It’s often said that while soldiers and Army officers are fighting on the field, their wives are the ones who are battling with life and dealing with all the problems later on, if God forbid their husbands never return home. And, it’s only they who can describe how it feels to live life after a loved one leaves you forever.
One such emotional tribute by Sangeeta Akshay Girish on how she is managing life after her husband, Major Akshay Girish of 51 Engineers of Bengal Sappers, got martyred in Nagrota, has moved the hearts of many. Sangeeta posted the same on Facebook and the post has already garnered around 5000 likes and 400 plus comments.
Sangeeta goes on to tell her story in the post.
They got married in 2011…
Sangeeta and Akshay got married in 2011 and their daughter Naina was born in 2013. But Akshay would be gone for long professional assignments and since their daughter was really small, everyone insisted that she moved back to her home in Bangalore. But she stayed.
“I stayed on. I loved the world we had created and didn’t want to leave it. Life was an adventure with him. From going to meet him at 14000 feet with Naina to sky diving as a family, we did it all. In 2016, he got posted to Nagrota. We were staying in the officer’s mess as our house was not yet allotted,” she writes.
November 29th was the fateful day…
“On November 29th, we suddenly woke up at 5:30 am to the sound of gunshots. We thought it was training but there had not been any intimation. Soon even grenades went off. At around 5:45 am, a junior came in to tell him that militants had taken the artillery regiment as hostage and he’d have to change to combat clothing. The last thing he said to me was “you must write about this.”,” writes Sangeeta.
Major Akshay Girish with his daughter
All the ladies and kids were huddled in one room and there was constant firing all along.
“At 8:09 am, he texted us on the group saying he was in the firefight. Around 8:30 am, we were shifted to a safer place. We were still in our pyjamas and chappals. The day wore on and there was no news. I started getting jittery and had a sinking feeling. At 11:30 am, I could not help myself and made a call. One of his team members picked up the phone and said “Major Akshay has gone to a different location”,” she writes.
Sangeeta got worried. The whole day was gone and there was still no news of her husband. At 6:15pm, some officers came to meet her.
“Around 6:15 pm, his commanding officer and some other officers came to meet me. He said “Ma’am we have lost Akshay. He was martyred around 8:30 am.” My world collapsed. I was inconsolable. I wish I had texted him. I wish I had hugged him goodbye. I wish I had told him I loved him one last time. But we never expect things to go wrong. I sobbed like a baby, like my soul was being ripped apart. Two other soldiers were martyred but they saved the women, children and the men who were held hostage,” adds Sangeeta.
“I haven’t washed his regimental jacket…”
Sangeeta hasn’t washed her husband’s regimental jacket ever since as she can still smell him.
“I got his uniforms, clothes and all the stuff we collected over the years in a truck. I tried hard to fight back my tears. I haven’t washed his regimental jacket and when I miss him a lot, I wear it. It still smells of him. At first, it was difficult to explain to Naina what had happened but now her papa is a star in the sky,” she writes.
Sangeeta says that she would always love her husband and would smile through her tears for him because that’s all he would have ever wanted.
“We smile through our tears because we know that’s what he would have wanted us to do. Like they say, if you haven’t felt your soul being torn apart, you haven’t really loved with all your heart. Though it hurts, I will always love him,” she sums up.
Read: Martyr’s wife keeps her promise, joins the Indian Army
[All images courtesy: Facebook]
