Warrior son’s burning pyre ignites spirit of patriotism
| Date :17-Nov-2020 |
Martyr Nk Bhushan Satai’s mother Meera, sister Sarita, and other family members could not control their emotions as Sarita wept after applying ‘tilak’ on the occasion of ‘Bhai Duj’ to her brother’s coffin. The entire town of Katol and people present shared the grief of Satai family.
Staff Reporter :
Thousands attend martyr Nk Bhushan Satai’s funeral, which was held with full State and Military honours
Anil Deshmukh, Home Minister; Dr Nitin Raut, Guardian Minister; Maj Gen Dinesh Hooda, GOC, UMANG Sub-Area; Major Dr Shilpa Kharapkar, ZSWO, and other civil, military, and police dignitaries offer salutes to the martyr at Kamptee
ON MONDAY, the thick flames from the funeral pyre of their beloved son ignited spirit of patriotism in the town of Katol. The tears in the eyes of martyr Naik Bhushan Rameshrao Satai’s family members, cemented the resolve in many hearts -- of serving the motherland. The slogans ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Naik Bhushan Satai Amar Rahe’ emerged from the hearts and filled the atmosphere as the gathering bid a tearful adieu to Naik Bhushan Rameshrao Satai who was martyred in mortar shelling by Pakistan in Gurez sector of Jammu and Kashmir. The overall atmosphere in the town of Katol was somber for the past three days. The town did not celebrate Diwali. For, their warrior son had laid his life for the country a day before ‘Laxmi Pujan’.
The martyr’s body reached Nagpur on Sunday from where it was taken to Kamptee. On Monday, civil, military, and police dignitaries laid wreaths and paid tributes to Nk Bhushan Satai at Garuda Parade Ground of the Brigade of the Guards at Kamptee. Anil Deshmukh, Home Minister; Dr Nitin Raut, Guardian Minister; Maj Gen Dinesh Hooda, General Officer Commanding, UMANG Sub-Area; Brig Sandeep Kumar, Brig Deepak Sharma; Commander Alok Beri, R B Birajdar; Ravindra Thakare, District Collector; Rakesh Ola, Superintendent of Police (Nagpur Rural); Manisha Kothe, Deputy Mayor of Nagpur city; Major Dr Shilpa Kharapkar, Zilla Sainik Welfare Officer (ZSWO); and other dignitaries offered salutes to the martyr at Kamptee. Later, the jawans carried the coffin to the martyr’s native place Katol. The atmosphere in Katol was gloomy, especially in front of the house of Satai family in Faelpura area.
The martyr’s father Rameshrao, mother Meera, sister Sarita, brother Roshan could not control their emotions as the coffin draped in national tricolour arrived. The weeping parents and siblings moved many. Anil Deshmukh, Home Minister; Dr Nitin Raut, Guardian Minister; Sunil Kedar, Animal Husbandry Minister; Vikas Mahatme and Krupal Tumane, both Members of Parliament; Chandrashekhar Bawankule, former Guardian Minister; and other leaders laid wreath and offered condolences. After the rituals, the military jawans carried the coffin to a ground near Rural Hospital in Katol for funeral. As the funeral procession was proceeding towards the ground, all the lanes and by-lanes and buildings and rooftops on the route were jam-packed with people.
All through, people were raising slogans ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, ‘Naik Bhushan Satai Amar Rahe’. At the same time, they could not hide their anger and shouted ‘Pakistan Murdabad’ as mortar shelling by Pakistan had killed the warrior son of Katol. The atmosphere was all charged up. When the funeral procession reached the ground, following the traditions of the Indian Army, a jawan neatly folded the national tricolour and handed it over to the parents and siblings of Nk Bhushan Satai. Tears rolled down the cheeks as father lit the funeral pyre of his son. Apart from the people in jam-packed ground, countless many people gathered on the terraces and balconies of buildings around, as well as courtyards of houses nearby. Rashmi Barve, President of Zilla Parishad (ZP); Vaishali Thakur, President of Katol Municipal Council; Yogesh Kumbhejkar, Chief Executive Officer of ZP; Shrikant Phadke, Additional Collector; Umbarkar, Sub-Divisional Officer; Ajay Charde, Tehsildar; Charan Singh Thakur, and others were present prominently. Ratnakar Thakre, former Working President of Maji Sainik Sanghatana, recalled that Katol had seen its son make the supreme sacrifice in service of the country in 1965 when Second Lt Prabhakar Barokar had attained martyrdom in India-Pakistan war. “Katol has his memorial. Now, Katol Municipal Council and State Government should construct a similar memorial for this brave son Naik Bhushan Satai in Katol to inspire younger generation,” he said.
Though it was a sunny day, clouds of grief dominated the emotional skyline. By evening, though the wood in the funeral pyre had turned into ashes, everyone in the town was talking in one language -- of patriotism. By night, patriotism was the indelible ink in which people consigned Nk Bhushan Satai to memories. The warrior son of Katol will live long after his martyrdom...
A sister’s appeal to nation: Avenge my brother’s death
Katol Correspondent
ON THE occasion of ‘Bhai Duj’ while the other women applied ‘tilak’ on the forehead of their brothers, destiny played a cruel joke with Sarita Satai. She had to apply ‘tilak’ on the coffin carrying the mortal remains of her brother Naik Bhushan Satai. Sarita could not control the emotions she did since learning of her brother’s martyrdom, on Monday. After applying ‘tilak’ on the coffin, she cried loudly, “Mere bhaiyya ko dikhao.” The cry pierced through the commotion of the crowd like an arrow. Sarita, her mother Meera could not control themselves and both spread their hands on the coffin in a desperate attempt to give last hug to Naik Bhushan Satai. Overwhelmed with emotions, Sarita seethed in anger and thundered, “I am proud that he attained martyrdom while serving the motherland. But, do not let my brother’s sacrifice go waste. The nation must avenge his death from Pakistan.”
‘My second son also will become a soldier’
Katol Correspondent
THERE is no greater loss in the world for a mother than to lose her young son. No one else knows it better than Meera Satai, the grieving mother of martyr Naik Bhushan Satai. However, being a woman with nerves of steel, she expressed the resolve that her second son also would become a soldier and serve the country. As the coffin carrying the mortal remains of her elder son Naik Bhushan Satai reached the family’s house in Faelpura area of Katol, Meera Satai’s eyes welled up. Tears rolled down with the realisation that the moment of bidding final adieu to her beloved son had come. While receiving the national tricolour from a jawan before the funeral, Meera’s eyes welled up again, but this time with resolve. She said, “My son has laid down his life for the country. My second son also will become a soldier and serve the motherland.”