He won gallantry award from Pandit Jawarhal Lal Nehru at the age of 14, but now at the age of 64, he lives the life of an unsung hero in the by-lanes of Chandi Chowk, Old Delhi, India
An icon at the age of 14 and an insignificant person at 64. This is Harish Chander Mehra, the first gallantry award winner who now lives unsung in the bylanes of Katra Neel in Chandni Chowk.
The honour was bestowed on him in 1958 by then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, whose life he had saved. Still then, the awards are now given to children annually on Indian Republic Day and they pass through Rajpath, near India Gate, sitting on an elephant.
The reminiscences are stamped in Mehra’s heart and the pain of having been elapsed once the short dalliance with famous person’s status died.
Recollecting the incident Mehra quoted “On October 2, 1957 evening, during the Ram Lila celebrations in Old Delhi’s Ramlila Ground, Nehru along with his daughter, Indira Gandhi and some foreign delegates was watching the fireworks that preceded the function. Suddenly, some sparks fell on the tent in which they were sitting and it caught fire.”
The congested place had people running haphazardly to accumulate their lives. Mehra, then a boy scout, was standing at the entrance hall of the pergola. He entered the flaming tent and ran near Nehru and instantaneously pulled him in the direction of the dais. In a fraction of seconds, he climbed on to one of the poles, pulled out the scouts’ knife and cut off the burning tent. In the scuffle, Mehra’s hands got rigorously blistered and he gone unconscious.
Mehra was presented with a certificate on the nexdt morning by Minister Jagjivanram. After three months, while studying in Class 8, his Principal, Tej Bhan Sethi entered the classroom and took the dazed child to the string of media persons and photographers waiting for him on the school grounds.
In the same year,The following year, a special programme was organised to honour Mehra and he was presented the Gallantry Award by Nehru at Teen Murti Bhawan.
“Nehru had said that I needed no introduction, as he was himself an eyewitness to the whole account. He said it would be better if we could have more children of undoubted courage,” says the shuddering Mehra.
Newspapers published Mehra’s profiles and interviews. A documentary film was made followed by an invitation to participate in the Republic Day parade held on January 26, 1959. A civilian boy was made to lead the parade for the first time. Five years later, due to economic crisis, Mehra had to quit studies. He took up a job as Lower Divisions Clerk in Union Public Service Commission.
After few years he was transferred to the Controller of Publications with no incentive and promotion. He retired from there on February 27, 2004.Apart from the populace in close proximity to him, no one ever since remembered Mehra. Every year, Mehra sits with his three sons and four grandchildren to gaze at the Republic Day parade on TV. The award winning children surpass all the way through Rajpath, memoirs draw closer once again for Mr Mehra.
Elephants have been known to draw using sticks and other things found in jungles before so this isn’t something very new. But still if you look at the motor skills of this particular elephant its just mindblowing he even draws a flower, just imagine drawing with your nose? its just spectacular.
An unfortunately managed photo-shoot at the Bowmanville Zoo, Toronto to erect circulation by presenting how bizarre ancient Indian martial arts can be, turned out to be very fatal for Indian Martial Art Trainer Gitanjali of Kerala .
The Indian trainer was knocked over by a lion during the photo shoot at the Zoo . She broke four ribs and a bloodied lung.
“To be honest, the sensation I have is a great deal of gratitude to be alive,� Gitanjali Kolanad said the bedridden trainer.
Since the commencement, the 180 kilogram beast proved mischievous and not completely in command of of its two minders.
Kolanad, 54, practices the ancient, and perceptibly feeble, Indian martial art of Kalaripayat, formed after the actions of such animals as the lion, elephant, wild boar and peacock. The magazine opted she pose with a lion. Next time, she might just tell them where to get off, and choose a peacock instead!
A video of the session shows Leo first knocking over editor Sonia Verma. She picks herself up and smiles. He next paws the legs of photographer Richard Lautens. Off-camera, he also took a swipe at the legs of art director Spencer Wynn.
The 3-year-old lion was two-faced in close proximity when an unmindful Kolanad was reaching into her actions. Still imperfect to leap, the animal jumped up and fell on her, knocking the breath out of her, injuring her left lung and infringing four left ribs.
It was not an assail, the witnesses said. The lion’s mouth was not open and Kolanad was not dented. The Bowmanville Zoo had no comment on the incident.
Focus is key in Kalaripayat, which bases its movements on the graceful control of animals. It’s a constant lesson in focal point. When you lose your focus, you instantaneously get hit.
In the video, one attendant kicks the otherwise obedient beast in the neck while the other pulls on Leo’s chain. The lion takes a second, abortive attack at Kolanad as she lies breathless, before he is escorted out the door.
Incapable to work for the past month and still in pain, Kolanad said she feels on the road to recovery.
This shows that there are no limits to human stupidity like performing before a dangerous beast at the cost of one’s life!!!
In the Film Jodha Akbar, Hrithik had certain fight scenes with an elephant. To be friendly with the elephant beforehand Hrithik brought 5000 bananas and fed it and hence the elephant were really friendly with him. To get into the Akbar costumes of the film, it took only 15 minutes to get ready as all his clothes were Velcro-ed.
Humans have five basic senses, to interact with the outside world, which are hearing, smell, sight, taste, and touch. A lot people seem to have a sixth sense (psychic sense). This (sixth sense) aids people to feel truth on the far side the sphere of five gages, and have arrogated to forecast the future tense, feel spirits and interpret other people brain.
Extrasensory perception or telepathy brings up to mind-to-mind communication. Extrasensory perception is the power to see things not accessible by cognised sensations. Foreknowledge is the power to envision next results, retrocognition is the force to see yesteryear results and psychometrics is that branch of psychology dealing with the measurement of mental traits, capacities and process and the power to know the chronicle of an target.
Every human has went through sixth sense at roughly point or other during his or her lifetimes. The stage changes from case-by-case to individual. It is still not known how the sixth sense runs, and it is not linked with any of the body organs. This leads to the conclusion that the formula is exclusively moral affecting human soul or the subconscious mind .
A lot of investigators refer sixth sense to be an inherent aptitude. Animals and the insects use it all the time. The spontaneous human mind wants experimental grounds for all the traits. Further, the experimental grounds is not detached from other five senses.
There are lot of instances, like radio waves, where we cannot comprehend things with our five senses. Certain high frequency sounds are there, which merely the dogs can hear.
There are number of testifies, where the dogs have discouraged their masters of about expected mishappening. Many animals get nervous before an earthquake is to occur. This may be assigned either to their sixth sense or trembling sensory powers, more sensitive than humans.
It has been reported that the animals’ “sixth sense” saved them from recent tsunami disaster The waves washed floodwaters upto two miles inland biggest wildlife reserve of Srilanka, hosting hundreds of wild elephants and leopards, but not a single body of any animal was found. There are many reports of birds detecting approaching disasters.
Various stories are linked with sixth sense. Abraham Lincoln is said to have dreamt of his death, days before he was assassinated. A completely blind Britisher has been shown to possess “sixth sense” which enables him to recognise emotions on people’s faces. Brain scans of the blind person revealed that when the man looked at faces depicting emotion, it activated a part of his brain called the right corpus amygdaloideum, which responds to non-verbal affectional signs.
The research to prove the existence of sixth sense is going on. For substantiation, the incident must be measurable and quotable. The more the person accomplishments to use his sixth sense, the less it seems to work.
All the medical explanations have betrayed for near death experiences. “Cyber sense” has already came forth as a unforceful link between the five senses and the sixth sense. The inquest on sixth sense will lay concrete on the way for facts and decisions associated with this unlogical sense
