City pays tribute to Kargil hero

MUMBAI: The Chinmaya Yuva Kendra (CHYK) organised a memorial service on Wednesday to pay homage to Captain Vikram Batra, who lost his life during the 1999 Kargil war. Batra was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest honour for valour posthumously.
The service was held at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan auditorium. Captain Batra's parents- father G L Batra and mother Kamal-attended
the ceremony.
A one-act play depicting Captain Batra's early life and "how he was inspired to become an army officer" was staged, said Shiva Suryavanshi, who portrayed the valiant soldier in the play.
"Lots of people don't know anything about him. Captain Batra took bullets and saved the soldier in front of him because he was married with children," said Tulsi Mody (16), a member of CHYK.
"I still remember my last goodbye to Vikram. After that we neither met nor spoke. He was posted at Sopore in Baramulla and his holiday was cancelled. We only exchanged letters after May. I received his last letter after we completed his last rites," said Captain Batra's twin Vishal, a deputy general manager with a leading bank. "Our only solace is that he died fighting for his country. He has made history," Vishal added.