India’s Heroes
1.As Mrs.
Reeta Barua entered her class, the students were still unsettled in their seats
because thrill and enthusiasm prevailed in the atmosphere of the class room.
She gave a few seconds to them to settle down.
2.The class
was eager to listen to Mrs. Reeta Barua. She asked them as to how many of them
were ready to speak on the topic ‘What You Would Like to be When You Grow Up’.
3.All forty
students raised their hands together. Mrs. Baruah was very happy to see that.
She thought her assignment would not prove waste of time as all the students
were so much curious to do it.
4.She
further specified to the students that they could speak of someone whom they
consider their role model, mentor or they may speak on a particular trait or
quality that they admired in a person whom they would like to follow in life.
5.The
students arranged the pages on which they had written their assignments. They
were curious to speak in front of the class.
It was Ajit
Basu’s turn first. He spoke as to how he would like to be a
great cricket player like Sachin Tendulkar. Gaytri Chhabra spoke that she would
be a social worker like her mother and Sanjay Damle felt excited in becoming a
pilot so that he could fly an airplane with the air and clouds as his terrains.
The students spoke one by one about sports-stars, actors, politicians and so
on.
Now it was
Kabeer’s turn to speak. As he stood up to speak, he felt so nervous that drops
of perspiration (sweat) appeared on his forehead. He was not accustomed
(habitual) to speaking in front of the whole class. He was
very well aware that he had no flair (natural ability, talent) for making
speeches. In spite of that he had worked hard on the assignment and
written it from the very depth of his heart. Another thing that made his
assignment different from others was that he did not focus on one profession,
person and quality. He took persons from different walks (fields) of life as
the subject of his speech and those were the people who had stirred (moved) Kabeer’s
heart.
Before
speaking, Kabeer cleared his throat and then spoke that he would be brave like
Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, the thirty-one
year old National Security Guard (NSG) commando, who sacrificed (laid
down) his life while fighting the terrorists in Mumbai in November 2008.
There was a pin-drop
silence in the class room. Kabeer went on speaking about Major
Unnikrishnan. He further added that Sandeep Unnikrishnan had made
up his mind to join army when he was just eight years old and studied
in class III only. He served the country for two tenures (period of time) with
his battalion in countering (fighting) insurgency (revolt, riot, etc.) and
terrorism. He became a part of NSG in January 2007. Major Sandeep was deployed
(set on the position) on the 27th of Nov. to clear Hotel Taj from
the terrorists.
As soon as Sandeep entered the hotel with his
team, he gave a very fierce (violent, ferocious) gunfight to the terrorists. He
did not care for his own life to evacuate (vacate) one of his commandos when he
was injured in the exchange of fire. He also chased the terrorists facing all
danger to his life. He was so much courageous and confident that he told the
rest of his companions not to come up as he would handle them alone. Saying
that, he followed the terrorists to the other floor of the hotel. The gunfight
went on for some time, but unfortunately bullets hit him.
Before he succumbed to injuries, he saved the life of his soldier Gajender
Singh.
Now Kabeer
paused for a little time. All the students were watching him with full
attention and wondered as to what would follow nest. Every student had been
allotted three minutes and Kabeer had spoken only for one minute.
Now the
author describes the scene outside the classroom. Birds were chirping, cars
honking and the younger children were enjoying the recess time. But the class 8
A was oblivious (unaware) to everything and paying full attention to Kabeer.
After that,
Kabeer expressed his desire to become like Vishnu Dattaram Zende, who was an
announcer for ten years at Mumbai Railways, heard a loud explosion at one end
of a CST platform on the 26th Nov., and also saw people running with
bloodstained clothes. Sensing something unusually wrong, he used the public
announcement system to tell people to go out from different exist doors. He did
not leave his place to save his life; he continued making announcements for
about half an hour. He knew it very well that the terrorists could attack him.
They also fired a bullet towards Vishnu’s cabin, but it could not hit him.
Next he said
that he would also like to be like Karambir Singh Kang, the General Manager of
the Taj Hotel. He did not feel worried about his own and family’s safety first,
but instead he helped his guests and staff goes out of the hotel. His family
and children were trapped in a room which was ablaze with fire. They died there
in the room due to suffocation, but he kept on doing his duty even though he
had lost his family. After that tragedy, he did not leave his job. He is still
working there and helping to restore the heritage structure of the Taj Hotel.
Kabeer’s
presentation was so touching that it
made everyone in the class spell-bound
and emotional. Swati’s eyes were filled with tears.
Kabeer
paused for a few seconds for he had also become emotional. He suppressed a sob and continued saying that he would also like to become fearless like the Anti-Terrorism Squad
Chief Hemant Karkare. He had chased the
terrorists in a jeep. But unfortunately, he was gunned down by the terrorists near Cama Hospital. His two companions DIG Ashok Kamte and Vijay
Salskar also sacrificed their lives
to save the country’s honour. Hemant
Karkare was a brave officer and he had served in Austria for seven years in the
Research and Analysis Wing of India in the capacity
of Intelligence officer. He sacrificed his life so that we may live in a
terror-free country.
Kabeer had
made everyone in the class emotional. Even Mrs. Baruah’s eyes were filled with
tears and she was not looking up as she did not want that her students could
see her welled up eyes.
Kabeeer went on saying that when he grew up, he
would be caring like Mohammed Taufeek Sheikh, popularly known as Chhottu Chaiwala. He was a young man who ran a
tea stall at CST station. He was the person who reacted at once in transporting
the injured persons to Saint George
Hospital. In this way he had saved the life of many injured persons by acting promptly.
After that,
Kabeer said that he would be like Sandra Samuel when he grew up. Sandra Samuel
saved the life of a two year old Moshe Holtzberg when the terrorists attacked
Mumbai in 2008. It was the time when Nariman House was attacked. Moshe’s parents
were killed in that attack.
Next he proceeded to say that he would also be
the caretakers like of ‘kabristans in Mumbai, who refused to allow the dead
terrorists to be cremated there.
They proved that the terrorists had no religion and the true religion is that
which preached love for all human
beings.
As Kabeer
reached the ending point of his presentation, all the students stood up to give
standing ovation to him. Mrs.
Baruah’s eyes were still wet. She
knew it well that in front of her
were the children who would be the future of the country and who would support
the virtues of peace, tolerance and selflessness in an India that would
become terror free one day and would lead
the whole world.
