In Satara, a village and a family await their Siachen martyr

This Valentinersquos Day was supposed to be our third marriage anniversary and this time my husband had promised to give me a surprise gift He cannot leave me and go alone I still believe he is alive says 22yearold Rekha Suryawanshi wife of martyr Sepoy Sunil Suryawanshi Rekha still doesnrsquot know that her husband was trapped and killed in the massive avalanche in Siachen while guarding the countrySepoy Sunil Suryawanshi and his wife Rekha on their day of their wedding Sepoy Nursing Assistant Sunil Suryawanshi was a soldier of the 19 Madras Regiment and was amongst the 10 soldiers who were trapped and killed by a massive avalanche at Siachen on February 3 The Army declared that they were dead on February 5 25yearold Suryawanshi was originally from the Army Medical Corps AMC He hailed from Maskarwadi village in Mand in SataraThis is Maskarwadirsquos second loss in a span of two and half months The village lost another son Martyr Colonel Santosh Mahadik who was a commanding officer of the 41 Rashtriya Rifles on November 17 last year Mahadik died in a gun battle with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmirrsquos Kupwara districtSuryawanshi was recruited as a sepoy in 2012 when he was in his second year of Bachelors in Science degree Sunilrsquos father Vitthal and mother Sangita are farmers who have struggled a lot to educate their sons Sunilrsquos mother Sangita said He was inspired by patriotic films and wanted to join the Army ever since he was a child His posting at Siachen was a dream posting because he loved nature and the mountains especially the blue and white onesShe added Two months ago he left for his posting and promised me that he will return soon He asked me to take care of the family in his absence and assured me that this time when he comes home he will stay for a longer time He will come soon God is not so cruelSunilrsquos elder brother Tanaji who works in a bank in Satara said We received a call on Tuesday informing us about his death Till yesterday we were hoping for him to be alive But now we still cannot digest it that he is dead At present only my father and I are aware of his death We have not yet told his wife and my mother Tanaji said that his mother and Rekha have been told that Sunil is one of the two injured soldiers and is currently undergoing treatmentHe added Prior to going for his mission in Siachen he called us and said he had to change his location because of the change in climate He said he would not able to speak to us for two weeks at least and asked us to not worry about him promising that he will return soonThe Suryawanshis were going to conduct a house warming in their brand new home on Sunilrsquos return along with his daughter Tanujarsquos second birthday on February 19 Rekha said He had asked me to gift our daughter a gun and a doll on his behalf for her birthday on February 19 Sunil loved weapons He had also suggested having the house warming ceremony with Tanujarsquos birthday so that all of our neighbours could gather and have funA teacher remembersRemembering her student Sunilrsquos school teacher Vandana SurywanshiBhosale from the Primary District School in Maskarwadi said Sunil was better known as Sonya by his school friends He was the most talented boy in my class I was his class teacher from class second till fourth He was not only good in studies but was also good at games He was fond of cricket and was a patriot He was an allrounder and a good debaterShe added I still remember how his classmates left school and started working in farms but Sunil would walk to the other village daily to complete his studies till the tenth standard He was also assisting his father in the farm during his school days He was a respectful person Last year when I visited the school he had called me over for lunch He was a very down to earth man