On this day in 1984, we had done a special pooja for my elder brother who was going to fight inside Golden Temple. 10th Dogra, 73rd Regular course IMA, Imphal company, Mankeshaw Battalion. AND a 2Lt. I had just completed my 2nd term in NDA and was promoted to 3rd term and came home. We got a call from him on 3rd June that his unit from Jallandhar is being moved to Amritsar. We knew what it means. On 5th the operations started, My mother sat in front of the big Durga Idol we had in our home worshipping for the safety of my elder brother. Dogroos were inducted in second wave. My brother had told us either we will get a call from Army of he himself will call us up. Those were the days of landlines only. We got a call from him on 8th June 1984.
The idol of Godess Durga which we used to worship as children was gifted to 19th Dogra regiment which was a new raising at that time with all the gold ornaments. That idol of Durga was brought in by my mother from Jaipur and was made of purest sangmarmar with zero black or anyother kind of impurity in it. I learnt my vedas and Puraans reciting them to my mother in front of that Idol.