BENGALURU: While everyone has their own way of paying tribute to unsung heroes in different fields, city-based author Deepak Surana decided to write a book on war heroes who are “lost in the pages of history”. His latest book, Kargil Folklore, is dedicated to the Indian soldiers who fought the Kargil war.
“Usually, we hear war stories about the officer in command, which, with all due respect, is well-deserved, but there are so many stories that go unnoticed. My recent book is about such brave tales,” says Surana, whose research for the first book, The Shershah of Kargil, a biography of Late Captain Vikram Batra, led him to come up with his latest book. “While doing my research, I came across so many stories which I knew would never make it to any platform,” adds 24-year-old Surana, a BBA graduate from St Joseph’s College of Commerce.
The book, which is based on tales told to him by Armymen and their families, also speaks about on-duty moments from base camps. One such moment from the book talks about how one of the jawans told his commanding officer that all of them are going to have tea on the peak once they conquer it, but unfortunately, the jawan could not make it. When the commanding officer had his tea after their win, the first person he remembered was the deceased jawan.
The author gives credit for his fascination with Kargil stories to Bollywood war movies. Despite not hailing from an Army family, he always felt deeply for anyone from the defence background. The book was supposed to have a grand launch on March 22, in presence of families of martyrs but had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 lockdown. It is now available online.