My grandfather told me a story that I still cannot forget.
It is a legend about a soldier named Harbhajan Singh. He was posted in the snowy mountains near the Siachen border where everything is covered in thick snow and the weather is so cold that soldiers can barely sleep at night.Grandpa said Harbhajan Singh was a very brave and honest soldier. He always helped others and never avoided duty. But one day, during bad weather in the mountains, he died while serving the country.
Everybody in the camp was heartbroken.
But after some time, strange things started happening. Soldiers started saying they could feel that Baba Harbhajan Singh was still there in the camp protecting them. Some heard footsteps outside at night when there was nobody there. Some soldiers said they suddenly woke up before snowstorms or danger, as if someone had warned them.
Grandpa softly told me that people even say Pakistani soldiers are scared of him because whenever someone tries to do something wrong near the border, Baba Harbhajan Singh teaches them a lesson with a slap.
The part that gave me goosebumps was about his room. Even today, his room is kept safely in the camp like a temple. Every evening, soldiers neatly polish his shoes and iron his uniform before keeping them properly inside the room. But in the morning, they sometimes find mud on the shoes and the uniform looks slightly worn, like somebody had gone out during the night.
When Grandpa was telling me this story, he became very quiet for a few seconds. Then he looked at me and said, “A real soldier never stops protecting his country.”
I felt emotional after hearing this story because it showed how much some people love their nation. I was fortunate enough to pay my respect to him during my visit to Siachen.You must too.Even now, whenever I think about those cold mountains and lonely army camps, I remember Baba Harbhajan Singh.