(Vishnu Som is a senior anchor and editor of documentaries and special programs at NDTV.)
She stood there, tears rolling down her cheeks, an 11-year-old girl seeing her father for the last time.
Alka Rai rose above her grief to shriek an old Gorkha war cry; then she saluted her father Colonel MN Rai, an officer of the 2/9 Gurkha Rifles who was commanding the 42 Rashtriya Rifles.
Colonel Rai is survived by his wife, Priyanka, and three children - two daughters and a son, Aditya.
His mother was inconsolable, almost unable to stand as she tried to shower her husband's body with petals.
Helping her was a CRPF officer in uniform. He stood strong, holding Priyanka up and guiding her away. The officer was none other than YN Rai, Colonel MN Rai's brother. In 2002, YN Rai had taken a bullet for the country, fighting terrorists in Jammu during the famous operation at the Raghunath Temple when terrorists killed nine people and injured 42.
MN Rai was an inspiration for many around him, the ultimate leader and best possible friend. Former Army officers who had been cadets with him told us about how he would not only complete a route march with 22 kilos on his back but often pick up the 22-kilo backpack of fellow cadets who were flagging.
It was no different this time around. When intelligence reports came in of a group of terrorists hiding in a home in Tral, the Colonel was the first to act, rushing to the site with an Army Quick Reaction team. When members of a family emerged from the house claiming the militants would surrender, he paused for a moment, a moment that cost him his life. Storming out of the house, the militants unleashed automatic gunfire in all directions.
Another man also lost his life. Sanjeev Singh of the Special Operations Group of the Jammu and Kashmir Police was a Head Constable who had been involved in anti-terrorist operations for years. He too was shot down and died on the spot.
His last status update on WhatsApp said it all ... "Play your role in life with such passion, that even after the curtains come down, the applause doesn't stop."
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