The Tea Shop

THE TEA SHOP........ Another tale reflecting the character & high values of brave men guarding the nation... They were on their way to the post where they would be deployed for next three months. The batch being relieved, was waiting anxiously for their arrival so that they could fall back to safer confines of their parent unit. Some would proceed on leave and meet their families. They were happy that they were to relieve a set of comrades who had done their job. It was a treacherous climb and the journey was to last till the next evening. Cold winter month with intermittent snowfall added to the torture. If only some one could offer a cup of tea the Major thought, knowing completely well that it was a futile wish. They continued for another hour before they came across a dilapidated structure which looked like a small shop. It was locked and their was no other house nearby where the owner could be located. It was 2 o'clock in the night and there was no house close to the shop where the owner could be located. In any case it was not advisable to knock any doors in the night for security reasons. It was a stalemate. No tea boys, bad luck. The Major told the men to take some rest since they had been walking for more than three hours now. Sir, this is a tea shop indeed and we can make tea. We will have to break the lock though. The officer was in doubt about the proposed action but a steaming cup of tea was not a bad idea. He thought for a while and permitted for the lock to be broken. The lock was broken. They were in luck. The place was a shop indeed and had everything required to make tea, and also a few packets of biscuits. The tea was prepared and it brought great relief to all in the cold night. They were now ready for the long and treacherous walk ahead of them and started to get ready to move. The officer was in thoughts. They had broken open the lock and prepared tea and consumed biscuits without the permission of the owner. The payment was due but there was no one in sight. The Major was not however moving out without doing what was to be done. He took out a Rs 1000/- note from his wallet and kept it on the counter, pressed under the sugar container, so that the owner sees it first thing when he arrives in the morning. He was now relieved of the guilt and ordered the move. The days, weeks and months passed by. They continued to do gallantly what they were required to do and were lucky not to loose any one from the original group in the intense insurgency situation. And then one day, it was time to be replaced by another brave lot. Soon they were on their way back and stopped at the same shop, which was today open with the owner in place. He was an old man with very meager resources and was happy to see eight of them with the prospect of selling at least eight cups of tea that day. All of them had their tea and spoke to the old man about his life and experiences in general, selling tea at such remote a location. The poor, old man had many stories to tell all of them, replete with his faith in God. Kya Baba, yadi Allah hota to kyaa aap ke jaisa 'Allah kaa bandaa' is haal main hota, said one of them; moved by his poverty and faith in God. Nahin Sahib, aise mat kaho, God actually exists. I got the proof a few months back. I was going through very tough times because my only son had been severely beaten by the terrorists who wanted some information from him which he did not have. I had closed the shop early that day and had taken my son to the hospital. There were medicines to be purchased and I had no money. No one would give me a loan from fear of the terrorists. There was no hope, Sahib. And that day Sahib, I had prayed to Allah for help. And that day Sahib, Allah walked into my shop. When I returned to my shop that day and saw the lock broken, I thought someone had broken in and had taken away whatever little I had. But then I saw that 'Allah' had left Rs 1000/-under the sugar pot. Sahib, I can't tell you what that money was worth that day. Allah exists Sahib, he does. I know people are dying every day here but all of you will soon meet your near and dear ones, your children, and you must thank your God Sahib, he is watching all of us. He does exist. He walked in my shop that day. I know he did. The faith in his eyes was unflinching. It was unnerving. Seven set of eyes looked at their officer and read the order in his eyes clear and unambiguous. 'Keep quite'. The officer got up and paid the bill and hugged the old man. Yes Baba, I know, the God does exist, - and yes the tea was wonder full. Seven set of eyes did not miss the moisture building in the eyes of the Major, a rare sight.

This blog had featured a post on the apathy of the media towards troops martyred in the fight against terrorism. It is not clear whether it is a mere coincidence or an impact of the post (the blogger would like to think the latter), but there has been a visible change in the coverage accorded to the martyrdom of Maj JS Suri and three jawans on 24 Sep.

