A salute to resilience of the military child
On an evening stroll recently, I saw a dandelion floating in the evening breeze while strolling in Patiala’s Baradari Gardens. I pointed to it and told both my daughters, “There goes your official flower.”
Dandelion is a widely distributed weed of the daisy family, with a rosette of leaves and large bright yellow flowers followed by globular heads of seeds with downy tufts. I also reminded them that April is designated as the Month of the Military Child, underscoring the important role, military children play, in the armed forces community. They looked at me with quizzical eyes.
They had never heard of this phrase. I have great respect for all sections of society, especially children, from diverse family backgrounds. However, the life of a military child is vastly different from her counterparts, who at best change a few of their schools in their lifetime. A military child perforce has to fend for herself and adapt to her new friends and teachers after every two years or so.
They are akin to dandelions that can put down roots almost anywhere and are almost impossible to destroy. I made my younger daughter, Siddhita, recall, how, a few years ago, she had shifted from a school in a remote village in Manipur to a happening place in Punjab, Jalandhar, without ruffling her feathers. The dandelion is an unpretentious plant yet good looking. It’s a survivor in a broad range of climates. I reminded my elder daughter, Akashayata, how she had survived the freezing temperatures of eastern Ladakh when they had joined me for a few months, way back in June 2001.
Military children bloom everywhere; the winds carry them. They are hardy and upright. Their roots are strong. They are ready to fly in the breezes that take them to new adventures, new lands and new friends. Military children are well-rounded, culturally aware, tolerant and extremely resilient. They learn from a very early age that home is where their hearts are; that a good friend can be found in every corner of the world. They learn that to survive means to adapt, that the door that closes one chapter of their life, opens up to a new and exciting adventure, full of new friends and new experiences. April is the month and the time to honour the sacrifices made by military families worldwide. We must salute the so-called ‘field area families’ located in several of our military stations and cantonments throughout the length and breadth of our country.
Not many would know that April 15 is the day when we wear purple, or so to say, we ‘purple up’ to express our solidarity and support for the strength and sacrifices of our children, while their fathers are deployed at Siachen Glacier, deserts and on our borders. Some may ask why purple. Well, purple refers to the colour obtained when we incorporate children of all services: Army (olive green), Navy (white) and Air Force (blue). God bless them.
MILITARY CHILDREN BLOOM EVERYWHERE. THEY ARE HARDY AND UPRIGHT. THEIR ROOTS ARE STRONG. THEY ARE READY TO FLY IN THE BREEZES THAT TAKE THEM TO NEW ADVENTURES, NEW LANDS AND NEW FRIENDS