The military wives who stayed on base during Operation Sindoor

Meenakshi J is an India-based writer. She is also the wife of a serving Indian Air Force officer.

It was around 7 a.m. in the Punjabi town of Adampur, a mere 100 km from Pakistan border. I had just settled down with my first cup of coffee, hoping it would clear the fog of sleep from eyes, which had not shut properly for days. But the air outside was already thick with unease, with anticipation. India was in the middle of Operation Sindoor, a military response to the Pahalgam terror attack, and our base -- a quiet military campus in northern India -- was on high alert.