A tune of life remembering the dead

Aizawl, Mar 3 (UNI) Two lines inscribed on the tomb of an unknown soldier at Kohima's War Cemetry, transformed into a melancholy strain, touching the heart of Mizoram as it mourns the warriors brought home dead.

''When you go home, tell them of us and say, we gave our today for their tomorrow,'' are the immortal words inscribed on the tomb of the unknown soldier which has melted millions of hearts.

The song entitled 'When You Go Home' composed by Mizo lyricist Well Born Manners and sung by Remkimi Cherput has touched the heart of Mizoram as they mourn their warriors brought home dead.

It is a tribute to all those whose lives were cut short so that their motherland could live on.

The epitaph transformed into a heart-touching melody has drawn a stream of tears down the cheeks of the martyrs' widows who lost their loved ones in insurgency-ravaged Chhattisgarh during the past one year.

''Whenever I listen to the song, I can't help crying. To be precise, a part of me dies,'' K Lalthapari, general secretary of Chhattisgarh Mizo Battalion Family Welfare told UNI here today.

Some of the widows living a hand-to-mouth existence without adequate financial assistance from the government despite their husbands' martyrdom, heightens the poignancy of the proud lament of a dying soldier.

The 16-year-old singer shot to fame in the first Mizo Idol contest last year. The song dedicated to the ten Mizo jawans who were killed in the Maoist blasts on November 19 last year has made the martrys' wives sob.

C Vanlalhriati (28) is left behind with three children. Her husband H Vanlalhruaia was among the ten Mizo jawans killed in the the Moaist blasts last year. Now, she lives her late husband's pension as the government's promise of Rs 20 lakh ex-gratia is yet to materialise. She lives in a rented house at Ramhlun South locality here.

However, Vanlalhriati is lucky as compared to 35-year-old Mary Jones as she is entitled to draw the full salary of her husband as pension that amounts to about Rs 8,000 monthly.

Eleven Mizo jawans of the 2nd IR Battalion died of malaria in Chhattisgarh, apart from the ten who died from the Maoist blasts.

The Mizo battalion was deployed in Chhattisgarh from September 27, 2006.

UNI ZS BA LPB VP1110