THOTAKURA MAHESH, 14
Tall and well-built Mahesh shivered; his worn-out shirt was no protection against Delhi's winter morning chill. Mahesh used to be a child labourer until March 6, when four-year-old Narender Kumar fell inside a 12-foot deep borehole. As the entire neighbourhood in his hometown, Vemuru Mandal, Andhra Pradesh, looked on, he volunteered to rescue the child.
In November, he was told he would be honoured with the National Bravery Award. Soon after, he got admission in class VII in a government school. He finds it difficult to get back into the groove; he had to stop studying many years earlier because his parents could not afford to educate him. He sees going back to school as a "new beginning" and wants to serve the nation by joining the army.
Mahesh recalls what happened: "I was working on another site when I heard a boy had fallen down a borehole at a site where a church was being constructed. I rushed to the site of the accident where I saw nobody was doing anything to rescue the boy. I spent some time thinking what I should do. Then I volunteered to help him. I asked people to tie a rope to my legs and entered the borehole head first. And I went deeper, it became dark but I could hear the boy screaming. I followed the sound of his voice. Mud and stones were falling on me. I could not open my eyes. It was difficult to breathe. But I kept moving. Finally, 45 minutes later, I reached him and grabbed his belt. Then I gave a signal and the people holding on the rope pulled us out. Thankfully, the boy was alive. He is fine now. It makes me happy to think about him."
Thotakura Mahesh was honoured with the National Bravery Award.