Heroes of Kindness - Indian edition

For the last few years, I have been maintaining a list of real life Heroes of Kindness and Compassion from across the world. In less than two years, I ended up with nearly 70 articles showcasing more than 110 genuinely wonderful people - ranging from six year olds to 80 year olds, waitresses to doctors and the homeless to criminals - all of whom will restore your faith in humanity.  

This month, based on popular demand from readers of the Heroes of Kindness series, I will be showcasing local heroes from across the country who make a difference with their kindness. 

Yes, it is the Heroes of Kindness - Indian Edition

While this page will be updated regularly as I find more genuine tales, you, as the reader, do not have to wait. You see, over the years, I have already had the pleasure of chronicling the tales of some of these Indians.

So without any further adieu, here are your Indian Heroes of Kindness. 

•  Ashwani Kumar Parashar, a 22 year old medical student who is saving all the people of a village that India forgot about. (The Article includes my interview with him.) 

•  Advaik Nandikotkur, the 11 year old boy who risked his own life to dive down and drag a drowning man twice his weight from the bottom of the pool, saving his life.

• Mrs Beula Gabriel, The 80 year old Teacher Who Sold her House to Run a School for the Underprivileged.

•  Chef Narayanan Krishnan gave up his lucrative career to serve the homeless and disabled. Till date, he has provided a home for over 1500 homeless people and served over 2.25 million free healthy meals.

• Dr Ganesh Rakh started the 'Save the Girl Child' movement in India to end female foeticide and change the discriminatory mindset of both Indians and people abroad as well towards the female child. (Includes My Interview with him.)

• The only teacher of her school, K R Ushakumari has been rowing a boat and trekking through forests every day for over 17 years now to ensure small tribal children get a decent education.

• When a horrific tragedy took everyone he loved, Dr Chandrasekhar Sankurathri - the first Indian to win the CNN Hero Award - chose to build a legacy for his lost family by bringing light to thousands of children across India.
  
  
• Determined to make a difference, Father Jijo Kurian Built Over a 100 Cabin Homes for Kerala Flood Victims & the Homeless

  (includes my interview with him.)

• Risking certain death, policeman Abhishek Patel Ran a Kilometre with a 10 kg Bomb On his Shoulder to Save 400 Schoolchildren.

•  Pooja Pradeep, via her organization 'Letters of Love' helps bring happiness to thousands of children stuck in a war they did not choose by 'donating the smiles' she receives from the public. (The Article includes my interview with her.)

• During the devastating 2015 Chennai floods, Santosh Muruganantham looked beyond his personal losses and cooked over 1,70,000 meals in four days to feed the affected people.(Includes my Interview with him.)

• One of India's largest student run organizations, Toy Joy collects and redistributes toys to underprivileged children across the country. (Includes my Interview with them.)

• Despite suffering from a medical condition that severely restricted the use of her hands, elderly grandmother Prabha Mishra spent her extra time during vacations in America knitting over 200 caps for free for newborn babies in a nearby hospital.
  (Includes my interview with her son)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• When radio jockey Sucharita Tyagi found out about the pitiable living conditions of one of the winners of her show's contest, she got the whole city of Mumbai to help change the blind woman's life forever. (The Article includes my interview with her.)

Garvita Gulhati, co-founder of 'Why Waste'

• Non-profit organization 'Why Waste' run by a young Indian teenager works with lakhs of restaurants in India to help prevent wastage of water.
  (Includes my interview with co-founder Garvita Gulhati, the only Indian to win the Global Changemaker award at Zurich in 2018 for her efforts.)

• Even if it meant his own children did not get three meals a day, Harekala Hajabba saved the money he got selling oranges on the streets and ended up building a school for the poor children of his village.

• KP Vishnu drove 150 kms during the COVID lockdown, bought and then delivered crucial cancer medication to a girl he had never even met after hearing of her plight.

• Despite incurring heavy losses, V. Venkataraman of Erode provides a full meal for Rs 1 to the poor patients of the nearby hospital every day for over 10 years.

• Vikas Jyani fulfilled a promised he made as a child and took all the 22 elders of his village on a flight after he successfully became a pilot.

• When they realized the hospital sweeper was about to lose her house, Doctors at Nirmala Hospital in Calicut got together and paid off her loans.

•  Harman Singh chose humanity over his religious beliefs when he came across a bleeding child who had been hit by a car. His actions saved the young boy's life.

