DHARAN, Nov 2: Bal Bahdur Tamang Sayngbo alias Bikas Lama of Dharan-11, Bishnuchowk, was worried since tension flared along the Indo-Pak border.
He used to watch Indian news channels till late into night. He felt a pang of worry when he heard the news about exchange of fire between Indian and Pakistani sides in the border.
Bimal, 20, the youngest among Tamang's three sons, had joined the Indian Army two and a half years ago. Bimal, a rifleman belonging to the famous 7/11 Gorkha Regiment of the Indian Army, had been deputed at the unit based in war-torn Jammu and Kashmir since May.
Bimal had talked to his parents over the phone on the day of Laxmipuja. During the conversation, he was walking few miles down his security post to purchase some goods. “Be careful as the warfare is on along the border,” Narmaya, Bimal’s mother, had told him. In reply, Bimal had assured her not to worry about him. "Every news disseminated by media does not hold truth," Bimal had told her.
The following day, the day of Gowardhanpuja, people were playing Deusi with merriment and gusto. Bal Bahadur was returning home after offering dakshina (money) while Narmaya was weaving plates out of leaves.
Mother Narmaya and father Bal Bahadur Tamang Syangbo. (Photo Rohit Rai/Republica)
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When it clocked 5 pm, the telephone rang. Bal Bahadur received the phone. The person on the other side of the telephone said, “The firing took place early today morning in which Bimal lost his life.” The call was from Bimal’s Gorkha Regiment.
The merriment of Tihar turned into a moment of mourning for the Tamang family while a sense of sorrow shrouded the neighborhood.
The second eldest son Kishor, who is also in the Indian Army, arrived home from India in the middle of that night.
According to him, Bimal had received a bullet while on petrol after the Pakistani side opened fire.
Bimal was the youngest son among the three. He had come to house on a one-month-long vacation in last June. They could not see his face even at the last moment of his life. The Indian Army carried out his final rites with honor on Tuesday itself.
According to Kishor, the Indian Army carries out the funeral ceremony for the soldiers who die during war. However his mortal remains is being brought home on November 7.
Bimal had joined the Indian Army while he was studying plus two at Gyanodaya Higher Secondary School based in Dharan-18. An introvert but a bold man, Bimal was tge dearest son of his parents.
Bimal’s unit had been deployed in war-torn Jammu and Kashmir in June.
