_Story of GALLANTRY MEDALS of Indian Defence Forces_

 It is a one-of-a-kind documentation of our recent history: 

Atul Kumar: _Story of GALLANTRY MEDALS  of Indian Defence Forces_

Eve Yvonne Maday de Maros would have been 107 years old had she been alive!!

Unfortunately, most of us may not have heard of her. 

But who was she?

She was born on 20 Jul 1913 in Switzerland to a Russian mother and Hungarian father. As a 16-year-old, Yvonne met a handsome cadet of the Royal Military Academy while holidaying at Chamonix. She followed the cadet to Sandhurst and realised that he was an Indian. Despite parental opposition, she came to Mumbai and then to Aurangabad and married Capt (later Maj Gen) Vikram Khanolkar.  Fascinated as she was by all things Indian, she converted to Hinduism and quickly absorbed Indian customs and traditions, and the way of life of an Indian Army officer's wife. Maj Gen Vikram Khanolkar later became GOC, Delhi area and commanded  the 1st Republic Day parade of independent India.

But the reason that Indians should know about Eve Yvonne Maday de Maros (a.k.a Savitri Khanolkar after marriage to Maj Gen Vikram Khanolkar) is because of a task that was given to her by the Adjutant General of the Indian Army, Maj Gen Hira Lal Atal. He had asked her to design gallantry medals for independent India. It was she who designed the Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra, Vir Chakra, Ashok Chakra, Kirti Chakra, Shaurya Chakra, Indian General Service Medal, etc.

His reasons for choosing Mrs Khanolkar were her deep and intimate knowledge of Indian mythology, Sanskrit, and Vedanta. She was a painter and an artist, and the wife of Maj Gen Khanolkar, a serving officer. In his opinion, Mrs Khanolkar's military association, her passion for Indian mythology, and her talent as an artist made her the ideal choice,l. 

While designing the Param Vir Chakra she took inspiration from the sage Dadhichi, a Vedic Rishi who made the ultimate sacrifice to the gods. The Rishi gave up his body so that the gods could fashion a deadly weapon, a Vajra, or thunderbolt, from his spine to vanquish their enemies. After studying india's history, she also wanted to give a tribute to the great warrior Shivaji. So she ensured Shivaji’s sword “Bhavani“  got a place in india's highest wartime medal. Thus, she made a design in which Indra's  “vajra” was surrounded on two sides by Shivaji's sword “Bhavani”. 

Incidentally, Savitri Khanolkar's daughter Kumudini got married into a much-decorated military family.  Savitri's son-in-law Lt Gen Surinder Sharma (PVSM, AVSM) became the Engineer-in-Chief of  the Indian Army. His younger brother Gen Vishwa Nath Sharma (PVSM, AVSM) was the Chief of the Indian Army when Savitri died in 1990. Their eldest brother, Maj Somnath Sharma had died in battle while fighting infiltrators at Srinagar airport in the 1947 Indo-Pak War. He was the 1st recipient of the Param Vir Chakra. 

Little did Savitri Khanolkar ever dream that the first Param Vir Chakra would be awarded to her daughter's brother-in-law, Maj Somnath Sharma.

After her husband's death, she found refuge in spirituality, and retired to the Ramakrishna Math. She wrote a book on the Saints of Maharashtra that is still popular today.

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