These days, however, Singh's satisfaction in doing his job well is tinged with remorse for he is busy stitching Tricolours which will be taken to Kargil only to return as shrouds for dead soldiers.

``I started this shop in 1956, immediately after I completed Matric, and ever since I have been working regularly on orders from the Army and the Air Force, supplying all kinds of car-flags, flags for quarter-guards, flags for units, the ones they put at posts, those pocket blazers, these ranks for officers,'' he says, proudly pointing at the samples that deck the walls of his tiny store, Liberty Embroiders.

Singh says he has been a supplier to the forces in peacetime, in the three wars that India fought against China in 1962, against Pakistan in1965 and 1971, and in the various anti-insurgency operations, yet he does not remember supplying shrouds at this rate.

``It was only last week that I supplied them with 50 flags, now within the next two days, I have to fulfill the order of another 35 flags for supplying to the N-Area in Chandigarh. So many flags for covering the bodies in so little time!'' says a grim-faced Singh.

Singh wishes the battle at Kargil would come to an end soon, and the only order he now wishes for from the Army is ``the flags that they put up at posts when they capture those'' and not any more shrouds.