Married into the fauji tribe for the past 13 years I Swapnil Pandey is known as one of the bestselling defense authors.

From the time I got married to a soldier, I have never settled at a place. From vast barrens of Rajasthan to virgin jungles of Assam to ethereal Kashmir, I have been everywhere living, breathing, and cherishing the Fauji Life. It is not an easy life to deal with and maybe that is why I turned to writing, which I confess is a healer. 

Sometimes you hear the news of supreme sacrifices of the people you knew so dearly and sometimes there would be news of disability or someone gone missing all this while in the line of duty. It shatters you and breaks your trust in God.

My writing journey started at the end of 2016 when I met a ‘Veer Nari’ who was abandoned by her in-laws. She was looking for accommodation with her two kids.

Surgical strikes had happened recently and the world was talking about Indian soldiers but not one TV channel would talk about the women behind. I used to blog back then and writing books was not something I had ever thought about, but the outrage was so fierce, so painful that it turned into a beautiful book, raw on emotions - ‘Soldier’s Girl’.

There was a love triangle, the world of Para Special Forces, and a whole India Pakistan war along with pain, passion, longing, and separation of two hearts. The book was published by a small-time publisher and did well. I started receiving emails from various readers, but it was only when I received a call from Ace movie director Anurag Basu after a year of publishing the book in 2018 who was keen on a movie on Soldier’s Girl (movie could never happen though but he surely changed the course of life for me). 

I came up with ‘Love Story of a Commando’ that was rejected by 20 publishers straight away. That was disheartening, but I did not give up and self-published it without realizing that it would get a vast audience base because of the readers who had read my first book. The book sold thousands of copies in the first month itself, so much that Mega publishers heard about the buzz. And eventually, Westland-Amazon acquired it and the rest they say is history.

Today my third book ‘The Force Behind the Forces’ is nonfiction based on real-life stories of our martyrs and courageous Indian Army wives who have given everything to the nation along with their husbands is just published by the international publishing house Penguin Random House in November 2021.

I confess that writing the book was not only emotionally challenging, but also draining for me. I extensively traveled, read, and researched, and interviewed. It was exhausting. But that was just one part of this book ‘The Force Behind The Forces, the toughest part was to talk to these Veer Naris. There were times when they talked for hours and laughed only to cry the next night remembering the man who went away too soon breaking all the promises he had made to his beloved. When I asked for letters, gifts, photographs, and souvenirs, the Veer Naris took days just to gather the strength to open that trunk that was full of memories of their husbands. It was not an easy job.

Now that the book is out for orders I hope it will provide an authentic yet extraordinary glimpse into fascinating stories of recent times of larger-than-life characters and tell people that it is tough to be a soldier, tougher to be their wives.

I hold utmost gratitude towards these women who chose to share the most precious of their memories even when it was not easy for them. I also can not forget the tearful eyes and warm smiles of family members and brothers in the arms of the immortal soldiers who I met during the journey of this book.

Another big highlight I count is the big book launch by Dr. Mohini Giri, Padam Bhusham, the founder Chairperson of the War Widows Association India, A woman who is a beacon of hope for lakhs of War Widows all across the nation amidst the presence of war widows from all across the nation.

Currently, I am working on my fourth book which should be published by the year 2023. The lockdown gave me immense time to engage with thousands of my followers. I used this privilege of touching people’s hearts by raising my voice for the reasons that mattered, be it the cause of disabled cadets or the pride of Army wife. I chose to speak up and was overwhelmed to receive immense support from ordinary people.

This is the nutshell of my life. I lead as a woman behind a man who serves the nation, as an author, and also as someone who fiercely believes in our Armed Forces. There is not a day when I don’t pour my heart into the tribe I belong to; the Indian Army.

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