CHENNAI: Barely four months after the death of Major Mukund Varadarajan in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir after he had killed two militants, the family is still finding ways to cope up with the tragedy. But that did not stop them from expressing pride when they heard about the recognition of Mukund’s sacrifice with the Ashok Chakra, the highest peacetime gallantry medal.
“Though it is an unbearable loss for us, we are proud that he has been rewarded for his hard work and sacrifice,” says his father R Varadarajan, a retired bank manager. Over the past few months, the family has seen visitors, many of them complete strangers coming to console them over the loss of their son.
“Some of the students who were going to join the Army came to visit us. They said they want our blessings. They told us that we should not grieve about his death because he has done a great service. Sometimes I wonder, I don’t understand what drives these young people. Even after an incident like this, it does not stop them, they only want our blessings to go forward,” he says.
Mukund’s mother Geetha says that for weeks after the incident, she couldn’t watch even the TV. “When someone switched on the news channels just to know about Mukund, I couldn’t bear it. I would shout at them and ask them to switch it off....I am able to cope better now,” she says.
It is more about her granddaughter that she is now worried about. “He spent very little time with her. What did the little child do to deserve this? I am still angry with God. Sometimes, she says she wants to talk to her father on Skype. Indu tries to make her understand but it is difficult.”
Indu Mukund, their daughter-in-law is now in Bangalore with their granddaughter working as a teacher in the Army Public school. “I am proud that my husband won this prestigious award. I only wish that he was there to share this happiness with me. I wish we did not have to receive it posthumously,” says Indu, over phone from Bangalore.