Who is Vir Bapu Gaidhani?

one day, in Nashik, there's a big fire to a two-storeyed house. It was mostly made of wood, and the fire started at night.

 A big crowd gathered, but not all of them dare to go inside. From the crowd, a man without a thought he ran inside. He evacuated all people and safely brought them outside.

However, one woman started to scream and cry loudly, as two of her kids were still inside. The fire had increased to dangerous levels, and people were afraid of going there, assuming them out of help. They held the mother and didn't let her go.

The raging fires were no deterrent to Bapu's spirit. He ran again and went inside, much against the advice of the crowd. He went upstairs -the kids were there. But by then the stairs had been destroyed by fire and there was no way out. He did some quick thinking- he wrapped the kids in two mattresses (gaadis) and threw them out of the window. The crowd caught it and the kids were unhurt. Bapu too comes out, burnt by the fires.

That's not all. The fire spreads to the nearby gotha where few cows were tied. As they were tied, they could not escape and were being burnt alive. Hearing their screams, he went there too, half-burnt, and pulled out the wooden log (mekh) in ground used to tie the animals, with his bare hands. Being freed, the cattle escaped the fire, but not before blessing that brave man! He, who sacrificed his life to save a few animals! By saving cows, he lived up to his name - Gaidhani, i.e. the owner of cows.

He was severely burnt, and died of his wounds in the hospital. The street in which the incident took place was named after him. The National Bravery Award which is given to children under 18 who perform miraculous acts of bravery against all odds was started in his name -The Bapu Gaidhani Award (one of the five).

It is chilling story, and just goes to show how great some people can be. If only we people had even a tenth of that brave a heart, that capacity to sacrifice, to care for others and that selflessness!