Two faces of the victims of terror that swept Kabul on Monday. Brigadier Mehta was the defence attaché to the Indian embassy in the Afghan capital; Rao was the press counsellor.

As Rajputana Rifles men fired the 21-gun salute in honour of the slain Brigadier, his wife Sunita, son Udit and daughter Bhavya (19) tried their best to keep their poise.

“My father was a hero for me; he has been my greatest source of inspiration,” said Udit Mehta, an Air Force pilot posted in Jodhpur, after lighting the funeral pyre. “The way he lived his brave soldierly life is worth emulating. We are proud of him — will miss him every moment of our lives.”

He said he had gone to Kabul for a vacation when the blast ripped apart the embassy, claiming 41 lives. “It was early in the morning, at 8.30 am, when he (Brigadier Mehta) was just about to enter the embassy,” Udit Mehta said in a hush, accepting condolences gracefully.

Indian Foreign Service officer V V Rao’s funeral followed that of the slain Brigadier’s Rao is survived by wife Malathi, a special instructor in Delhi’s Sanskriti School, son and daughter, both students.

Brig Mehta and Rao were among 41 others who lost their lives in the suicide attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul yesterday.

Wreaths were laid on the mortal remains of the gallant soldier which was draped in a tricolour. The tricolour along with the ceremonial accouterments of the Brigadier were handed over to his wife Mrs Sunita Mehta by the Army. Having dreaded the day for long, Mrs Mehta finally fell weak as she clutched her husband’s honours to her bosom.