Having lost her husband, Sepoy Buta Singh, in the Kargil war on May 28, 1999, Amritpal Kaur, then only 21, decided not to lose hope for the sake of her little daughter. Seventeen years later, living on the memories of the four months she spent with her husband, Kaur is today the proud mother of Komal Preet Kaur, who has topped Punjab Medical Entrance Test (PMET) in the category for wards of defence personnel.

TOI

Komal is expected to get admission in MBBS at Government Rajindra Medical College, Patiala.

In a conversation with TOI, Kaur recalled the day her husband's body reached their village, Danewala, in Mansa wrapped in the Tricolor. "The day I was told about his death, I felt like I was the most unfortunate woman in the world. It was only for my daughter that I moved on and did all I could for her," remembers Amritpal, now 38. "We got married in 1996, when I was a little over 18 and had just cleared Class XII. My husband had spent two stretches of two months each in 1996 and 1997 with me at our village. That is the only memory I have of him."

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Then aged 26, Buta was in the 14 Sikh Regiment when he died while fighting with an advance party. He had joined the Army at the age of 20. Six months after his death, Amritpal Kaur was appointed as a senior assistant at Mansa deputy commissioner's office.

TOI

Sepoy Buta Singh

Two years later, for the sake of her daughter's future, Amritpal got married to Buta's younger brother in 2002. "I had to face the harsh realities of life and found myself unable to tolerate that my girl would grow up without a father's love. That is why I married his brother Bhagwan Singh," she says. Bhagwan, a farmer, gave the love and affection of a father to Komal and two more children with Amritpal. For now, it is still hard for Amritpal to believe that her daughter is one step closer to becoming a doctor. "She is a hard working girl. I am sure she will do well and secure an independent future for herself," she says.