Twitterati floods martyred Major’s daughter with birthday wishes

BENGALURU: A martyred Army Major’s daughter, who celebrated her fifth birthday on Sunday, drew a slew of wishes on social media.
The second birthday video of Naina Akshay — daughter of Major Akshay Girish who was killed by terrorists at Nagrota, Jammu & Kashmir, on November 29, 2016 — was tweeted by her grandmother, Meghna Girish, on Sunday. It was viewed over 42,000 times and retweeted more than 1,600 times.

The video, shot when Naina turned two, shows the little girl beaming with her father and mother hand-holding her into cutting the birthday cake.

“She smiles yet, her loss cannot be imagined. Her brave papa who once did not leave her hand for a second, had to leave her forever, to save other kids like her from terrorists. It could have been a massacre in Nagrota. Thank you all for love and blessings to Naina,” read Meghna’s tweet.

Naina is studying in a Montessori. Her fifth birthday was held at at Meghna’s residence near Devanahalli on Sunday.

The replies to Meghna’s tweet included birthday wishes to Naina and tributes to Major Akshay recalling his bravery. “We go through our daily chores complaining about everything around us, but such examples bring back sanity in our lives, tell us that there is higher purpose for each of us... Hand folded Naman to all martyrs and their families (sic),” read one tweet.

Meghna was surprised by the response. “That video is very precious to us, where Akshay does not leave Naina’s hand even for a second. Looking at Naina’s loss, I posted that video. He was a wonderful father. I never thought so many would respond,” she told TOI on Tuesday.

She posted the video, as a response to a tweet put out by Delhi-based artist Hutansh Verma, who paints portraits of patriots. Verma had wished Naina on her birthday and his tweet had elicited huge response.

The Major’s wife Sangeeta Akshay, who works as a teacher at a city school, said she was overwhelmed by the response to her mother-in-law’s tweet. “I am not on Twitter myself, but saw the thread the family shared with me. It’s heart-warming to see so many blessing her. Naina is proud of her father and has a vivid memory of him,” she said.