By: Prasoon Kumar with inputs from Pramod Chavan
Powai - 08 November 09 : We at 'Planet Powai' have always been inspired by positive stories in our neighborhood and have always highlighted them on front page to make headlines. When we are nearing seven years of existence to community journalism we would like to bring a very powerful positive story to inspire our youth of today, though not from Powai.
The story is a tale of two people got to do with the army. One is a martyred youngster from Carmichael Road named Lieutenant Nawang Kapdia (25) who attained martyrdom on 11 Nov 2000 fighting Pak terrorists in J&K. I had a dear course mate Capt Kashinath in the same4/3 GR battalion who got killed in insurgency operations from the same battalion in 1985.
The other one is a little boy Om Udeshi (7) who lives just a km from Nawang's home in Mahalaxmi. This boy has some strong past connection with the Indian Army. He lives, sleeps and dreams to be in the army when he grows up. I happened to bump into his father at an exhibition in Bandra-Kurla last year while looking for camouflage pants for my son and then sharing the passion of his son for the army.
With Lt Kapadia's 9th death anniversary falling on 11 Nov, we have timed the story for this issue. We salute this brave soldier who shall inspire the youth of this country.
Om Udeshi, just 6 years old - lives, sleeps and dreams to join the army. “I want to join the Army and serve my country” - Om Udeshi
Om Udeshi is a six year old boy, son of Vikram Udeshi who lives in Mahalaxmi. Om was born in 2003 in Baharain when his parents were posted there for three years. Now Om's father has joined his family business and stays in Mumbai. Om studies in the New Modern School, Breach Candy in first standard.
Om has a compulsive obsession about the army, rather he seems to have some past connection with the olive green. His parents started noticing Om's interest with anything connected to army like interest ever since he had been two and half years.
It was not the common infant interest of boys to play with guns, tanks and dress in army uniform he had, but as he started growing he has keen interest to watch war movies. He even started talking about army with his father and showed keen desire to dress in camouflage dress all the time. He has been lifestyling himself to a soldier.
He has also featured in some commercials of Orient PSP fans and Amrutanjan Balm, he has also featured in kids commercial in Baharain too.
Last year he happened to visit relatives in Delhi and stayed in West Patel Nagar near to an army base camp. He made it a point to cajole his father to show him the place. His father took out some connection with some army officer and took Om to show him inside the base camp. So fascinated was the little boy with everthing there that he went bonkers seeing and understanding the way army works.
His father even took him on the INS Vikrant ship now anchored as a museum on Bombay docks, he got a first hand account about the weaponry to have captured his impressionable mind. The 26/11 terrorist attack on Mumbai has left an indelible impression on his mind and his resolve to join the army has further strengthened.
It is difficult to say how and when he developed this deep passion for army. His father narrates one incident when he was 4 or so that in an exhibition there was game to shoot enemy soldiers, so fascinated was Om that he almost spent one hour doing this shooting.
To everybody's surprise Om has now started exercising regularly for an hour in the mornings of what he has seen in the army training at Delhi in the camp. For the future, his parents say once he reaches sixth standard and his interest remains for army they would put him in a military school to realize his passion.
Time alone will tell how and when Om's passion will take him in the olives, but as of now it is an excellent spirit shown by the little one to create inspiration and instill motivation into our youth to look into the army as a career when there is disenchantment in urban youth.
Lt Nawang Kapadia of Carmichael Road got martyred in 1999
Lieutenant Nawang H. Kapadia (15 December, 197511 November, 2000), was an Indian Army officer who died fighting Pakistan supported terrorists in the jungles of Rajwar in Kupwara district of Srinagar on 11 November 2000.On the 10th of November his Battalion received information of a large number of terrorists hiding in the jungles of Rajwar near Kupwara. Search and destroy operations were immediately launched with Nawang leading his own platoon. At approximately 11 a.m., a large hideout was discovered by the Battalion and the platoon came under fire from a group of eight to ten terrorists in the vicinity.
Havaldar Chitra Bahadur was mortally wounded and Kapadia rushed to rescue him under the covering fire of his comrades. A terrorist who was hiding in the nearby foliage fired at Kapadia, hitting him in the face and killing him.
The encounter resulted in the deaths of two terrorists of the Al Omar Tanzeem, a Pakistan-based organization, with reports of two others grievously wounded and likely to have died. Large quantities of arms and ammunition were recovered, with the fight itself lasting over 36 hours. The terrorists who killed Kapadia were later killed by the same unit. They turned out to be Pakistani Pathans.
His parents are mountaineers Geeta and Harish Kapadia. From his early childhood, Nawang had imbibed the adventurous talents of his parents, both of whom were famous in their own right. Siblings Sonam and Nawang were named after Sherpa mountaineers; both are Gurkha names: Nawang means "leader of men." Nawang did his initial schooling at New Era School and subsequently at the St. Xavier's Boys' Academy. He studied for and received his Bachelor of Commerce from Jai Hind College in Mumbai.
The 24-year old Mumbai-born Kapadia joined the Officers' Training Academy at Chennai in 1999. He received his commission on 2nd of September 2000; he received Lieutenant stars on commissioning to the Fourth Battalion, The Third Gurkha Rifles. Kapadia proceeded to the Regimental Centre at Varanasi from which he joined his Battalion on October 29, 2000.
To commemorate this soldier the Maharashtra govt has named the crossing near his house at Carmichael Road as “Lt Nawang Kapadia Chowk”.
this is a good write up.
ReplyDeletei knew Nawang well and his sacrifice was a great loss to the Army
i too had the honour of serving with the 4th battalion, the 3rd gorkha rifles (we call it the "phorthud" as do the jawans), though well before nawang came in. yet the bonds of regiments and battalions are such that i can b proud of nawang and his action and feel part of it.col (retd) a v divay
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