Lt. Saurabh Kalia - A visit to his Smriti Kaksh - Palampur, HP

This visit of ours deserved a separate post. I had read about Lt Saurabh Kalia's gruesome treatment as PoW at the hands of Paxtani soldiers. May 15, 1999 was the day he and his jawans went missing. His mother suffered a heart attack upon hearing the news. On June 9, Paxtan returned the tortured remains of Lt Kalia and his men. This was from the book Kargil by Rachna Bisht Rawat. In the book she also mentioned that from that day till now, visitors visit the Smriti Kaksh (museum) built in Lt Kalia's memory, meet Vijaya ma'am ( his mother) and spend some time with them. 

We visited their home sometime in May end 2022 after we finished our VaishnoDevi darshan in Jammu. We had a plan to go to Dharamshala.

A tweet from another fallen soldier's mother Meghna Girish ma'am (mother of Major Akshay Girish) informed me about the events surrounding May 15. I was going to go to Dharamshala and upon checking the map I found Palampur where the Kalia family lived, was only 40 odd km from where I was going to be. I pinged Rachna ma'am and Meghna ma'am and asked them if it was ok to drop by. They said yes, do it, take the chance. On 19th May, we started for Palampur. Once we reach the town, bachcha bachcha jaanta hai Lt Kalia ka Ghar. There's no door number you need to look for. Just ask for Saurabh Nagar, Saurabh Marg and you'll be directed to his home. 

childhood snaps

his other uniform

his personal belongings 

combat fatigues

that's his uniform

If you read the book, you'll note that Aishwarya Rai's poster used to adorn the wall of his room in the academy. 

Yes, he belonged to Jat Regiment

It was this wallet that helped his brother identify the mortal remains that were brought back from Paxtan

The piping ceremony - that is his dad and mom

We spent 1.5 hours with the family. The grandkids (sons of Lt Kalia's brother Vaibhav) kept us entertained. We were laughing and joking as if we knew each other for many years. Then Vijaya ma'am returned home as she was outside when we reached. We took her blessings, I cried, joked and spoke to her, she hugged me tightly and believe me, I have never met such a brave woman before in my life. Her courage is infectious, you look at her in awe. She's the embodiment of fortitude. You and I would have broken into pieces if something similar had happened in our lives. She is 79 and still going strong. 

When we visit war heroes, soldiers' homes, their families are happy that as civilians we remember their sacrifice, we remember their service. So next time you go anywhere, see if there is any such hero's family you can visit. Trust me, you will be grateful for the wonderful experience.  

We also visited Saurabh Van Vihar located a few km away from their home. There's a statue of Lt. Kalia, Kargil war scene recreation, some activities for kids. Splendid way to finish our visit to Himachal Pradesh. 

For those who do not read Hindi, these were the last words Lt Kalia told his mother before he lefto for Kargil - "Ma, you see one day I will become so famous that the whole world will know my name"

Oh and the Dhauladhar range flanking our route was another highlight. You can keep looking at it and not get bored, such beauty nature gives us. Hope you can make such a trip too... Let me know if you've been there, what was your experience like.