I have barely slept in the last 48 hours. There is a semi-war going on —escalating every passing day. I am not really scared or anxious, at least not yet. I am told any stray missile will have to penetrate 7-8 layers of air defence shields to reach me, which seems less risky than driving on Gurgaon streets alongside muscular vehicles with caste stickers. Why am I not scared yet? Maybe, it is either the air defence shields or my usual middle-class irrational optimism. Kuch nahi hoga (Nothing untoward will happen).

Following a war from far, but not far enough, is a new experience for me. During the Kargil war in 1999, the internet and I were both young — not many memory bookmarks, nothing to scroll. But war in current times is a unique cocktail of humour and tragedy. This is the first time we have missiles and memes together, taking turns to reach us from across the border.

Following such a war evokes a spectrum of feelings — fear at one end and thrill at the other. Which side of the spectrum you are, depends on how close you and your family are to the border. My brother called me on Thursday night from Chandigarh while Punjab was facing a swarm of drones. I picked his call up feverishly, he said a bomb had been dropped in his society. I was speechless; then he laughed and said he was joking. He said there was a blackout, but he couldn’t hear any shelling or blasts, and hence he could........

© hindustantimes