The Young Prince of Kurukshetra

 Prince was hoisted up at 7.45 pm (IST) by an army officer in an iron cask. The boy was wrapped in what appeared to be a bed sheet and appeared normal. Another senior army officer whisked the boy away followed by his family, presumably for medical treatment. Sunday is the young boy's birthday.

Earlier, television channels ran live coverage of the rescue operation and thousands of citizens from all over poured in their good wishes and prayers  through SMSs and emails . Even Prime Minister  Manmohan Singh issued a statement wishing him a speedy recovery and promising full medical treatment.

 State chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, other senior local politicians and pediatricans were camping at the site this evening.  A local army engineering regiment (the 66 Engineers) of the Ambala Cantonment stationed nearby was roped into dig a parallel well through which they descended to reach the boy. The team flew in on an Air Force plane. Mumbai's Fire Brigade dispatched nine experts under the leadership of an assistant divisional fire officer.

In the morning, the boy was fed tea and biscuits while oxygen was pumped into the borewell. A closed circuit colour television camera reached the boy much before he was actually pulled out. The visuals  touched a chord among the many thousands following his fate on national television.   Prayer meetings were held in various parts of the country including in Ahmedabad in Gujarat and Allahabad in UP.

Kurukshetra in Haryana is best remembered as the battle field of the Mahabharata. The 18-day battle was fought between the Kauravas and the Pandavas and was seen as a war between good and evil. The battle is also the genesis of the Bhagwad Gita, the message that Lord Krishna delivered to Arjuna on the eve of the battle.

 The official website for Kurukshetra points out that the town is associated with the king Kuru and the tribe of the Kurus. The land has seen the rise and fall of many an empire. Even Buddha visited it as did nine out of the ten Sikh Gurus, Guru Angad Dev the Second Guru, being the only exception.

 The place where Guru Nanak stayed during his sojourn at Kurukshetra is well known as Gurdwara Sidhbati on a mound near the pumping station across the Kurukshetra Tank, the website points out.