We pass through this world but once!

There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt

Everyone has a thousand wishes before a tragedy, but just one afterward.

There is a saying in Tibetan, ‘Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.’ No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster.

-Shri G P sing , DG #CRPF, visited the home of Veer Balidani HC/GD Mahima Nand Shukla in Palamu, Jharkhand, who made the supreme sacrifice in an IED blast. Meeting the Veer Naari and her brave children, he offered solace and assured them that Mahima Nand’s sacrifice will never be forgotten.

He assured the family that CRPF stands with them—today and always. With profound gratitude, he conveyed that it would be a privilege for #CRPF to support them in any way, whenever they allow, as a small tribute to the immense sacrifice of their beloved.

The story:

-CRPF chief Gyanendra Pratap Singh visited the family of a slain personnel in Jharkhand’s Palamu district who laid down his life during a recent anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh, officials said.

-The director general (DG) of the paramilitary force is on a daylong tour of the state.

-Head Constable Mahima Nand Shukla (46) was grievously injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast on February 11 in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district. He was lifted in a chopper to Raipur and later shifted to the AIIMS in Delhi for better treatment. He however, succumbed to his injuries on February 20.

-The CRPF chief made it a point to visit the family of the brave head constable despite being in Jharkhand for only a day to review anti-Naxal operations in the state, a senior officer said.

-He met the wife, their son and daughter and other family members and lauded the “exemplary” courage shown by him during the Chhattisgarh operation and ensuring the safety of his colleagues, the official said.

-“The DG met the family of our brave shaheed jawan and assured that the force stands with them in these difficult times. He made a special mention that the education of his two children will be taken care of,” CRPF deputy inspector general (DIG) M Dhinakaran said in Delhi.

-The DG also spoke to the children separately and assured them that the CRPF stands with them at all times, the DIG said, adding he also directed the Jharkhand sector of the force to assist the family in all their needs.

-Shukla joined the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in 2001. Before joining the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) theatre of Chhattisgarh in 2022, he served in Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand and Bihar.

-On the fateful day of the IED attack, Shukla, trained in bomb detection and disposal techniques, was leading the CRPF party.

-“Disregarding his own life safety, he made supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, saving lives of other members of the team,” a CRPF report said.

-The DG also interacted with his troops at a base in Ranchi and also reviewed the incident in which three personnel were injured in an IED attack in the West Singhbhum district !

-The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think. For the man who gave up his life it was a comedy of sorts because smilingly he gave up his life to save the others! Truly a hero!

-But for his family, weeping is not the same thing as crying. It takes your whole body to weep, and when it’s over, you feel like you don’t have any bones left to hold you up.

-But they should realize that the head of the family has just vanished and cannot be seen but he is seeing you from everywhere! There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.

-He will Come back. Even as a shadow, even as a dream. But he is still around and that is how his family should think about!

‘Saans Thamti Gayi, Nabz Jamti Gayi. Phir Bhi Badhte Kadam Ko Na Rukne Diya, Kat Gaye Sar Hamare Toh Kuchh Gham Nahin, Sar Himalay Ka Humne Na Jhukne Diya, Marte Marte Raha Baankpan Saathiyon, Ab Tumhare Hawaale Watan Saathiyon’

We pass through this world but once. Few tragedies can be more extensive than the stunting of life, few injustices deeper than the denial of an opportunity to strive or even to hope, by a limit imposed from without, but falsely identified as lying within.

Mand Shukla’s wife must be saying to herself, one of the greatest tragedies in life is to lose your own sense of self and accept the version of you that is expected by everyone else. But she has to live with the truth that her husband was a hero! She must say to herself that Nand, you’re a sacrificer. I don’t even know if that’s a real word, but that’s what you are. You do things you don’t want to do to make life better for the people around you. Like being the designated driver. That doesn’t make you boring. It makes you a hero.

A hero is also someone who, in their day to day interactions with the world, despite all the pain, uncertainty and doubt that can plague us, is resiliently and unashamedly themselves. If you can wake up every day and be emotionally open and honest regardless of what you get back from the world then you can be the hero of your own story. Each and every person who can say that despite life’s various buffetings that they are proud to be the person they are is a hero. Now I do have to mention the real heroes of The Chattisgarh Project, the men and women volunteers, all of whom stand up day after day answering the calls of desperate teens whose circumstances have pushed them to the edge of the abyss. To take that call, and say yes, I will be the one who saves this life takes such courage and compassion. Hemingway’s definition of ‘grace under pressure’ seems fitting as the job they do is every bit as important, and every bit as delicate as a soldier defusing a bomb.