This was one of the laziest mornings of our trip. We got up, drove down, had tea, came up, chatted with the caretaker, lazed in the lawns, and fianlly its was 11:40am that we started our journey, towards Drass.
When I was in school, we had a poem called the charge of the light brigade.
Its a poem about the brave soldiers, who sacrificed all because the general fed them to be cannon fodder.
They had no chance of survival, yet they did the soldiers duty.
India has its own Charge of the light brigade story, and to see it you have to visit the Drass War memorial.
How the administration totally ignored enemy buildup on the heights till it went so bad that you had to do the Srinagar Leh highway with headlights off at night, lest the pakistanis do target practice on your vehicle.
Finally in 1999, the brave soldiers, underequipped and underarmed, went up against the hostile terrain.
A lot of lives were lost, but thanks to those brave ones, today you can stand against signboards like "The enemy is watching" and click pics. Before 1999, you could get shot.
It was around 1pm we reached the Drass war memorial. This was a must see part of our trip. The road from Kargil to Drass was extremely well paved and a delight to drive!
The soldiers there showed us the tiger hill, and the other hills around. The hill right behind the wall was also occupied. It overlooks the highway, and anybody sitting on top of that can take pot shots on all vehicular traffic with ease
What you see below is the famous tiger hill.
The memorial
This is the hill behind the memorial. Battles were fought right here, and where you stand and view the monument, lot of blood was spilt
The wall. Etched forever are the names of those brave ones who sacrificed everything
Infact there is a signboard on the road. which says
"My only regret is that I have only one life to give for my country".
Right next to the memorial you have a museum. It has pictures from the actual conflict, as well as captured arms and ammo.
In the pictures you can see smiling soldiers and officers.
Many of them never came back
On one of the boards, there are pictures of Naga Regiment. They are smiling, and holding the heads of the slain enemy. The soldier on duty told us that whenever naga regiment goes in, it does not come out without winning, or unless the last man dies. When ammo finishes they fight with swords and knives, and when those break they fight with their bare hands. They behead the enemy, and bring back the heads. Its a centuries old tradition of the Naga warriors, and it continues to this day.
The Sikh and the Garwhal regiment placards
There were many names on the pictures, and many of those names were also on the wall. That smiling soldier, with a family tilling the fields, never returned
Captured articles
KrishnaC said "If camera could capture emotions". Its hard not to feel very sad here. On TV you see the fanfare and the parades and the accolades. Its here you see the loss, the sadness.
You can't help but salute these brave soldiers, from all over the country, who gave away everything.
The shrine to the soldier
So if you ever ride this highway, always stop here. If it were not for them, you would not be here in the first place. If these men were not here, away from their families, even in the freezing winters when temp drops to -50, you will not need inner line permits, but a Visa to visit this place
A view of the tiger hill again.
It was around 13:50 that we took leave of the martyrs, and started our journey for the next destination - Sonmarg.
TO BE CONT............