taking a leisurely stroll in a cantonment, i am amazed seeing childen behaving so free and happy... so confident and so spontaneous. The cantonments have lots of open space and yet have the kind of facilities big cities boast of. the kids are so free with the "bhaiyas" (soldiers) who run these facilities.
In the thick of the battle in Srilanka, the tamil kids used to wave at the burly, ferocious looking, dark skinned sardars of the "SIKHLI REGT"..one is reminded of Tagore's Cabuliwallah. wherever men are away from their families the soft spot within the tough exterior comes to light. It is a pity that only children notice it.
I am reminded of the lines I read somewhere, " the world over, children like soldiers; soldiers like children; perhaps soldiers are children."
