Will as sharp as a blade

Vikrant Parmar

It’s hard to put your life at stake for the nation, harder to lose a leg in the line of duty, but the hardest part is bouncing back and become India’s first ‘Blade Runner’. Major Devender Pal Singh has achieved this feat and now, inspires many to do the same. Grit: The Major Story — a graphic novel inspired by him, ably assisted by VR Ferose and Sriram Jagannathan — is a fitting tribute to his indomitable spirit. 

The first lessons in life come as a rude shock for Devender; as he turns seven, his parents drop him at his grandparents’ house in Roorkee — due to their flailing monetary condition, as also to help the ageing couple. The child screams, nobody hears his wails; he misses his ‘Mummy Ji’, but the latter remains firm. Devender even runs away at age 13, only to return as a chastened youngster, who, impressed by Armymen all around him, finds an aim that becomes his guiding light. He grows spiritual and often spends his free time doing kar seva at the local gurdwara, something that strengthens his ‘connection with religion’. 

Further setbacks await; he fails in Class XI, then in his National Defence Academy exam, but his ‘grit’ grows stronger with each bruise. Worse still, his father turns a schizophrenic due to prolonged drinking. As a young man, Devender is forced into a clerical job with a bank to support his family. All seems lost upon him, except his will which says hold on. 

He completes his graduation through correspondence, appears in the Combined Defence Services exam and despite failing once, eventually realises his dream of becoming an Army officer. Joining the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, as a Gentleman Cadet, Devender excels in sports and co-curricular activities. He passes out with flying colours, completes his commando course from Belgaum and joins his unit in Pallanwala, Jammu and Kashmir. 

Destiny tests Major Devender again during the Kargil War, when his post faces an intense attack from the Pakistani side. He is grievously injured after a mortar lands one-and-a-half metre from him; such is his state that the doctors suspect him dead, but his will once again helps him rise from the ashes. Only that his right leg has to be amputated due to spreading gangrene. Life throws his dreams off track and little wonder that he suffers severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, something that shatters his family life as well. He goes through divorce and another failed relationship. 

As he rebuilds his life with shattered pieces, he realises his son is dyslexic. Yet again, the fighter in him rises and takes up the challenge. Inspired by the legendary Terry Fox, he takes to running marathons and after initial setbacks, aces it all. 

Today, as a man who has withstood all that the cruel hands of destiny have thrown at him, Major Devender inspires many amputees to ‘inculcate a positive attitude through sports’ through his NGO, The Challenging Ones. 

Through interesting visuals, maps, illustrations and a sprinkling of colour, the novel paints a vivid picture in the mind’s eye; not once is the story diluted by the maze of graphics. A tale of grit, for sure.