This is the story of a jawan who lost both his legs during military service. Nk Vithoba Balwant Ghorpade (Retd) says he is not different from others. He carries a strong will and a soldier’s ‘never-say-die’ attitude.

When we visited his house at Khojewadi, ten kilometres from Satara, he was about to leave for his farm. Ghorpade has modified a tempo into a four-wheeler which takes him to his choice of place with ease. He uses this special vehicle to go to Satara, Pune and even to Mumbai which is about 320 kms from his place.

In 1984, Nk Ghorpade was serving with 7 Marathas in Kargil sector. One day he was taking unit supplies in a Shaktiman vehicle to Leh. As the road caved in, his vehicle went down the deep valley. Another vehicle which was following his vehicle also fell. He was trapped between the two vehicles and was badly injured below the waist. He was admitted in the local formation hospital but could not be moved to specialised hospital at Leh because helicopter could not fly due to bad weather. After three days, he was moved to Leh Hospital and later to Chandigarh where the experts decided to amputate his legs to save his life. After about three months, Ghorpade was sent to the Artificial Limb Centre, Pune. He was fitted with artificial legs and was taught to carry out his daily routine.

Undaunted Ghorpade came to Khojewadi and began to cultivate his four acres of ancestral land. He adopted modern methods of agriculture. He planted Alphanso mango trees and took to sugarcane cultivation. Both are cash crops and are paying a rich dividends. In his modified " Rolls Royce" he goes to Satara to buy seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. He works in his farm for at least four hours a day with his "golden" legs as he describes them. His only son is studying in 10th standard. " I have no regrets of loosing legs because they were lost in serving the nation. God is great and I am happy today", says Nk Ghorpade (Retd).