By the time this goes to press, Lance
Naik Hanumantappa’s fate would be known. He and nine of his colleagues were
buried under an avalanche in Siachen. Those who’ve lived in the harsh winters
of Canada or Russia WITHOUT ELECTRICITY OR SHELTER will understand how
traumatic that is. Add to that the cruel, biting winds at Himalayan heights
where, at the best of times, it’s difficult even to breathe.
All ten were medically, physically and
psychologically fit young men, in that horrible place, doing their duty to the
country. Nine died. Hanumantappa was found alive after six days.
This man’s courage and tenacity is more a miracle
than anything any religious wo/man can conjure up.
I try and imagine what he must have gone through: his
shallow breathing through his painfully frozen nose, the limited oxygen in a
pocket of air keeping him barely functioning, total darkness and the silence of
outer space around him. Not for a couple of minutes or hours. He was not able to
move a millimetre, drifting in and out of consciousness, not knowing whether it
was day or night, whether he was alive or dead… for six days. Did he think? Was
he able to think? What could he have thought about? No food, no water.
Extremities burnt with the extreme cold. This man’s been through hell.
Young Hanumantappa’s wife, with their one-year-old
daughter, lives in Tamil Nadu. The only ‘baraf’ she and her barely-literate
lower-middle-class family might know about is the ice-cube tray inside her
small fridge’s freezer.
At -50 deg C, after six days, when he was found,
Hanumanthappa didn’t look human. He was a frozen, grey-black hard block.
At the
time of writing this, someone who feels his courage urges him: “Do not go
gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light”. The
person who has posted this on his Facebook wall doesn’t know him, hasn’t shared
any memory with him, yet feels so strongly for him, wants him very much to
live. That impresses me.
Then I
read something written by a doctor who was present when the soldier was dug
out. (Pardon the sms spellings, this is a quote).
“A humbling lifetime experience today...Got opportunity today to go to
Siachen (for 1st time) frm Leh wid 2 pilots in heptr to evacuate d lone
survivor of Siachen avalanche Hanumantappa frm d site of avalanche to Nubra
airport where patient moved to air ambulance n handed over to my counterpart in
Nubra n AF doctors fr onward journey to AHRR. Since my detailment (yday late night)
fr task wid 2 pilots fr initial evac frm site of incident lot of mixed feelings
hv been there.. but noteworthy things-
Hats off to d:
1) RMO (Resident Medical Officer) fr keeping d survivor alive overnight at d site
2) Rescue teams to work at an altitude of 19600 ft fr so many days n recover him
3) Pilots fr daring to fly in d middle of snow blizzard through narrow mountain features inching fwds despite all d turbulence of aircraft wid extremely poor visibility (at top barely 60-70m initially) n finally making a successful landing at d makeshift helipad which was just a lil bigger than d heptr wid white out all around (top, ground n all 4 directions)
4) The men of his unit who must hv dug n gone deeper n deeper in ice wid hope to find every comrade of theirs as survivor but getting disappointed everytime n yet gathering courage to look fr next one till they found him.
5) N last but not d least d man in question Hanumantappa who survived fr 6 days buried deep under ice in place wid temp less than -50°C n strong chilly blizzards n cudnt b recognised initially as human but fr d hope, reassurance n bright spark in his eyes wen i saw him fr first time after being put in heptr there..as we took off fr Nubra airport (where air ambulance was waiting wid other med team fr onward journey to my alma mater AHRR) crossing highest inhabitable snowclad n obscured peaks wid extremely low temperatures the eyes of the man (Hanumantappa)in front of me, whom we all were meant to rescue, personified d triumph (hopefully longlasting coz he is still critical) of indomitable spirit of human resilience against all odds (including d mighty nature) n desire of man (An Indian Army Man) to never give up come wat may n realisation of hope dat at least his own fellow men in uniform wud not leave n forget him--- no doubt d fighting spirit for survival in him n the rescue teams was far far far taller than those snowclad tallest scary n dominating mountain peaks in glacier..
Salute to u and God bless my colleague in uniform - May u come out a survivor in ur next battle fr life as well wid d bright spark of hope, faith, immense courage n reassurance intact in ur eyes besides d pride of being "An Indian Soldier" .
Hats off to d:
1) RMO (Resident Medical Officer) fr keeping d survivor alive overnight at d site
2) Rescue teams to work at an altitude of 19600 ft fr so many days n recover him
3) Pilots fr daring to fly in d middle of snow blizzard through narrow mountain features inching fwds despite all d turbulence of aircraft wid extremely poor visibility (at top barely 60-70m initially) n finally making a successful landing at d makeshift helipad which was just a lil bigger than d heptr wid white out all around (top, ground n all 4 directions)
4) The men of his unit who must hv dug n gone deeper n deeper in ice wid hope to find every comrade of theirs as survivor but getting disappointed everytime n yet gathering courage to look fr next one till they found him.
5) N last but not d least d man in question Hanumantappa who survived fr 6 days buried deep under ice in place wid temp less than -50°C n strong chilly blizzards n cudnt b recognised initially as human but fr d hope, reassurance n bright spark in his eyes wen i saw him fr first time after being put in heptr there..as we took off fr Nubra airport (where air ambulance was waiting wid other med team fr onward journey to my alma mater AHRR) crossing highest inhabitable snowclad n obscured peaks wid extremely low temperatures the eyes of the man (Hanumantappa)in front of me, whom we all were meant to rescue, personified d triumph (hopefully longlasting coz he is still critical) of indomitable spirit of human resilience against all odds (including d mighty nature) n desire of man (An Indian Army Man) to never give up come wat may n realisation of hope dat at least his own fellow men in uniform wud not leave n forget him--- no doubt d fighting spirit for survival in him n the rescue teams was far far far taller than those snowclad tallest scary n dominating mountain peaks in glacier..
Salute to u and God bless my colleague in uniform - May u come out a survivor in ur next battle fr life as well wid d bright spark of hope, faith, immense courage n reassurance intact in ur eyes besides d pride of being "An Indian Soldier" .
I tell
Shri Husband about this. As always, he goes on a tangent. He asks: “Do you know
what a Lance Naik is?”
I do.
He’s surprised, and shows some appreciation. Then he adds: “Regarding Hanumantappa,
survival doesn’t mean recovery is easy. The doctors will have to slog to get
him out of ICU. Frost-bite will take its toll. The ill-effects of such accidents
can be crippling. Many of our soldiers suffer grievous injuries, often of the
spine, disabling them when they’re barely in their twenties. Victims of blasted mines… how they manage, how
they still retain their spirit…their stories are inspiring, of heroism and
bravery…”
I know
he’s in lecture-baazi mode. For once, I’m all ears. Yet, a part of my mind
somersaults to Hanumanthappa.
And
Siachen.
We’ve
lost many, many lives there. I hope this young man’s story will lead to peace.
Somehow. And soon.
Feedback:
sheelajaywant@yahoo.co.in
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