Little heroes and big acts of bravery

On June 16, 2013, the eight-and- a-half-years-old Mahika Gupta was in Kedarnath valley where she had gone with her family and relatives to offer prayers at Kedarnath temple.
At around 7 P.M., when she was alone in the hotel room with her younger brother, floodwaters triggered by torrential rainfall in Uttarakhand slammed into the structure.
The lights went out and the room was filled with water and debris. Mahika saw her four-year-old younger brother being swept away in the floodwaters. Acting fast, she pulled her brother out and they then stayed in the room clinging to a window rod before finally managing to get out.

According to her father Deepak Gupta, Mahika was in a state of shock for weeks after the incident.
Ask the braveheart how she did it and she says, "I didn't know from where I got the strength, I just knew I had to save my brother and put all my energy to hold him close to me."
Like Mahika, 19 other children who risked their lives to save others, have come to Delhi to collect the National Bravery Award.

For the 11-year-old Sagar Kashyap, it was an act of humanity which saw him save youths from drowning.
He was walking through the fields near Agra canal when he heard cries for help.

Upon looking, he saw some youths drowning in the water. He dived into the water and pulled four youths to safety. Unfortunately, one of them did not survive.
"I wish he had lived too. I knew swimming. How could I have not responded when people were asking for help?" said the Std VIII student of Ram Kishan Government Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya at Madanpur Khadar.
The youngest of the receipients this year is the seven-year-old Tanvi Nandkumar Ovhal from Maharastra. She had jumped into a 7ft deep water tank to save her four-year-old sister from drowning.
The smile on Tanvi's face told of her satisfaction in being able to save her brother.

Five children have been posthumously named for the award after they sacrificed their lives trying to save others.
One of them, Maushumi Kashyap, was 10-years-old when she sacrificed her life while trying to save a friend.
It was on May 1 of last year when Maushumi had gone near Gomati river with two of her friends, one of whom fell into the waters.
As she struggled in the river waters crying for help, Maushumi jumped in and held her friend tightly by the dupatta.
She tried to pull her friend to safety but, in the process, both of them drowned.

The other posthumous recipients of the award this year are, RN Raj Shukla (14) from UP, M Khayingthei (12) from Manipur, Mala Sawmtluangi (12) from Mizoram and L Manio Chachei (17) from Nagaland.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will confer the awards on Republic Day.