"He was a very average boy in studies. 40-60 was where his marks lay when in school. Unlike other parents, I was never bothered about his marks. I had very early on spotted leadership qualities in him," he said.

When Manish finished his class 10, Shashikant asked him to come and do his apprenticeship at his workplace, Telco.

"He did it for two months and told me, 'Dad, this is not for me. I want to do something that has more action and where I am more involved. That was when I sent him to the Services Preparatory Institute at Aurangabad. He was molded there. Whatever he went on to become in life, started there," he said.

He stops mid-speech to ask: "Do you know how Nehru shaped Indira Gandhi? Do you?"

And continues: "The letters. All the values that he wanted to teach her, he told her through the letters. I also ensured that my son wrote letters. Even from his SPI days, the deal was that I will write him one letter a week and he will have to reply. I have some 250 letters that he has written me. I will always cherish them."

Likewise, when Manish ran into politicking in the army, hich is only whispered about in the outside world, it was his father's words that stood him in good stead. "The army is an institute that does not have many people from the Konkan region. It is dominated by the north Indians. I knew that with his set of values, he will definitely run into trouble. So I had told him, whatever problem you face, never misuse your influence or bow down to anybody who does so. One day, he called and said: 'Whatever you taught me, I am trying my best to stick to it. I am finding it very difficult to survive in the army. But he hung on and that is another thing I am proud of," he said.

Image: Shashikant Kadam's last salute to his son.

Also read: The soldiers who know no fear

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