•  Grocer Rajesh Sharma teaches hundreds of slum children who cannot afford school fees under a railway bridge so that they have a better chance to succeed in life.

• For over 30 years, Harakhchand Savla has provided free food, accommodation and medicines to nearly 200,000 cancer patients and their relatives.

Sarojini Agarwal

•  For more than 30 years, Sarojini Agarwal (now in her 80's) has been adopting and raising girl children abandoned by their parents. Till date, she has been a mother to 800 girls.

• Lottery ticket seller Sreeman Narayanan has donated over 10,000 pots for free with the sole purpose of helping provide water sources for birds.

  
  
• When online classes began following the COVID19 lockdown in India, teachers at the St. John Bosco Upper Primary School in Kochi ensured children living under a bridge also had access to online classes by coming everyday and teaching them personally.

  
  

•  Funded by the public and supported by over 200 restaurants in the city of Kozhikode in Kerala, Operation Sulaimani allows the needy to get meals for free with dignity.

•  A receipient of kindness himself during his worst moments of life, chef Parkash Chhibber pays it forward by offering free food from his restaurant to anyone who is hungry and without money.

•  When students could not reach the remote school, the science & maths teacher Rajaram bought a bus and became their bus driver too, making 8 trips a day to pick up the children. 

• Both a policeman and a murderer feature in my 4 Indians worth emulating article, showcasing the point that everyone is capable of kindness. 

• When he caught a young shoplifter, store owner Jitendra Singh decided to pardon him and instead sent him away with free food.

•  The Tirunelveli Wall of Kindness is an ideal method to donate clothes, books and toys and allow those in need to take what they want too.

• For the last 8 years, auto driver Vinod Kumar gives free rides to cancer patients and their carers. 

  

• 12 Moments of Kindness From India During the COVID19 lockdown.
  
  
• 12 More Moments of Kindness From India During the COVID19 lockdown.

In this post about how kindness trumps xenophobia:

1. When a Muslim couple on their way to the hospital to deliver a baby were forced to exit the taxi because the driver was worried the baby would be born inside his vehicle, female devotees from the Hindu Lord Ganesh temple in Wadala, Mumbai came forward and made a makeshift delivery room near the temple with sarees and bedsheets. 
2. In Nathowal village near Ludhiana, Punjab the three major religious communities look to help each other instead of falling for the tumourous animosity engulfing the nation. The Sikh and Hindu communities helped repair the old mosque while Muslims and Hindus contribute to the gurudwara functioning as well.
3. Dating back to a tradition that began more than 110 years ago when Hindus and Muslims lived more harmoniously in India, a family of Muslims offer 'Hore Kanike' (a bundle of gifts) - a donation of oil and rice - to the Krishna Mutt in Udupi to help feed the 50,000 devotees that throng there during the Paryaya Mahothsava festival. Inspired by this, even the Christian community of the area has since joined in with food and aid. 
4. The organization Khalsa Aid follows the Sikh principle of "Recognise the whole human race as one". They are always at the forefront when it comes to humanitarian aid around the world, looking beyond religious beliefs and serving the downtrodden.

•  Knowing that 83 year old Lalita Subramanyam would be alone on her birthday as she was on their 'senior citizens requiring care and protection' list, the Mumbai police squad in Wadala surprised her with a birthday cake and party.

•  Six police officers from Shimla carried a pregnant woman on a cot for three and a half hours through ten kilometers of heavy snow and ice to get her to a hospital where she safely delivered her baby.

 In this post: 

•  Sunil, a cab driver from Mangalore made the news for refusing to accept payment for patients he drove to the hospital. 
• When customers of Javed Khan's roadside keema vada stall in Coimbatore found out he had lost his foot to diabetes, they chose to use social media positively to collect funds and sponsor his healthcare bills as well as his children's education. 

Authors note:

Want more? The 'Heroes of Kindness' goes far beyond just a country, of course. 

Earlier editions can be viewed from the links below:

Heroes of Kindness - 2017 edition (Articles - 40, Heroes - 67)

Heroes of Kindness - 2018 edition (Articles - 34, Heroes - 52)
Heroes of Kindness - 2019 edition (Articles - 31, Heroes - 42)

Heroes of Kindness - 2020 edition (Articles - 30, Heroes - 64)

Heroes of Kindness - 2021 edition 

Heroes of Kindness - Indian edition
Heroes of Kindness - My Interviews