Ankit's in fine company. Twenty-two children are being honoured with the Bravery Award this year -- four of them posthumously -- and the kids, some with a family member alongside, are currently being given an interesting Delhi tour, replete with official dinners. This, they volubly say, has been their best chance to really let their hair down and have a good time, without worrying about being well behaved.
Ravi, left, 10, and his brother Awadhesh Kumar Jhariya, right, 11, are two enthused middle-school boys from Chhattisgarh who love their cricket. Ravi likes Dravid, but Awadhesh, a wicket-keeping all-rounder, is a clear Dhoni fan. The two kids are enjoying their first trip to the big city right now, dying to slip into their rented swimming costumes.
There is a lump in Ravi's throat as he describes how, on a fateful night a couple of Decembers ago, they were on a family trip to Ratanpur when a truck smashed head-on into their Bolero. Their father, brother-in-law and nephew perished instantly, while their mother, sister and two neices were heavily wounded.
Themselves hurt, Ravi and Awadhesh kept trying to resuscitate the family members to the best of their abilities, the boys trying hard to get passing vehicles to stop as they kept sprinkling water on the injured. At nearly 3 in the morning, Ravi braved the pitch darkness and ran to a police station a few kilometres away. Meanwhile Awadhesh managed to flag down a truck. Thanks to both efforts, the injured were taken to hospital -- just in time.
Must read: Meet India's bravehearts
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