Precious Souls

The above photograph was captured by the author, purely by chance, during his visit to the Indian Naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala, Kerala, in November 2014. Students from Sneha Nilaya Special School, Kochi, Kerala, had visited INA as part of Indian Navy's outreach programme. The author was at the entrance of INA and saw a young boy (a special child) saluting a naval official. The author clicked this picture on his mobile phone immediately. The boy, Sandeep, wanted to thank the Indian Navy for permitting them at INA. He was seated inside a bus but came back to salute the man in white, a naval policeman. The photo had gone viral on social media, with millions sharing it. Very rarely does journalism gift such inspiring moments. The picture had touched the entire naval establishment, including the Indian Navy Chief. It was pure coincidence, but the picture signified the author's passion of defence reporting while aptly capturing the spirit within this book's soul. Indeed, a salute to remember!