‘You know, Sandeep was scared of water’

When terrorists attacked Mumbai on November 26 last year, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan’s family was waiting for his visit home in Bangalore a few days later. His mother was waiting to cook for him his favourite food — fish. But that was never to happen. Major Unnikrishnan fell to the bullets of the terrorists while trying to save his National Security Guard (NSG) colleagues from the attackers. Sandeep was the only child of Dhanalakshmi and Unnikrishnan. His cousin sister Sandhya spent her childhood with Sandeep. Last year after his death, she shared some sweet memories of their growing up years with DNA’s Vaishalli Chandra.

“As an elder brother he was fun to be with,” said Sandhya. “We went to school together. Since I am younger to him, he would hold my hand on our way to school,” she said.

As a boy, Sandeep harboured many fears. “He was elder to me but he was scared as a kid. Back then, I would tell him: ‘Don’t worry I am there with you, na.’,” she said. “You know, Sandeep was scared of water. But when he joined the service, he even learnt swimming,” she recalled. The commando, who bravely fought the terrorists, overcame his own fears during his training. “And see how he overcame his fear.”

He decided to join NDA, but kept the desire to himself. He told his dad about it only after he appeared for his NDA exam, said Sandhya.

“Sandeep was very friendly and people liked to be near him. As I was younger to him, I would also be with him, like a shadow. He was naughty, but not in a bad sense; he never got into trouble. But, he would play pranks on me all the time — just to get a reaction out of me,” she said. “After he joined the service we hardly spent time together. When he got into NDA (National Defence Academy) I was in the seventh standard. I felt proud of my brother. But, now, when I think of it I feel I should have stopped him, but I was too young,” said Sandhya. “Sandeep kept in touch with his friends. In fact, he made it a point to touch base with his school friends.”

Sandeep’s childhood was spent in Bangalore and summer vacations were spent in Calicut, where Sandhya’s parents lived. “That was the only time I visited my parents. Sandeep was really close to my mum, he called her ‘cheriamma’ [mum’s younger sister]. In fact, he consulted her and took her advice on almost every thing. He would contact her at least once a week and tell her everything,” she said. “As we grew up and life got busy, we caught up on the fun things when he came back home on leave. He made sure to visit my parents, even if it was for a day. That’s the kind of relation he shared with them. He liked a close-knit family,” said Sandhya. “In, fact it wouldn’t be wrong to say that both of us had two sets of parents, his and mine.”

Sandeep never created a fuss over food. But his favouritefood, which he never got tired of eating, was fish, she says. “He loved fish. Give him fish in the morning, afternoon or night, and he wouldn’t complain,” she said.

When the terrorists struck, Sandeep’s family was looking forward to his visit a few days later. “Mummy was getting ready for his visit, looking forward to cook his favouritefood for him. But that did not happen.”

A year later, all that the family has to hold on to are fond memories of his.