National Bravery Awards, organized by the Indian Council for Child Welfare, were given to 24 children who displayed exceptionally outstanding valor. Full of spirit, these children taught an important lesson of courage and sacrifice to all the countrymen. Families expressed their pride but somewhere hiding their pain behind all the happiness. Some still seemed to be figuring out whether their child’s act was bravery or foolishness. Om Prakash Yadav and his parents are one such example.
As Om Prakash Yadav stepped onto the stage to receive Sanjay Chopra Award, one could see the agony in his parents’ eyes, for them their son’s physical recuperation from his injuries was more vital than the award.
It was on the fateful morning of 4th September, 2010, when Om Prakash, an 11 year-old boy, risked his life to save his schoolmates from a burning Maruti Van. On the way to school, the van caught fire due to short circuit in the gas kit. The driver immediately fled leaving the young children alone to deal with the flames. Within moments the fire started spreading.
Om Prakash, at once swung into action. Throwing away his bag, he broke open the door and pulled out students one by one, saving eight children. However in this horrific accident Om received severe burn injuries- on his back, face and arms. “At that moment, I only saw small- small children trapped in a burning van. I couldn’t stop myself from saving them”, even though in process he was enveloped by the flames. When asked, if required will he repeat his brave act, he said “everytime.”
Om belongs to Azamgarh, a small town in Uttar Pradesh where his father is a small time farmer. Lal Bahadur, father, said he is proud of his son who has brought so much of respect to the family, though it has cost them in a big way. Time and again he was seen giving his teary eyed son moral support in the award ceremony. Om said “I’m happy, my district is happy and Papa says I’m very courageous. But now I need a surgery. My entire right side of the body is aching. We don’t have money. Award is good but not the pain!”
Lal Bahadur is a man of meager means and thus when told about the requirement of a surgery for his son, he asked people to help him with the finances. But any amount of help was of no use as the surgery costs were very high. Sandhya, mother, said “My son is great, he saved eight lives. But now we need money for his surgery. We are poor and we didn’t get any financial help. It pains to see him in pain. Today he has got the award hopefully tomorrow he’ll have a surgery.”
When asked what she thinks of her son’s life saving act and what would she have suggested her son to do in the eleventh hour- there was silence. A silence which spoke volumes about that unspoken grief and agony which the Yadav family has been undergoing for the last two years. Actions speak louder than words is true in this case, where sometimes the parents and sometimes Om himself were seen shedding a tear now and then, unable to express their sadness to the public and yet managing a smile on their faces amid the adversity which has struck them in guise of bravery.
