India, Jan. 14 -- Founded in the 14th century by Ferozeshah Tughlaq, the city of Ferozepur holds historical significance for India, and a personal resonance for my family. Once a vital base for the British military's North West Frontier campaigns, it remains a sanctuary of memory. Hussainiwala on the banks of the Sutlej near the Pakistan border is the final resting place of three young martyrs of our freedom struggle: Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev. Nearby, the Saragarhi Memorial Gurdwara was built in 1904 in memory of the 21 Sikh soldiers of 36 Sikh (now 4 Sikh) who went down fighting thousands of Afghan tribesmen in defence of Fort Saragarhi in Waziristan in 1897. The quaint cantonment was set up in 1839 when Captain HM Lawrence was posted as the assistant political agent of the NW Frontier. Later, Sir Henry and Lady Honoria Lawrence founded the Lawrence Military Asylums. Three of these institutions have survived and today are known as the Lawrence Schools at Sanawar, Lovedale, and Ghora Gali (now in Pakistan). Sanawar, believed to be the world's first co-educational boarding school, is where both my children were educated-just one of many threads tying my family to this soil. The city has also been a witness to the making of legends. My mother's godfather, Jack Bazalgette, who was a British King's Commissioned Indian Officer (KCIO) and served in India from 1928-32 with the Suffolk Regiment and later with the 1/19th Hyderabad Regiment subsequently moved into the Indian Political Service and in 1934 was sent to Ferozepur, to train under the deputy commissioner. He went on to chronicle his frontier adventures in his memoirs. Field Marshal Sam 'Bahadur' Manekshaw served two tenures in Ferozepur. After graduating from the Indian Military Academy in 1934, he was posted to the 12th Frontier Force Regiment as a Second Lieutenant, where he also met his future wife, Silloo Bode. In 1954, he returned to Ferozepur as a Brigadier to command an infantry brigade. For me, Ferozepur is synonymous with the Raising Day celebrations of my father's battalion, the 18 Maratha Light Infantry. The serendipity of the fauji world, where paths inevitably cross, surfaced during a recent visit. While photographing St Joseph's Convent School for a friend, Ricky Muthanna, I realised my husband, Sanjeev, had also been a student there. Ricky's father, then a young Major, was posted in Ferozepur as the deputy assistant director of health (DADH) from 1973-75. He retired as Major General BM Aiyanna. Sanjeev's father was posted as the commanding officer (CO), 159 GH, from 1977-78 and retired as Brigadier Mahindar Kumar. Decades later, destiny brought us back. Sanjeev's final posting before retirement was Ferozepur Cantt. Our departure was poignant; we brought home a rescued pup from the cantonment, a living memento of a station that has seen so much of our lives. It was here that we bid farewell to the uniform and the maroon beret, concluding a journey that had started in the August of 1991, defined by discipline, courage, and sacrifice in service to the nation....