A Room That Still Waits For Him: Kargil Hero's Mother Creates Shrine At Home

With tears brimming, Vandana Langeh holds a rakhi that she tied to the photograph of her brother, Kargil hero Grenadier Udeyman Singh, who was killed in action on Tiger Hill in 1999.

"Every Raksha Bandhan, I miss my brother. I can't tie this thread on his wrist anymore. But I feel proud. Because of his sacrifice, so many other sisters are still able to celebrate Bhai Dooj and Raksha Bandhan with their brothers," she says, her voice breaking.

Every year on July 26, the nation observes Kargil Vijay Diwas - a solemn reminder of India's triumph in 1999. On the day, the nation honours the 527 soldiers who died for duty and the country during Operation Vijay and the thousands who fought with unwavering courage in one of the world's most unforgiving battlefields.

Udeyman Lives On, In Our Hearts

On Vijay Diwas, NDTV stepped into a small room in Jammu. The room was turned into a shrine by his mother for the son who never returned.

Grenadier Udeyman Singh was killed in action on the frozen heights of Tiger Hill on July 5, 1999.

Today, Kanta Devi still keeps her son's memory alive piece by piece.

For her, this is not merely a room. It is a place where she meets and greets her son every day.

"Every morning I come here and speak to him. I share everything with him, the way I did when he was alive," Kanta Devi says softly, her fingers brushing over his belongings.

The soldier was part of the legendary assault team led by Grenadier Yoginder Singh Yadav, who was later conferred the Param Vir Chakra.

Shot on a near-vertical cliff face, Udheyman refused to fall back. He kept fighting till his last breath. Before falling, his team inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. For his extraordinary valour, he was posthumously awarded the Sena Medal.

On a shelf of the room lies his wallet -- still bearing the bullet hole.

The same bullet that tore him away from his mother forever.

Inside the wallet are letters. Some written by Vandana to her brother while he was posted in Kargil. Some written by Udeyman that he could never post.

"He called twice from Kargil. The calls were brief. So I wrote letters to tell him everything I couldn't say," Vandana recalls.

Beside them rests a one-rupee coin, struck by a bullet. She keeps it with reverence, because it was the last thing that touched him.

Even after 27 years, the moment Kanta Devi steps into this room, her eyes well up. The pride is undiminished, but the ache never leaves.  

This room holds every birthday he missed, every festival he wasn't here for, every word he never got to say.

Grenadier Udeyman Singh, 18, was from Shamachak, Jammu.

Today, in Jammu, a mother still dusts his uniform, and the Kargil hero lives on in the memory of his family.