Indomitable Spirit Lives on for Eternity

I fell in love with the perceived image of Jeet,(my late wife) even before I saw her. I had been sent a small a photograph small print with all the seven sisters jostling for space. Travelling all the way from Jalandhar to Dehradun I was trying desperately to solve the riddle of identifying my prospective bride, I had been given no clue in the accompanying letter about her identity. Any way I saw her and was conquered on the spot.

Our parents also decided to make the love bond stronger and made us take the vows twice in 12 hours by having two separate and different wedding ceremonies. Army also helped, those days it firmly believed in the adage; ‘Separation makes the Love Bond Stronger’ and promptly posted me to a field station far away from her, where even letters took ten days or so to reach.

In due course the children followed making the bond even stronger.

Nature also decided to chip in and one day the sky fell on us, her biopsy result came out positive. That started our long fight, lasting for more than 8 years with the most dreaded enemy one can have, Cancer, she bravely and I patiently. Many battles were won and lost by both of us over the period. We came even closer to each other, the love bond becoming stronger, she worried of my future without her and I fearful of loosing the battle, holding her hand tight to prevent it slipping away.

Alas one day the hand did slip away, leaving her frail body in my hands, both of us speechless, she permanently, with just a half shed tear hanging precariously to the eyelid. Was there a last unspoken message in the tear for me?

Her illness was our second and longer Honeymoon, at least in terms of the time, now, together. To me she, even with her now frail body, was still as attractive as before, may be more especially with the fear of loosing her looming large all he time. The Army once again proved right, now that we are so far away from each other the bond is the strongest

We lost the battle but won the war, possibly because of the love, concern and empathy for each other, proving that these are equally important to a terminally ill, possibly more, as is appropriate medical care.

A combination of the two does make a formidable and powerful weapon in the fight against Cancer irrespective of the fact that one wins or looses the fight.

Brig Lakshman Singh, VSM (Retd)

Report My Signal Team grieves the loss of Jeet who bravely shared the travails of a Soldier. Her spirit and embodiment of immortality transcends time and space.