Chandigarh/Ferozepur, May 29 -- While missiles lurked in the sky and the shrill scream of air raid sirens tore through the silence of Punjab's border belt, 10-year-old Shravan Singh walked into the heart of a war zone - not with a gun, but with buckets of lassi, milk, cold water, and ice. His mission? To quench the thirst of India's soldiers standing guard under the threat of sudden drone strikes.

Shravan wasn't ordered. He wasn't trained. But every day, as the Indo-Pak border simmered under Operation Sindoor - a critical military deployment to counter increased cross-border aerial threats - this Class V student from Tara Wali village in Punjab's border district Ferozepur showed up without fail. His playground became a forward base. His ...