Real-life hero who lives among us usually goes unnoticed and unappreciated. India is a land of multitudes with great attitude and courage. So there is no shortage of real-life heroes. Unfortunately, people only get to hear about movie stars. The media for some reason, ignore true valor. But we will not. Here I present the top 10 who made a difference –
Dasharath Manjhi – The real-life hero who carved a mountain
He is the mountain man of India. He single-handedly carved a road through a mountain. Born in Bihar, the real-life hero worked as a laborer. When he was 25, his wife died on the way to the hospital. The nearest doctor lived 55 km away, and they did not make it.
A mountain stood in between the village and the hospital, causing increase in distance traveled and her death. So, Manjhi decided to take matters into his own hands. He carved a path through a ridge in this mountain. His persistence and courage shortened the travel distance to 15 km now.
Kalyanasundaram – The real-life hero with the power of charity
Kalyanasundaram is a 75-year old librarian from Tamil Nadu. The real-life hero has dedicated his life to the poor. He has donated all his life earnings to uplift them. He has been doing this for the last 30 years of his life. And he is not stopping yet!
Kalyanasundaram has genuinely redefined the word ‘charity.’ The unmarried man spent every rupee he earned as a librarian on the poor. This real-life hero deserves a salute from every young person.
Sindhutai Sapkal – the living Mother Theresa
Sindhutai Sapkal is commonly known as the “Mother of Orphans.” She has adopted more than 1400 orphans. The inspiration for this real-life hero came from her mishaps. Her husband abandoned her when she was pregnant.
She delivered her daughter without anyone’s help. Later, Sapkal even begged for a living as her mother rejected her too. Our hero owed to make sure no one gets left behind like her. She shows exemplary courage in adopting all the orphans.
Gangadhara Tilak Katnam – Real-life hero stopping accidents
Gangadhara Tilak Katnam is a truly inspirational man. He hit the headlines a couple of years back, thanks to the cricketer, Sehwag. This real-life hero used his pension to fill more than 1000 potholes in Hyderabad.
As we all know, potholes can be irritating and even dangerous. Mr. Katnam has taken this problem very seriously, while the municipal authorities did not care enough. So, he took to the field himself. Every day, he travels in his car with tar mixed gravel, filling up potholes wherever he found one. He is definitive, a real-life hero for preventing accidents and saving innumerable lives.
Dr. Tessy Thomas – The missile woman of India
Dr. Thomas is a scientist at India’s prestigious DRDO. She is the Director-General of Aeronautical Systems. This real-life hero is the first woman to head a missile project. She oversaw the Agni missile as Director-General. For this, she earned the nickname “Missile Woman of India.”
Her laurels did not come easy. She faced numerous hurdles and complications to become the real-life hero that many young girls can look up with aspiration. She is the new face of breaking stereotypes about women in India.
Bhaskar Chandra Swain – The real-life hero of determination
Bhaskar Chandra Swain is one of India’s unsung stars. He was born in a low-income family in Jajpur district of Orissa. He was afflicted with polio at a very young age. Despite this challenge, he enrolled in an ITI and learned to weld in the hope of getting a job.
His quick learning and trade skills gave him many honors and awards. However, this real-life hero could not start his own business as the banks and lenders played spoilsport. But, he persevered and finally started his own firm. Now, he runs his fabrication unit with an annual turnover of 15 lakh rupees.
Chewang Norphel – the real-life hero of glaciers
Water scarcity in the hills of lush Ladakh can sound unbelievable. Ask Chewang Norphel and he will tell a different story altogether. The real-life hero has created ten glaciers and earned the nickname “Ice Man of India.” He is a civil engineer who normally built roads and bridges in the Ladakh region.
He was assigned a training task in one of the remote villages in Ladakh. He found that the villages have an acute shortage of water. Thus, he took the task of creating artificial glaciers, which solved the water problem once in for all.
Omkarnath Sharma – the real-life hero of medicine
Meet Omkarnath Sharma – The “Medicine Baba.” He walks around the streets of Delhi collecting free medicines. He later re-distributes them among the poor and needy. The real-life hero has been on a mission since 2008. The paucity of medicines after a bridge collapse changed his mind. He mainly collects non-prescription medicines. He walks about 5 to 7 km every day for this admirable task.
Kareem Bhai – The newspaper hero
Kareem Bhai hails from the city of Hyderabad in South India. He earned his living working as a daily wage laborer. Besides his daily work, he took a noble cause. The real-life hero noticed a trend amongst the modern youth. They do not work hard or do any useful work. Therefore, he started pushing young boys to start reading papers. He collects newspaper from surrounding areas and distribute it to the young, and motivate them to learn.
Swapnil Tewari – The star for tribes
Swapnil Tewari has decided to dedicate his life to tribal welfare. One of his artisan friends at Madhuban has died after struggling for the same cause. So, he created an organization named Naked Colours. The real-life hero helps struggling artisans sell their artifacts. He gives them 1/3rd of the earnings on each sold product.
As you can see, these real-life heroes are from diverse backgrounds. But what unites them is their strength, honor, and wisdom. For all we know, there may be many more with such incredible stories. All we have to do is dig deeper, find them, and inspire. It is time India stood up to salute these great heroes!