NEW DELHI: When Charulatha Acharya says ‘Soldiers’ sacrifices should not be grieved’ it means a lot. She is wife of Major Padmapani Acharya, Maha Vir Chakra. She was six months pregnant when her husband passed away. Charulatha feels the Army will always have soldiers fighting against the enemy.
“In the process, we may lose some and these soldiers will have a family back home. The same happened in my family but I always pray that this does not happen to anyone. But, if it does happen then I understand that I have a role to play.”
She has been like a sponge to many families regularly since 2015. By now it’s a small team which includes both the people from the martyrs’ families and also a few from the civil life and they have named themselves as Desh. It is an informal group which has got together with an aim to provide psychological and emotional support to such families. Charulatha has been like an anchor to this group.
“I still remember talking to Priya for the first time. She was under tremendous pain but was always brave and I am proud that today she is not only handling the family but also the way she is growing and improving.” tells Charulatha.
Priya is wife of Lt Col Sankalp Kumar who succumbed to his injuries in December 2014 while eliminating fidayeens.
Recently, Charulatha got in touch with Nitika, the wife of Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal who killed terrorists in Pulwama in February but was fatally injured. She feels everyone should do this and even a small gesture like visiting these families and even veterans will be enough.
“It is not easy but we all must do it. It takes time for families to come to terms with such a big loss. It is a two-way experience while it becomes a moment of catharsis for them, I also shed some pain. I had a loss and I can correlate with it. Maybe with my example they feel easy to open up and release all pent up feelings.”