“It is a firm belief that OP Baba is the guardian deity who protects them not only from the depredations of nature on the glacier but also from the enemy by forewarning them of impending dangers by appearing in their dreams,” an official plaque put up at the shrine by the Army reads.

For soldiers preparing to walk up the glacier, a visit to the shrine provides the extra bit of faith required to spend three months at the world’s coldest battlefield. “We report to the Baba before going up the post. If the Baba knows that something bad will happen to a soldier on the glacier, he will come in the dreams of the commanding officer and ask him to call the soldier back,” says a soldier who is ‘roping up’ for the 12 day walk to his post on the Saltoro ridge.

While a high protein diet is recommended by doctors on the glacier and at high altitudes, no soldier posted at Siachen consumes non-vegetarian food, due to the ‘presence’ of OP Baba. “No non-vegetarian food, tobacco products or alcohol crosses the OP Baba shrine at the base camp,” says an Army officer.