Israel, along with the spectacular mountain ranges whose panoramic views include the Sea of Galilee sits in the ancient city of Safed.

8.     Ardor- very strong feelings of love; very strong feelings of admiration or excitement

9.     Bucolic- relating to or typical of rural life

10.  Pandemonium- as the capital of Hell is known in the epic poem, combines the Greek prefix pan-, meaning "all," with the Late Latin daemonium, meaning "evil spirit." (Daemonium itself traces back to the far more innocuous Greek word daimōn, meaning "spirit, deity.")

What do you learn from a Reading Habit?

I would request all people to make a habit of reading a book. You will learn a lot from fiction books as well. You could learn about the experience of the situation they were in. Their experience will teach you the strength to make your decision wisely and strongly whenever you face any difficulty in your life. Also, you will learn new words by reading different books of different genres too.