Guwahati: Subrata Ghosh had dreamt of joining the Indian Army when he was a student. His mother, however, was not willing to let her only son leave to man the borders of the country.

So he decided the next best thing was to serve food to the soldiers coming to his eatery and that too free. An army camp is near his eatery in Agia Road in Assam's Goalpara district.

"I was inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that service to the army is service to the nation. My friend Subal Basak and I opened our hotel, Bengali Kitchen, on November 2 last year at Agia Road. After three months, I decided not to take any money from soldiers coming to our eatery," said 34-year-old Ghosh, who studied till class XII.

He lost his father when he was young and had to support his family. Before opening the eatery, he worked in sales marketing. "If the Indian Army offers me an opportunity to serve them in my hometown, I would surely join. But it will be difficult for me to leave my mother alone," said Ghosh.

"It is very difficult to convince the army personnel who come to eat at my small restaurant not to give money. But I have managed to stand strong on my pledge to serve them food without charging anything. I admire the uniform very much. Whenever I look at it, my aspiration to join the army burns bright in me again," he said.

"Generally, two to three soldiers come to my eatery, while some days there are more. We are open from 9am to 5pm. Some government officials also come. I charge Rs 50 for a plate of rice from other customers," he added.

"The army is the real hero of the nation. I have watched Border several time. Whenever soldiers come to our village and rest under the trees, I call them and offer a glass of water. I cannot imagine the sacrifices they make to ensure we are safe," Ghosh said.

"We know how the armymen sacrifice so many things to serve the country. Subrata's work of providing free meals to army personnel is giving something back to them," said a resident of Goalpara.