Mumbai:
In an incident that highlights the enterprise and courage of a young Mumbaikar, a 75-year-old cricket coach was saved by his 13-year-old student after he fell out of a fast-moving rickshaw.
The incident took place recently, when, around 6.45 pm, Sharad Dhage was on his way to a playground in an auto rickshaw, accompanied by 13-year-old twins Ujjval and Udit Mehta.
Both study at St John's School in Goregaon.
When the rickshaw was near Bhagat Singh Nagar in Goregaon West, the driver veered sharply to his left, sending the old man, sitting on the edge of the seat in the corner, flinging out of the vehicle.
As the jerk ejected him, he rolled to the side of the street, and lay there bleeding. The auto driver fled the spot the same instant, leaving the two kids to take care of the aftermath.
The young twins were petrified. Udit almost froze. Ujjval was horrified. But someone had to overcome the shock if their coach was to be saved.
It was Ujjval. He helped the bleeding man up and carried him to the nearest hospital. "I was terrified by the incident but my brother seemed even more scared than me. Someone had to act responsibly. So, I gathered the courage to take sir to the hospital and told my brother to inform his family," said Ujjval, who saved the old man's life.
Said a doctor from the hospital where Dhage was taken, "The boy was really brave. It is not easy for a 13-year-old to see so much blood and still retain his courage. He got Dhage to the hospital just in time or else excessive bleeding would have cost him his life."
He added, "Dhage has received four stitches on his head."
After recovering, Dhage, a managing committee member of Cricket Coaches' Association, said, "Ujjval was always one of my most dedicated students. But I didn't know he would also prove to be my saviour. Today, I am alive only because of him."
Dhage, a Maharashtra State Cricket Coach Award winner, added, "I really wish every parent is blessed with a child like him."