R-Day Special | Fashion hails honour as 'sharpshooter' Pravin captures India's heroes

On the night of 26/11 when terrorists struck Mumbai, Pravin Talan was fighting another battle — to take his ill mother to a doctor. Mumbai had shut down soon after the first shots were fired. There was uncertainty everywhere. “There was chaos all over, and my mother’s face had turned ashen – with fear and shock. My mother isn’t the kind who gets scared easily, and certainly not because of bombs and bullets. I knew it had to be something else,” recalls Pravin. Amidst his highflying ‘shoot-at-sight’ missions, Pravin Talan, one of the most sought-after fashion photographers shared some insights into his latest assignment capturing the best and ‘beastly’ side of the Blacks Cats of the National Security Guard. As reported in Onmanorama’s Republic Day special, the pictorial tribute by NSG to the martyrs of 26/11, shot by Pravin, has gone viral. (Read the full report, here: https://bit.ly/2Ui5re9)

R-Day Special | NSG's pictorial tribute to 26/11 Martyrs is awesome

Pravin Talan, the photographer

who shot these stunning images.

The National Security Guard (NSG) has paid tributes to its martyrs in a striking fashion. To honour its martyrs during the 10th anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks, the elite force hired a ‘sharpshooter’ -- Pravil Talan -- a leading fashion photographer.

The result is a stunning calendar released for the Year 2019. It is in great demand among the security forces, and many even in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) are finding it difficult to lay their hands on a copy.
As an organization NSG has always shied away from being too much in the public eye, and its men are an enigma and a shadowy mystery. 

“There has always been a curiosity among the youth of the nation to know more about NSG, who they are, how they train and what they do. This calendar gives a glimpse into the high level of training and capabilities of an NSG commando. As they are of members of a ‘Zero-error world-class-force’ the photographs had to live up to that image,” said an MHA official via email, in response to queries from Onmanorama. (Read the full report, here: https://bit.ly/2UfMHMA)

26/11 hero says his twin-sons are buddies reborn | Naik Satish part of Op Black Tornado at Nariman House | Receipient of Keerthi Chakra wants to get back to NSG

Naik Velu Satish of MEG&C with wife Sumitha and twin-sons Dinakar and Diwakar. (Below) Satish at the War Memorial at MEG&C.

Satish being honoured at MEG recently. (Below) He receiving the Keerthi Chakra from Indian President.

 By Anantha Krishnan M

Express News Service

Bangalore: “My wife was screaming and couldn't control her pain. She was almost 10-month pregnant. She was holding on to me , when the message came. When I was speaking she had drifted to sleep. It was probably the toughest moment in my life. I did not wake her up. I had to leave her alone. But then she knew what my job was,” Naik Velu Satish, the 34-year-old braveheart from the ranks of Indian Army's MEG & Centre (12 Engineer Regiment), spoke to Express in a mix of Tamil and broken English.
“Bombay Operation Pathi Ethuvum Kekkadeenga (Don't ask anything about the Bombay Operation),” Satish, the 26/11 hero who was part of Op Black Tornado in Mumbai's Nariman House, set the rules straight, when he was cleared for a conditional interaction with Express in Bangalore. Satish, a Keerthi Chakra recipient, was honoured during a Passing out Parade at MEG recently. His family could resemble a mini-battalion, with two of his brothers already in Army, with his late father too serving the nation.
At Nariman House on November 28 (2008), Satish was part of small team from the 51 Special Action Group (SAG) of National Security Guard (NSG), who that took control of the 4th Floor. According to the Defence Investiture Ceremony (2009) citation records, it was Satish's utter disregard for his personal safety that helped locate the terrorists under fierce firing. He helped his Team Commander in creating an entry through the wall by planting improvised explosives. “Immediately after the wall blasted, Satish jumped inside the room and killed a terrorist from close range. He lost one of his buddies in the operation (Hawildar Jittender Singh), but Satish's stunning courage under fire made all the difference,” Army sources said, referring to records.
Back in Delhi after the successful operation, Satish rushed his wife Sumitha to the hospital only to get a mouthful from the doctors as she was already in a very-advanced stage of pregnancy. “I am thankful to God for giving me twin-sons. I strongly believe my buddies (Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan and Havildar Jittender Singh) are reborn in the form of my kids (Dinakar & Diwakar). I am hoping to get a posting to NSG again,” says Satish.
While his mother Savithri leads the proud soldier-sons at home, she is not happy at heart. “I am supposed to be a Veer Thai (Brave Mother) with three of my sons in the Army. In Tamil Nadu, if a mother sends more than two of her sons to Army, she is eligible for many benefits and I haven't got anything. After Satish got the Keerthi Chakra, we received two cheques (Rs 75,000 and Rs 12,000) from TN government, but no land. Even the Karnataka government didn't congratulate him despite Satish belonging to MEG,” Savithri told this newspaper over phone from Unai Mottur village (Anaicut), in Vellore, Tamil Nadu.
None of his villagers, neighbours and teachers at Higher Secondary School in Anaicut know that it was their boy who did the brave deed in Mumbai.

HIS WISH: A photo with Arjun, 5 min with Sachin! 

At the NSG HQ in Manesar, Satish had once interacted with cricketers Sachin, Dhoni and Harbhajan soon after Op Black Tornado. “I am waiting for Sachin to score his 100th Century. I am hoping to have five minutes with him to show him my Keerthi Chakra Medal. Sachin had told me that he was very proud of our achievements. I am a great fan of Tamil actor Arjun who is widely known as Action King. His films Muthalvan and Gentleman are my favourites. I hope to meet him once only to get a photograph clicked along with him,”says Satish with a child-like smile. And for the record, this braveheart can prepare spicy chicken curry in just under 25 minutes!

Copyright@The New Indian Express