Author: Vijay Singh, Mumbai
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: May 26, 2002
Introduction: Our bitter, sad moments
can't be understood by outsiders
Tukaram Baban Bhoite always wanted
to be in the army, says his younger sister, Seema Ganesh Kadam. On July
18, 1999, Bhoite died while patrolling the LoC.
"My brother was a cheerful person
and very attached to the disciplined military life. He would regularly
write letters to our father, Baban Bhoite and wife, Gulab, even when he
was in the thick of action, says Seema. in fact, his family continued to
receive his letters at their ancestral house in Dapoli village in Ratnagiri
district much after his last rites were performed.
"Just before he left for Kargil,
Tukaram spent two days with us in Mumbai, chilling out and watching TV
and listening to music. There was not a wrinkle of anxiety on his face
about going to the border, on the contrary he seemed to look forward to
it," recalls Seema. Gulab, who now works at the tehsildar's office in Ratnagiri,
does not wish to comment on how Kargil has affected her world. She is trying
to strike a balance between her new job and her daughter, Sayli. His father,
Baban Bhoite, is ,more forthcoming. "When people say I am the father of
a Kargil shaheed, it does make me feel happy and proud. But the bitter
and sad moments that we have gone through cannot be understood by outsiders,"
he says.
A hospital which was to be dedicated
to Tukaram's memory could not be completed due to lack of funds. "Earlier,
there was a lot of enthusiasm to build the hospital but after the private
sponsor backed out, the state government has not done much to complete
it," says the father.
Asked about the current border tension,
Seema replies: "A war or a battle is never a happy event. We only wish
that better sense pevails in the national interest."
