Their affection and awe for the martyrs clearly crossed the boundaries of a mere formality of a school project, as they paid wholehearted tribute through poetry, songs and speeches -- all of which were surcharged with the spirit of devotion, dedication, affection and seemingly spiritual interaction.

For them, the manifestation of such immense love for the brave soldier came in the form of letters that they sent to the many soldiers fighting in the Kargil action, in the month of June. And to their surprise and delight, they even received replies. The correspondence did not end there. They sent rakhis to these heroes and some of them received money orders, as a gift.

And so all the girls congregated before the impressive 50-feet obelisk for a goodtwo hours.

Their teacher and compere for the programme, Jyotsna Sardeshpande said, ``The reason for our visit is two-fold. We have come to offer shraddhanjali and also to derive inspiration from our brave soldiers who have been fighting in difficult terrains ever since India's Independence, while we sleep peacefully in our homes.''

A wreath was laid by Seema Gosavi, senior staff member of the school and two minutes silence was observed.

The programme began with a patriotic number composed by the teachers and students together: Akhand Desh Ke Liye, Jawan Tum Badhe Chalo. This was followed by a passionate speech by Tejaswini Inde and a touching poem by Archana Agnihotri. Another inspirational song in Sanskrit followed and the grand finale came in the form of Vande Mataram.

But there was more to come. The teenagers thronged the marble plaques, going through each and every name of the martyrs and grilling the members of the Friends of the War Memorial Committee about the ranks thatpreceded each name. ``Which institution can we go, if we want to become soldiers ourselves?'' ``What do you think about the Kargil action?'' Such queries spoke volumes about their concern for the soldier.

The event was an integral part of social service, the subject mandatory for every student. This year, the theme was `Kargil' and so since the month of June, various discussions were held and clippings collected by the students. The students then visited the National War Memorial, located at Morwada Junction. States Sardeshpande, ``It is such a beautiful place and since our girls have been working on this theme, they got instantly familiar with it.''