On June 14, the family received the call they had been waiting for Lt Col Ravindranath telephoned to say, ``Operation successful. We have captured the Tololing peak.'' ``It was the happiest moment of my life,'' says Basappa, with tears in his eyes. Ravindranath (39) has been with the Army for 19 years. Eldest of three boys, he had dreamt of a career in the Army from childhood. ``In fact, I had planned to send two of my sons to the Army to serve the nation, but it was only Ravi who got the chance,'' says Basappa.Ravindranath joined the Sainik School in Bijapur after passing Class IV and studied there up to PUC. Immediately after school he was qualified the entrance exam conductedby National Defence Academy. In 1980 he was in Kadakwasla for training, where he completed his B.Sc.

After completing training in Dehradun, Ravindranath got his first posting at Arunachal Pradesh. Through hard work he rose to the position of instructor at the military training school in Mhow. After spending five years at the training school, he left for Kashmir for the first time in 1986-87 to fight militants. He served in the region in 1989-90 and 1994-96. He is fighting in the region for the fourth time, this time in Kargil.

``My son is serving the country which has made him a man. What more can I say?'' says Sarojamma, Ravindranath's mother. Basappa adds, ``Ravi always joked that he was the son of the nation and not my son. He has proved it.''Ravindranath's wife Anitha is just as proud of him. ``My husband is doing a fine job,'' she says. ``I knew about the Army and the uncertainties I would face before I married him, it didn't make any difference to me. Anything can happen anytime. It is our fate, weshould bear whatever comes.''

Anitha thinks that all able-bodied young men should come forward to join the Army, specially now when they are needed the most. ``Serving the country is any day a bigger mission than serving the family, but I hope Ravi returns safely,'' she says. ``I pray for the success and welfare of all the Army personnel who are fighting for the nation,'' says Basappa.