A trip to Ladakh is incomplete without visiting the Kargil War Memorial. The memorial brings to light the sacrifices of our brave defence forces in a somber way. It is 5 kilometers from the city center and sits right under the foothills of Tololing Hill.
When we were getting closer to Kargil, we did not halt at the city but went straight up to the memorial. Up north and in the mountains, the Sun sets early so it’s best to look around sooner than later. That afternoon brought me closer to the war at Kargil. As civilians, we have limited knowledge of what happens at the front. We stood almost at the foothills of those hills where Indian army fought to regain territory. We listened to a jawan narrate a hair-raising account of what happened in Kargil 20 years ago. How ignorance is not a blessing and sometimes over confidence costs us more than we can imagine.
Today, July 26th is Kargil Vijay Diwas and a day to commemorate India’s victory over Pakistan’s intrusion on our land.
I am leaving you with some pictures of the memorial and those that stood out for me.
As we walked out of the memorial I read, “When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow we gave our today”. I don’t have enough words to share the pride and gratitude I feel. So I will leave you with the above quote and the thought that these sacrifices should not go in vain. We all need to play our part to make India better.
For more travel stories from Ladakh – head here.
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Thank you for sharing the pictures Parul. I read a book called Letter from Kargil which had letters from soldiers to their loved ones. Some of them were ones they are supposed to write if they don’t return home from the front. It wasn’t a very well-written book but that was the time I got a first had feel of war. We never really get to know the seriousness of the situation sitting in far away corners of the country.
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I remember you sharing about this book. In the memorial, there were letters that some had send to their family posthumously. This place is the location where the war was fought. Somber and brings up emotions. Thanks for stopping by!
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Thank you for sharing. These pictures truly bring up the emotions, especially the last quote..
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Beautiful pictures Parul.
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Thank you Balaka!
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Thank you for sharing this, Parul. I would like to visit the Kargil War Memorial one day. Reading your account along with pictures made my heart swell with pride, gratitude and tears for the lost lives. ❤️
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I know how you feel. Seeing the place and going around it, I was so proud and sad too.
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Wow the pics are surreal and you have captured and displayed them so well in this post Parul. I had gone to Kargil via Srinagar by road on my way to Leh but had given the memorial a miss as I just wasnt in the frame of mind. Your pics inspire me to visit it next whenever I am in that region again.
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I understand that part about traveling. It was so heart wrenching that I would want to visit again.
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