Umesh Gopinath Jadhav, a city-based singer, spent three years traveling to the houses of the martyrs who lost their lives in the terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama in 2019.
Mr. Jadhav met the families of 40 jawans and collected soil from outside their homes for a memorial.
He recalled the family of CRPF jawan H. Guru in Mandya. “The grief of the family was unbearable. You’ve come like a son, said his mother and handed me the soil. Those words still hold a place in my heart. Every family shared photos and memories of their son, and I sat with them and cried with them, which makes me connected to them,” he said, speaking to The Hindu in Bengaluru on Monday.
Mr. Jadhav travelled in a car painted with patriotic slogans, which often served as a shelter for the night. He couldn’t afford hotel bills. “ My trip is not sponsored, and it is me showing my patriotism and honour to the sons of the soil who laid down their lives for our country,” he said.
