The Real Heroes

When being asked who do you consider your hero or superhero, I have always answered "my father". For almost every girl, her father is her first superhero. I am no different. We see our fathers performing supernatural and next to impossible activities for us to keep us happy so we tend to compare them with superheroes. In my humble opinion, every individual who takes pride in serving his country and countrymen, is a hero.

My another reason to call my papa "superhero" is - he made my country proud. Yes, he served in Indian Army. Married to a daughter of another army soldier, my papa has been a pride for his country and his family. He had been a part of three wars during his service to the country - two with Pakistan (1965 & 1971) and one with China (1962).

On being selected in Indian Army and going through his months-long strenuous training, he was ready to accept all the challenges his life was about to throw at him. His life, while at service, had never been a bed of roses but he never complained about it. He could have worked in offices like some of his friends but he always says that the feeling to make your country proud will never match any other feeling even when you make the six-figure salary.

Having posted at the coldest place in India at Siachen to the hottest place in Rajasthan, we had never seen his mental and physical stamina being shaken. We didn't see him for months unless we all lived in army quarters together.

It has been 26 years since he retired from the Indian Defence Services but the soldier inside him is still in action. Like every other Indian, his blood boils too when he hears the blood being shed at the border. He is still ready to go and fight for the country if called by the services.

When being asked what is his biggest asset, his answer is always his "Uniform and medallions" which are precious to him. They are his pride and honour. We have grown up listening to his stories during his service life. Needless to say, when the head of the family is in Army, discipline is instilled in the family as well.

I am one of those lucky daughters of army personnel who loves her father to be at a phone call's distance away. Life never gives another chance to a soldier and there are no runners-up in war. Yes, my father is my "superhero".





8 comments

  1. We are also proud of your father like all the countrymen. So nice of you to share the information about him which is definitely inspiring for every patriot. Kindly write his name.

    Jitendra Mathur

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    1. Thanks Mr. Mathur. I am a proud daughter of "Mr. Joginder Pal Sethi".

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  2. Give a salute to your father on behalf of me. i have always believed that these personalities are the Real heroes and most of the cases their names are unknown. Thanks a lot for sharing about your father.

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    1. Thanks Jyotirmoy. Our soldiers are truly our great heroes.

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  3. Great to learn.
    We are immensely thankful to all what our soldiers have done & are doing for our nation. We salute them.
    While suggesting the 'hero'topic, I had our soldiers in my mind.
    My regards to your dad.

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    1. Thanks Anita. There is no other heroic figure which comes to our mind when we think about our nation. Glad that I kept your imagination alive.

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  4. Salut to your father for serving india !!!
    For most kids their parents are perfect role models and superheros specially when they relate to things which were once impossible but were successfully done by their parents :)
    My dad is also one of my superheros as he has so many qualities that I can feel proud about and I still try to instill and inherit them.
    I always think that other than being a proud Indian we forget about the people who were much more than superheroes ...people like Subash chandra bose, Bhagat Singh , Rajguru to name a few but the list goes on and on ...we should salut them too and try tto instill some of their qualities if not all!!!

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    1. Agreed Harry. If we are breathing in free India today, it is because of these great countrymen. We owe our freedom to them. The biggest quality we can inherit from these superheroes can be selfless work to help each other. They fought unitedly for a country and we have to keep their legacy alive.

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