These brave men made the supreme sacrifice while battling terrorists in two separate encounters in Kashmir. In a marked difference from the coverage of a similar incident involving Maj Manish Pitambare mentioned in the previous post, almost all the major newspapers, including Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Times of India, The Asian Age and The Pioneer have devoted substantial space on their front pages this time around.

Shame on Indian Media

A MUST READ....... Dear Editors of HT, TOI, IndianExpress and TheHindu,NDTV, CNN-IBN, I got the mail below from a friend of mine and following the unwritten code of conduct, I am forwarding it to my friends but all efforts of people who have been forwarding this mail would go waste if this mail doesn't reach YOU...... Something to think about..!! Shame on Indian Media??? Really what a shame... By the time u guys read this news, the body of Major Manish Pitambare, who was shot dead at Anantnag, would have been cremated with full military honors. On Tuesday, this news swept across all the news channels 'Sanjay Dutt relieved by court'. 'Sirf Munna not a bhai' '13 saal ka vanvaas khatam' 'although found guilty for possession of armory, Sanjay can breath sigh of relief as all the TADA charges against him are withdrawn' Then many personalities like Salman Khan said 'He is a good person. We knew he will come out clean'. Mr Big B said "Dutt's family and our family have relations for years he's a good kid. He is like elder brother to Abhishek". His sister Priya Dutt said "we can sleep well tonight. It's a great relief" In other news, Parliament was mad at Indian team for performing bad; Greg Chappell said something; Shah Rukh Khan replaces Amitabh in KBC and other such stuff. But most of the emphasis was given on Sanjay Dutt's "phoenix like" comeback from the ashes of terrorist charges.
Surfing through the channels, one news on BBC startled me. It read "Hisbul Mujahidin's most wanted terrorist 'Sohel Faisal' killed in A nantnag , India .. Indian Major leading the operation lost his life in the process. Four others are injured. It was past midnight , I started visiting the stupid Indian channels, but Sanjay Dutt was still ruling. They were telling how Sanjay pleaded to the court saying 'I'm the sole bread earner for my family', 'I have a daughter who is studying in US' and so on. Then they showed how Sanjay was not wearing his lucky blue shirt while he was hearing the verdict and also how he went to every temple and prayed for the last few months. A suspect in Mumbai bomb blasts, convicted under armory act...was being transformed into a hero. Sure Sanjay Dutt has a daughter; Sure he did not do any terrorist activity. Possessing an AK47 is considered too elementary in terrorist community and also one who possesses an AK47 has a right to possess a pistol so that again is not such a big crime; Sure Sanjay Dutt went to all the temples; Sure he did a lot of Gandhigiri but then......... .. Major Manish H Pitambare got the information from his sources about the terrorists' whereabouts. Wasting no time he attacked the camp, killed Hisbul Mujahidin's supremo and in the process lost his life to the bullets fired from an AK47. He is survived by a wife and daughter (just like Sanjay Dutt) who's only 18 months old. Major Manish never said 'I have a daughter' before he took the decision to attack the terrorists in the darkest of nights. He never thought about having a family and he being the bread earner. No news channel covered this since they were too busy hyping a former drug addict, a suspect who's linked to bomb blasts which killed hundreds. Their aim was to show how he defied the TADA charges and they were so successful that his conviction in possession of armory had no meaning. They also concluded that his parents in heaven must be happy and proud of him. Parents of Major Manish are still living and they have to live rest of their lives without their beloved son. His daughter won't ever see her daddy again.
So guys, please forward this message around so that the media knows which news to give importance, as it is a shame for us since this Army Major's death news was given by a foreign TV channel!!! If you believe in it, don't feel shy in forwarding the blog to all like minded Indians to leave their comment.
Jai Hind
Col Siddhartha Bose
C- 2 Tagore Nagar
Raipur ( CG ) 492001
Tele : 0771 -4263030
Mob : +91 9993032720