The only thing ordinary about this man is perhaps his appearance; behind his humble attire, calm being & sweet smile lives a man who has been saving human lives for 47 long years, with as many as 486 lives saved on record and perhaps many others which would have remained unregistered, untold and thus unknown – the story of real-life hero Kanhaiya laal ji is anything but ordinary. Height is not the only thing he has in common with the great Mahatma Gandhi; this is not an exaggeration; he also is a firm believer in God, subscribes to the currency of goodness and is genuinely rooted in kindness .. he may have a few earthly possessions but nothing as compared to what he could have accumulated if he lived a life like most of us do, his presence is saintly. He comes from a place that has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons these days, Chittorgarh, the place where many believe Rani Padmavati once lived in flesh and blood .. historians disagree. Still, she has become so relevant to a large section of our society today that historical fact-based following may seem to be losing relevance to many like you & me.
Yesterday, on the eve of Republic day, our workplace was buzzing with excitement; people were dressed in ethnic clothing, and generally, the mood was happy and upbeat. Moving from one meeting to another, I did catch murmurs about someone really special coming to our workplace. Little did I then know that the man who would come would have such a huge screen presence. Frankly, I wasn’t expecting much .. but boy, I was so wrong!
The stage was set, the camera began to roll, and people stopped farming on their keyboards and stood to face the projector, which had Shuttl banner beaming on it. I was in a meeting with team members .. trying to cover a few items. That is when another co-worker began to test the mic, and I knew it was time to close the discussion. We walked out on a promise to gather again after the event. I let my Mac rest on my workstation and stood like everyone else in amusement, unaware of what was to follow. Till then, all I knew was that one of our business associates was to come over and share with us his story and then in walked the man himself, followed by his wife, his only daughter, and younger son; quietly …almost unnoticeable.
We welcomed him with thunderous applauds; he came and occupied the seat that we had set for him; right in front of the camera, our Co-Founder, Deepanshu, extended a warm welcome to him on behalf of all Shuttlers and began to tell us who he was and what were we up to – the slide said 486*
In the following moments, we saw on the projector image of the president’s medal certificate, a couple of newspaper clippings, a book dedication .. enough pieces of evidence to know that he had saved those many lives, all strangers in the last 47 yrs; all of us were awestruck, surprised, speechless & stunned.
Let’s accept this – we’re a generation that spends our time debating Donald Trump and Modi, iOS Vs Andriod, Indian holiday or vacation overseas, the new car, the new tech, the awesome bike, low carb – high protein – these constitute 80% of our non-work related discussions! Here we had a man who had saved more people than we actually knew, speaking to us… telling his tale. I had not expected this!! I was touched and moved beyond expression, and I felt emotions that I had not felt in a long time.
He narrated his stories to us reluctantly; he is a simple man with lofty ideals; he doesn’t enjoy talking about the work that he has done. Doesn’t count as anything special. For him, saving lives, and helping others selflessly and relentlessly are regular things unworthy of appreciation, let alone applauded. He has had a particularly tough childhood as he was an orphan, growing up in a village without the amenities deemed bare minimum, and perhaps it is that particular background that gives his character that strength and grit it takes for an average human to become Kanhaiya Laal. He tells us that it all started in a scout guard assessment session where he, along with a bunch of classmates, had gathered at a kund (water body) for a swimming exam, and his teacher, who he referred to as “Master Saheb” had made him the in-charge of the activity. He had instructions to sit atop and watch over the kids. Things were moving as planned, and then suddenly, he says, he felt something was wrong, the intuition of someone drowning. He, without applying much thought, simply jumped into what was two and a half story deep dive and saved his friend. He took him out of the water and gave the victim mouth-to-mouth respiration, surrounded by other boys. His teacher happened to call him and, without finding out why-why he may have jumped, wiped him thrice hard.. it was painful, but he did not entirely reveal the reason for his unexpected disobedience, and that is when a bunch of kids approached the teacher narrating how “Kanah”, he was lovingly called that, had saved a life. His teacher was in tears and said things to him that he still remembers clearly, so much so that while narrating, he felt goosebumps.
That incident, he says, was the turning point of his life. He said that the joy he felt after saving his friend’s life was unprecedented; he said .. it felt godly, divine in some sense. He had found his purpose in life, his higher calling. His teacher did not keep the incident to himself and got him nominated for President’s bravery award, which he won too. He migrated to Delhi, mortgaged the very medal and certificates years later to get cash to start selling coconut strips at the crossroads of Delhi, he fondly remembers that.. from there on .. Kanhaiya ji moved from strength to strength, took many jobs, achieved stability, married a lovely lady, become the father of three kids – but while all of this was one, his mission of saving lives ran parallel uninterrupted and unfettered.
He emphasised the fact that he is an ardent believer in GOD and has unending faith in Ma Bhavani. He says God and God alone do all the good that is there in the world. Humbly dismisses his great doings as those being mere acts of obedience to God’s will. On his Auto, he started carrying anyone he would spot on the road hurt in an accident to the hospital, often returning home without any cash to pay for the food and other essentials for his family. I had to face innumerable humiliations and difficulties financially as well as socially. People doubted him, questioned his motive, and confronted him violently; he even had to make many trips to courts and police stations. All of this was when he was only trying to help, mostly selflessly, but he did not give up, and his fantastic family stood by him in the face of the most challenging and demanding circumstances.
He shared with us many stories, how he kept doing the noble deed in 1984 when the infamous Sikh massacre happened to things more recent when he, with others, followed up with the Apex court to get the ruling passed, which doesn’t require those helping accident victims to reveal their identity and that medical aid is provided for without preliminary paperwork. He has won numerous awards and recognition but still lives a life of anonymity. He still has to struggle to meet the needs of his family. He indeed has made progress, from having nothing at all to being the owner of a couple of buses and cars and other things, but his most prized earning is the lives that he has selflessly saved.
Books and numerous newspaper articles have been dedicated to him, but the saint that he is remains completely untouched by what people feel about him.
In him, I found a real-life hero, someone who is so rooted in the cause of helping others selflessly that he doesn’t care about anything else as much. He could have quickly become one of us, but he made the tough choice of remaining Kanhaiya Lal—one who is the true embodiment of caring, love, sacrifice, and humanity. Taking our questions, he said that the world is full of people like him ( you and I know that is not true) and that all of us should do the right thing, which is to help others selflessly and always. In 47 yrs old struggle, he did not deter.
It was intensely difficult for me to continue doing what I was busy with before he started his narration after he had left .. he set us all aboard a very different thought ferry.
His story .. poses a question to us all .. do we do enough for others?
Think about it. Happy Republic day.
Yup, that’s right!
While Kanhaiya Lal Ji is certainly an amazing & rare person in today's world, indulging in such selfless acts, I must also say that it was great on the part of your organisation to call him for this event and honour him in the presence of entire staff. May we have more & more such happy stories getting shared all around.
Thanks!
Thanks, Chandrima!
Inspiring man! Equally moving narrative
Thanks Lav for narrating the story of a true living legend. Really inspiring n motivating it is.
Thank you! This story deserves reaching far & wide!
Truly inspiring and moving. Thank you for taking the time to write about this and for sharing!