The Colonel had a lump in his throat. His eyes were moist. ``Just two years into her teens, I am not even sure if sheknows what a bunker is, but she is so thrilled. She must have heard from somewhere that we had destroyed bunkers and wrote this,'' he said, smiling.

On colourful stationery, with heart-shaped stickers and Micky Mouse cartoons drawn, Shikha even asked her father to wear adequate woollens and describe life in a bunker. The Colonel read and re-read the letter, smiling at her childish humour and attempts to assure him that she was not fighting with her elder sister, and together they were taking care of their mother and their house.

Though the Colonel was thrilled, Sipahi Gurung was slightly worried. Married for only 11 days when he was posted to flush out infiltrators from the icy peaks of Batalik, Gurung barely got to know his wife. ``Just after the marriage there were too many people in our house and then I was sent here,'' he explained, perched on an ammunition box, his rifle slung on his shoulder.

But what was actually worrying the infantry soldier was the fact that the letter, written with a fountainpen, was smudged in places. ``She must have been crying while writing the letter and her tear drops smudged the ink in places. I hope and pray everything is alright with her,'' the soldier added, keeping the letter in his breast pocket, close to his heart.

And, as he trudges to his location to observe enemy movement on Tiger Hills, Subedar Brahm Singh draws a lot of comfort from the letter written by his son. ``Father, you must achieve the aim that has been set. The task must be completed. Here, though both mother and I are worried about you, we pray for you constantly. But both of us feel that the country's need is greater than ours,'' Azad wrote.

Be it in Drass, Mushkoh, Kaksar, Kargil or Batalik, a top officer or a rookie soldier, the contents of the letters are similar. Brave families trying to boost the morale of their men, writing that all is well at home and asking the soldiers when they will return home.

``In every letter, my mother asks when I will be coming home. But trying to steel her heart,she does write that Mother India needs me more than her,'' said young Lieutenant Prafulla, admitting that the letters were a great morale booster, and especially if they wrote that all was well at home.

Pinned to the tent wall of Major Ajit Singh in the Drass sector is a little drawing. His son, Ankit, a Class III student, had drawn a mountain with the Tricolour unfurled on the peak and a soldier saluting it. An arrow pointing to the soldier says ``My father.'' The Major finds the letter a great source of inspiration.

``My wife wrote to me saying that my son thinks I am a hero and wants to grow up and join the Army and salute the Tricolour. It just increases my resolve to live and die for the country. At least my son will grow up knowing that his father is a real hero,'' said an officer.

The sight of soldiers receiving a letter from home is heart-rending. Work comes to a standstill. Bathing in the icy cold water a soldier stands like a statue reading the letter he has just received, forgetting about thewind and the chill. Men get a little emotional, exchange their letters and for a few moments float back home, thinking of their wives, mothers and children, and then it is action time all over again.