Putting his hands inside the pocket, wearing a full sleeved sweater made of pure sheep wool Kaushal hurried to his class. It was freezing cold but his sweater kept him warm enough. "Why are you sitting here?" He questioned Manoj "This is my place" he added. "But I came earlier today" Manoj replied innocently. "But you know that I sit beside Hari everyday, sit somewhere else." Kaushal said folding his hands. Manoj knew he couldn't win so he quietly took up his bag and went to sit somewhere else. The smile on Kaushal's face returned and he happily placed his bag beside Hari's, his best friend. A beam of sunlight hit Kaushal's face, he looked out and saw the beautiful ever sparking Himalayas through which he could see a red, round figure, the sun showing it's face. Every morning Kaushal would peep out of the classroom window and just keep looking at the beautiful sight.
He turned back and saw Manoj sitting at a corner, he went up to him and holding his ears he said, "sorry, I shouldn't have behaved like that." Manoj smiled and hugged him, he whispered, "No need of being sorry, it's okay."
The assembly bell rang. Kaushal along with Manoj, Hari and others set out for the morning assembly.
The morning assembly as usual was conducted in an open ground with a small cemented stage upfront where the tricolor flag could always be seen. The ground was surrounded by small flowering plants all around.Standing there one could have a breathtaking view just behind the dais the main school building could be seen and far behind the peaks of the Himalayas. It was one of the finest built schools, although it didn't have all the modern technologies installed but the natural beauty took it to a different world.
The students lined up according to their classes and the morning prayer began. Kaushal closed his eyes and joined his hands. Amidst the fog and the surroundings It looked as if all those children were standing at the door of heaven with their prayers.
The prayer ended and the daily news was read out. The principal came to the dais with the days announcement. "Good morning students,today we will have a surprise extempore speech session here itself." Many students got a mini heart attack on the spot.
Everybody had kept their fingers crossed. Kaushal was tensed too. One by one names were being announced. "Kaushal Srivastav, Class V'B'" Kaushal's heart began pumping hard. He briskly walked up to the dais and picked up a topic randomly. "HOW MUCH I LOVE MY COUNTRY" the piece of paper read.
Kaushal went towards the microphone and began, "Good morning everyone, I am Kaushal Srivastava and its my proud privilege to speak on the given topic 'How much I love my country'. Kaushal looked at the huge audience in front of him, then he looked at the paper again to find something, he could say so much on this topic but something got struck in his throat. Silence continued. He looked towards the principal, who gave him an assuring look. Somehow Kaushal got the courage to speak again. "I will describe this through something which we hear everyday at the end of the assembly." Kaushal stood in attention position and started singing the national anthem, "Jana gana mana..."he began, everybody stood up.
BANG! there was a terrible noise somewhere nearby, everybody looked around but Kaushal kept singing. In a fraction of second, something hit Kaushal on his shoulder and immediately his white uniform turned red. Everybody started rushing inside and there was chaos everywhere, someone had fired a bullet but amazingly Kaushal kept singing. Then another one hit him just below the waist, Kaushal got disbalanced but nothing stopped him from singing, the principal tried to pull him out but he wouldn't go. Kaushal completed the anthem and after full 52 seconds and fell down and fainted. He was immediately taken to the hospital and the school was closed down.
The next day headlines read: 'Terrorist attack School in Kashmir, student injured'. Kaushal had undergone two major surgeries and he was much better now. When the principal visited him at the hospital, Kaushal first question was, "How was my speech, sir?" Mr.Singh couldn't utter a word just hugged Kaushal and patted his back.
Kashmir's Kaushal is now a major in the Indian army and whenever he stands up for his country he sings the same national anthem. He says "Even God can not beat me in these 52 seconds of the national anthem, in these 52 seconds I become a man who is fighting for his mother and a boy who is delivering a speech on 'How much he loves his country.'
~Dedicated to the Indian Army and to the people with tricolor hearts~
