|
Young World
More than conquerors
P. ANIMA
|
Extraordinary acts of bravery under harrowing circumstances set apart these youngsters as heroes.
|
Photo: S. Subramanium
Moment to cherish: The National Bravery Award winners.
Eight-year-old Ankit vehemently disagrees when asked if he is the bully of the colony. The glint never leaves his large eyes as he talks about his three friends in the neighbourhood. A kindergarten student who loves English classes, he dreams to be a “fauji” who flies an aircraft. Ankit could pass off for any spirited boy, but a left hand that ends abruptly at the elbow is a reminder that he isn’t. An extraordinary act of bravery under harrowing circumsta
nces sets Ankit and a few others apart from the rest.
Ankit is among the 22 children who made a difference with their courage. The winners of this year’s National Awards for Bravery, the children were in the Capital recently to receive their medals from the Prime Minister.
Four of these extraordinary children did not live to tell the tale of their daring. The winner of the Geeta Chopra Award, 14-year-old Lalrempuii from Mizoram, fought off an assailant’s attempts to molest her, but lost her life in the battle.
Photo: V.V. Krishnan
Amol Aghi from Haryana was awarded posthumously for trailing a gang that tried to steal his neighbour’s car. Though, he managed to corner one of them, Amol was hit and killed by the others. Brothers Abhishak and Suraj gave up their lives to rescue a friend who fell into a water tank.
To save themselves or dear ones from danger seemed only the natural thing to do for these children.
“My little brothers and sisters were crying for help. So, I went back to rescue them,” says 17-year-old Babita, who along with Amarjeet won the Bharat Award. Together, they saved several of their schoolmates from a drowning bus. Though Babita managed to get out of the school bus by opening a window with her foot, she went back to save seven young lives.
Memories alive
However, for others like 14-year-old Meher Legha from Noida, the wounds of the fateful day are still fresh. Legha returned from school to find her grandmother and younger brother missing, only to realise they had been killed by the domestic help, who planned to kill her too. She resisted his attack, ran out and raised an alarm and the killer was nabbed. “I had to fight him to bring justice for the family,” says the Std. X student, who aims to be a scientist or an engineer.
Ankit lost his limb after kidnappers tied his hands and feet and abandoned him on a railway track. A train ran over his left hand, but Ankit managed to walk to the nearest colony and seek help.
Nothing seems to deter Kavvampalli Rajkumar one of the youngest winners, who dared to go swimming on a cold winter evening in Delhi. Probably, it is that casually the six-year-old rescued his friend who fell into a well.
If you thought it was a smart idea to lower a bucket and get the friend to sit in it, all you get is a perplexed, shy smile in reply.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Young World
|
