A True Hero

‘Have you heard about Salman Khan’s birthday party? Well, you know what? My dad was invited and we certainly had a blast! Salman shook this hand of mine you see here.’

‘Forget about that, we bought tickets for the IPL Opening Ceremony, and there on the red carpet I met Shahrukh Khan, and he signed me his autograph!’

‘The other day, we went to the extremely costly Posh Diner, and guess what? Ranbir Kapoor was sitting at the table just next to ours! What about you, Veer, you haven’t met anyone yet, have you?’

Veer was the only boy in his Guy Gang who hadn’t seen a celebrity, let alone meet one. It was not that he ever wanted to meet an actor; it’s just that he felt bad when his mates teased him. Not being able to bear his humiliation anymore, he left his chair and strode out of the classroom. He wanted to cry, but what would his friends say? He didn’t want himself to be thought of as a coward.

The one and only person whom he had adulated since his childhood was Karanveer Singh, a general of the Indian Navy. When Veer’s grandfather was in his youth, he had tripped and fallen into the well because of his carelessness. Thanks to Karanveer Singh’s valour, he was saved. Veer loved his grandfather, and so a great urge of meeting that soldier had developed inside him.

On reaching home, he switched on the T.V. as usual. On the news channel, a government award ceremony was being aired. A.R. Rahman, who had won two Academy Awards, was polished with a grand prize of a crore rupees, while the family of a soldier who had died fighting on the border for his beloved homeland was awarded a few lakh rupees. Veer’s already depressed mood had just been thrown out of the frying pan into the fire.

As he pondered about his meeting with General Singh, like every other kid would do, he thought about what he would talk about when he met him, that he was his idol, and that he would surely go into the Indian Navy when he grows up. He determined to do as much effort as it would take to meet a soldier, a true offspring of the country.

As he was exploring his desires, Veer smelled something fishy. He got up to look around the house, and fishy it indeed was, for in the balcony, a fiery flame was developing. When he saw at the ground, the oil from the generator had leaked and a cigarette had fallen nearby. Then he understood. A burning cigarette must have been the cause of all this. Thinking about people taking up bad habits by smoking and causing such disasters increased his willpower even further.

Without a moment’s thought, Veer quickly shouted to the neighbours about the danger. He rushed inside and brought a woolen blanket. The fire had spread to other parts of the house too. He thrust the blanket over the flames and that’s when he remembered the ugly truth. At that instant, everything seemed so tense. The whole world about him started to change. His little sister was sleeping inside the bedroom! She was one of the closest people in his life.

Instantly and cautiously, he made his way to the bedroom, and among the hype of the intense flames, he lifted his sister. She was crying, and was burnt in some places of her body. But Veer didn’t think about that; he wanted her alive, right now. By the time he reached the origin of the flames, they were uncontrollable. He knew he could do nothing now. Amidst all the flame, he made his way out of the house.

He ran for his life, sister in arms, mood intense. He didn’t know for how much time he ran, it seemed forever. Why did it happen only to him, why was he so miserable? He kept running, and he fell, and the world about him seemed to vanish.

When Veer next opened his eyes, a sudden flash of light disturbed them. It took him some time to adapt to this new environment. At last he came to his senses and remembered what had happened to him in the previous few hours. How his house had caught fire, how his sister was sleeping when this happened, how both of them had been scorched in the flames. He sat up and looked around him. He could see his mother, visible in a state of shock. His sister was beside him. His mother caught his eye and a wonderful smile spread across her face. ‘My brave Veer!’, she said. Veer wondered what she could have meant.

After a few days Veer did come to know. The next thing he knew was that he was among the few kids who were being saluted at the Republic Day Parade! When he was invited to the stage, he met Karanveer Singh on his way. The General praised him and said that this is the sign of true bravery. But guess what was going on in Veer’s mind? He was the happiest boy in the world!

Things changed for him, he was a true hero at school. And most important of all, he was one of the most respected kids in India.