Wellness Browngirl

She was India's national badminton champion. In 1971 her husband, an Air Force pilot, was shot down over Pakistan. She quit badminton at 23 and has been waiting for him for 55 years. Her name is Damayanti Tambay. In April 1970, at 21, she married Flight Lieutenant Vijay Tambay of the Indian Air Force. By 1971 she had won three national titles in a row. On 5 December 1971, during the war, Vijay flew a strike mission on a Pakistani airbase. He was shot down over Punjab in Pakistan. They had been married 20 months. A Pakistani newspaper reported that five Indian pilots had been captured alive that day. Eyewitnesses also said Vijay was taken alive. Pakistan said it was holding no Indian prisoners. The Indian Air Force recorded him as killed in action. Damayanti made a vow. She would not play badminton again until she got her husband back, or proof that he was dead. She never played again. Vijay became one of the Missing 54, the Indian soldiers believed to have been held in Pakistan after 1971. For over 50 years she has written to prime ministers, defence ministers and Army chiefs. No answer has come. She is now in her mid 70s. She said, "For me, he was everything. If I don't look out for him, who will?"