‘He was not just a gallant soldier but he was also equally kind at heart’

Jawan Kashinath Talwar (36) died of a heart attack while on duty in Kargil

mily, Kashinath
 Caption for Family: Kashinath Talwar’s wife, Vidyalakshmi and his daughters at Utnal village of Vijayapura taluk.
 
 Caption Kashinath: Solider, Kashinath Talwar.

Srinidhi (5) and her younger sister, Samrudhi (2), sitting next to their mother, are too small to realise what they have lost in their life.

While their mother, Vidyalakshmi, was inconsolable as she knows that her husband, Kashinath Talwar (36), a solder in the Indian Army, would now only live in their memories.

Crying uncontrollably, she was unable to accept the fact that she is now a widow and that she now has two daughters to take care of, without help from her husband.

“He had come home in August last and was schedule to arrive next month on leave,” Ms. Vidyalakshmi said, sobbing.

A native of Utnal village about 18 km from Vijayapura, Talwar died while serving the nation at Kargil on Friday evening. Defence officials informed the family that Talwar, who was serving as Nayak in 26, Madras Regiment, died of a heart attack in Kargil. “We first did not reveal this terrible news to Ms. Vidyalakshmi as we feared that she may go into a deep shock. All that we told her was Kashinath is unwell and recovering in hospital. Only on Sunday morning, we told her about the death as we could not hold back the news for long,” said Bhimappa Talwar, elder brother of Talwar. Son of a farmer, Bhimappa Talwar said that his younger brother had always wanted to join the Army and serve the nation. “He had some kind of craze for the Army which he finally joined about 12 years ago. Just about a year ago, he had got transferred to Kargil from Rajasthan,” he said.

Recalling their childhood days, Sridhar Jadhav, a classmate and native of the same village, said that whenever Talwar came on leave, he always encouraged youngsters to join the Army.

Shivakumar Tatagar, a colleague of Talwar and who worked together for nearly 10 years, said that Talwar was not just a gallant soldier but he was also equally kind at heart. “I never saw him getting angry at anything or against anybody. He was a friend of all in our regiment,” he said.

Meanwhile, the family is preparing for the last rites as the body will be arriving in the village on Monday.