Courage speaks at the 18th Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards Their stories are larger than life and their courage selfless. Recognizing the brave and applauding those who lived with valour are the Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards,which since 90 have acknowledged thousands of people from across the country for their contribution towards a better society. Starting with Delhi,the awards now extend to different states and are conferred in two categories physical bravery and social acts of courage. The third category introduced two years back is the Mind and Steel award and a recent addition are Amodini Awards,which honour exceptional women who have worked towards empowerment of socially backward women. The objective of these awards is to encourage the culture of selfless action,to empower the less fortunate and build a compassionate and caring society, highlighted KK Modi,president of Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards at the 18th awards ceremony held at Taj on Wednesday. In the category of physical bravery,Mehar Singh and Ramesh Chand from Himachal Pradesh,Palvinder Singh from Punjab,Alem Chand and Gurucharan Singh from Haryana took the awards. NGO-SUTRA,Tejinder Pal Singh,Makhan Lal Tanwar were awarded for social acts of courage. Abusive parents,lost love,drugs,alcohol.Tejinder recalls his journey of pain at the awards and how he didnt let failure affect his spirit. My wife tried to commit suicide and I made my children suffer a lot until one day I vomited blood and was diagnosed with a serious heart and liver problem, Tejinder looks back. The shock made Tejinder sit up and take control of not only his life,but hundreds of others like him in Amritsar,assisting them to give up alcohol and drugs and start afresh. The Tribal women of Kinnaur district,who won the Amodini Award,proved that nothing is impossible,provided there is determination and a will to succeed. With a loan from the government,these women formed the Lakshmi Group which adopted the carpet manufacturing business to make themselves self-reliant. SUTRA,an NGO in Himachal Pradesh,works for the empowerment of single women,creates awareness by upgrading skills of women and securing the rights of women to work with dignity and justice. The stories continue to inspire,as Navin Gulia of Haryana tells you how he wanted to serve the country as an Army officer,but during his last stage of training at the Indian Military Academy (IMA),he permanently damaged his spine and was paralyzed neck downwards. With grit and determination,Navin moved ahead and decided to work with the War Foundation for Welfare of Disabled Soldiers,and has launched various organizations for underprivileged children. Difficulties are my teachers and encourage me to work better in the future, smiles Navin. Agrees Gurcharan Singh from Haryana,who risked his life to save 200 people during the 2008 Delhi blasts,while Ramesh Chand from Himachal Pradesh saved a man who was being thrashed mercilessly by some miscreants. I chased and caught them but was stabbed and got 26 stitches. But Im so glad that I managed to save someones life, smiles Ramesh. Palvinder Singh from Punjab saved the lives of three newborns from fire with a help of a mobile phone light,saving people in distress is my prime duty, states Palvinder. A toast to the brave.
