Bhopal Literature & Art Festival to celebrate the life of Kargil hero Captain Manoj Pandey

The Last Thoughts of a Young Officer Who Earned India's Highest Gallantry Award Posthumously:

"Na Chhornu". The last words of young Captain Manoj Pandey, Param Veer Chakra (Posthumous). Uttered at Khalubar Hills in Kargil War 1999. Translated from Nepali; the language of his soldiers, it means, "not a single enemy is to be left".

Days before he made the supreme sacrifice for Mother India, he wrote a letter to his best friend. Some nuggets: (Remember, in the army, it was largely snail mail days still.)

I have myself brushed shoulders with death, 4 times, but because of some good work; I am still alive.

I can assure you and all countrymen, that we will certainly push back intruders at whatever the cost we have to pay, may be our lives.

If I come back, we will have a lot of things to talk about, but it's going to be an everlasting experience for me.

'Do read this letter to as many as possible'.

Captain Manoj displayed hair-raising bravery in Kargil. But How was he as a young school boy? During his training at the National Defence Academy? And finally, as an officer in the First Battalion, 11 Gorkha Rifles?

With the encouragement of Captain Manoj's grieving mother, his classmate and best friend, Pawan Kumar Mishra, wrote his biography 'The Hero of Batalik' (Kargil War 1999). Published in 2015, the book is available in English and Hindi and presents a gripping human interest story. In the book, the author has included photos of the letters Captain Manoj wrote to him.

Pawan Mishra has been listed in top 100 debut authors of India. In an exclusive session, he will be discussing his book and his insights about the Kargil hero at the coming Bhopal Literature & Art Festival on March 25, 2022.

The BLF is a three-day event that will see sixty authors to discuss their works with the public, in forty-five invigorating sessions which will include celebrity writers like Shobhaa De and Vikram Sampath to a flurry of new authors concerned about the environment and public life. A delight for those inclined to immerse into the Knowledge Kumbh of Central India.