Luck :: Part I

I

I was having hard times then. My financial condition wasn’t stable. My family had disowned me for marrying Vanessa, a Spanish girl, whom I loved. I wasn’t earning much working as a photographer for a local newspaper. My salary was barely 3000 rupees. We were living together in a rented room which ate half my salary and so we barely managed to keep us in one piece.

Vanessa was born in Spain but brought up in Goa. Later she came to Kolkata and started as a model. Her career started off well but wasn’t doing much during that time when we married. She was a very beautiful girl, the most beautiful girl according to me and we loved each other a lot. But before family planning it was necessary to earn much more to support us.

So I decided to join the army in order to gain respect and also to earn a bit more. But that separated me a lot from my love. Still I had no option. After joining the army, I was sent to the BSF (Border Security Force). I was first posted in Yingkiong, a border area of Arunachal Pradesh. Opposite in China the place was called Metog. There it was sometimes bitterly cold and sometimes I had to stay without food and water for days. I was a chain smoker in my college life, but had to give it up.

The only thing I had to satisfy my mind was a mobile which worked only when we were pulled out and taken to the city areas once a month. Every month they would send my salary to my love and it was enough, but we hardly got time to spend together. I although enjoyed the company of my fellow soldiers with similar stories like mine.