The Ballads

The Marigold [March 28, 2016] unfolds the poignant story of the Indian soldier, creating awareness of a long-standing lapse regarding armed forces veterans, with the obvious need to have a Remembrance Day and a Flower of Remembrance. The graceful, auspicious, ubiquitous Marigold, a resonating symbol for all occasions, is especially apt for commemorating and honoring the soldier’s ultimate sacrifice and India’s war dead. 

Waiting!  [December 3, 2003] turns to the anxiously awaited return of loved ones—husband, sons, and brothers--from the battlefields, and the finality of recurring tragic losses that army wives and dependents must come to terms with.

Collage: Vanita Singh

The Unknown Soldier [2001] focuses on the markedly sad fact that has left many service families bereft virtually twice over:  the absence of an earmarked place in the proximity of the National War Memorial to honor the Unknown Soldier’s ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. The identities and graves of innumerable servicemen have been relinquished to anonymity, either because their deeds of courage in battle were not witnessed by someone who could write a citation, or where their bodies may have been lost or destroyed. The pressing priority of a collective commemorative memorial for them--comforting, noble and enduring—is self-evident.

Photo Credit: Mandip Singh Soin & Anita Dayal Soin 

Regimental Bonds [September 2001] acknowledges the stalwart Gorkha families, including mothers and wives forced to come to terms with compounded personal wartime tragedies. The cherished continuity of trans-generational Regimental bonds repeatedly exacts unstinting sacrifices from grieving families, who bravely encourage the tradition of sons following their fathers into the Regiment. This grassroots heroism makes it adequately clear that vindicating the family honor is synonymous with their regimental pride and traditions.

The ballad is based on the true story of Rifleman Neerbahadur Thapa, a third-generation soldier of the ‘First Five’ Gorkha Rifles, who was killed in battle. It highlights the bond between the Regiment and regimental families. When Neerbahadur’s mother learnt of her son’s death, she sent her remaining son to the regiment to keep the family line intact.

When the War is over [August 7, 1972], starkly autobiographical, moves from the euphoric victory to liberate Bangladesh in 1971 to the war wounded and disabled recuperating at the Command Hospital, Pune, deeply disturbed by the lack of clarity about a future in the army. It was a profession Ian and some others had consciously chosen, which pointed in the direction of the units, the men, the regiments with all their proud traditions, culture, and camaraderie, viz. all that stood for a life that had no parallel and no equal. An amputee from a devastating landmine blast himself, he determined on not being straitjacketed into doing something that went against the grain, consistently worked hard at proving his mettle and becoming an inspiration to the disabled soldiers, even surprising most of his skeptical, non-disabled superiors! The probing questions about the career-prospects of battle casualties with which the ballad concludes, invites reflection on the motivation of future generations of soldiers and how they could react to battle casualties and war widows not being adequately cared for.

Hormasji Street [July 2003] unfolds a panorama that encompasses reminiscences of a happy childhood in Bombay’s Colaba; the awakened impulse to join the Army; and the sweeping changes that transformed the street completely over time. Nobody could have ever known that a few houses away from Number 9, where Ian had lived a long time ago with his family on this innocuous street, a Jewish house would be selectively targeted by the terrorists who came over to Bombay from Pakistan on 26 November 2008. The attention of the whole world was on Hormasji Street as TV channels showed Indian para commandos in action and their attempts to rescue Baby Moshe--the child of Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka, who had been killed in this heinous attack.

Sketch: Vanita Singh