The melody which once had tears streaming down Jawaharlal Nehru's eyes, opened the evening at Tagore Theatre in remembrance of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in Operation Vijay in the Kargil sector.

Organised by Strides, a local charitable organisation, the evening had the soulful voice of Gurdas Mann to pay homage to the martyrs of Operation Vijay and B.K.N. Chhibber, Governor of Punjab, as the guest of honour. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Finance Minister Kanwaljit Singh were the chief guests.

Mann, Punjabi to the core of his heart, commenced with the glory of the Almighty ... building up the praise of the motherland and her sons in Mera desh mere dildaran da. His soulful voice against the backdrop of an oil painting depicting a soldier martyred on the Kargil battle-front, built up a strong ambience in the theatre; not a soul stirred among the audience.

The strong reference to the Partition in 1947 in one of his songs went straight to Mann's heart as sentiments came up as tears in his eyes and went down with a lump in his throat.

From the praise of the Lord, to the worship of the motherland, to the saviours of the motherland, to the meaning of "mother" in one's life, the evening climaxed with Mann's famous Chhalla, meaning a ring which bears the significance of binding two hearts in the Punjabi culture. The mood relaxed as Mann finally held his daff and sang Chhalla, after remembering the wounds of Partition, 1984 and now Kargil.

Families of seven martyrs of Operation Vijay were honoured by the governor with an amount of Rs 50,000 each, contributed by private groups to the Stride Charitable Fund.

On the occasion, the governor expressed his pride on the soldiers fighting at the battle-front and said the Punjabis honour their dead and brave who sacrifice their youth and life for the nation. He added: "Our army backed by this kind of force would throw all the infiltrators beyond the Line of Control."