His father said it was a long day, but on the other side of the phone, Aditya sounded thrilled. He was back after sight-seeing in Delhi – visiting the National Museum and Nehru Planetarium, giving a TV interview and interacting with schoolchildren, reliving the incident that shot him to national fame.
In May, 2019, the 15-year-old boy from Ramanattukara in Kerala's Kozhikode district, during a trip to Nepal, had saved 20 people from a burning bus. He has travelled all the way from Kozhikode to Delhi to receive the Bharat Award for bravery, becoming the first Keralite to bag the prestigious national honour since its institution in 1957.
Bharat Award is the most prestigious of the National Bravery Awards given away by the Indian Council for Child Welfare. One Bharat Award, five special awards and 15 general awards are announced each year.
Aditya’s is a family of globetrotters. During vacations, they go on trips; they have been to Sri Lanka, China, Hong Kong and Macau. It was the Nepal trip organised by the Calicut University Pensioners’ Forum that changed the course of his life. Aditya recalls, “My grandmother was an employee of Calicut University. When the pensioners’ group she was part of organised a tour to Nepal, everyone brought their families to make it an exciting trip.” And it was, until that fateful day of May 1. The journey had on board 72 travellers, including Aditya, his grandparents Ammini and Neelakantan, parents Aneesh and Ajini and sister Gouri.
Aneesh still feel the chill of terrorising chain of events. He says, “We were on our way back from Nepal in two buses and were on an uphill road at Dona, around 60 km to Indian border when we noticed a strong smell of diesel. First, we ignored it, but when people started feeling dizzy, I and the tour operator went to the front of the bus to alert the driver. As soon as we reached him, fire erupted from the bonnet. In a second, the driver opened the hydraulic door and jumped out. Both of us sprang out without thinking. It all happened in two-three seconds.”
Fire was spreading and everyone in the bus started panicking. The three who had jumped out started trying to break the window using stones to no effect. Smoke filled the bus and they couldn’t see anything happening inside. Aditya takes the story from here, “All the other children and I were in the back seat. I had spotted a hammer in the bus during the drive. I immediately reached for it and threw at the glass pane at the back of the bus, hoping that it would shatter, But the hammer went out of the bus piercing a hole in the pane.”
Instead of freezing, Aditya showed great presence of mind. He pulled himself up to the bus holder and kicked the pane repeatedly until it finally gave in. Glass shreds pierced into his legs, but Aditya wasn’t deterred. He helped the passengers, most of them aged above 65, climb on the seat and pushed them out through the broken panes. He and rescuers got out in time, just seconds before the bus exploded, and the fire engulfing all their belongings – their bags, laptops, mobile phones, money, passports and all the memorabilia collected from Nepal. None of it mattered to any of them because every single passenger among the 43 in the bus was saved. “Also because we were in shock,” says Aneesh. “It took us hours to believe that we were all alive. Half of the team was in the bus behind. They thought it was some terrorist attack happening.”
Aditya doesn’t recall fear or shock, “My mother, sister, grandparents, friends and their families were all in danger. My only thought was to save them.” For Aneesh, what his son did would make him proud forever. “That he put others’ life before his was very brave and it makes me proud as a parent.”
A class XI student at Medical College Campus School, Chevayoor, Aditya wants to be an Indian Air Force pilot, a dream he has been nursing since childhood. Also a member of Indian Red Cross Society, he vows that he’d never miss a chance to save lives, “All lives matter, not just ours. Fearing for one’s own life wouldn’t help during a mishap. Had he feared, Muhammed Muhsin couldn’t have saved three lives. Nor could have Fathah.” Muhsin and Fathah are the other two Keralites who won the national bravery awards with him. Muhsin, while saving three lives from drowning, couldn’t save himself. Fathah, who rescued two from being run over by a train, is in Delhi with Aditya to receive the award.
At Delhi, Aditya wants to experience the marvel of the Taj Mahal. His dad, however, wants to go to Nepal once again. This time, to make great, happy memories.