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| K.Narendranath, Deputy Logistics Officer, INS Venduruthi, Kochi |
One medal stands out among the other achievements of Commander K.Narendranath of Indian Navy. It is the Jivan Raksha Pathak awarded for display of bravery to save fellow human beings. And among those whom he had the fortune to bring back from the brink of death is Vishnu, his own son.
On November 2, 2003, naval officers and families made a trip to Chengaltheri Waterfalls in Thirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. What is enticingly beautiful must be full of risk too. 2 children fell into the stream and one girl could hold on to his legs, as he sat across the stream on a tree. But the current was so swift that neither could she lift her head above water nor could he bend down to lift her up.
He then realized that the only hope of saving the girl was to force her to let go of his leg. And so he did too. Though that saved her, he fell into the current but was saved by a lucky grip of a rock.
In February 2004 at Vizakhapatnam, during the annual fest of the Naval K.G.School, a 4-year-old suffered fits and vomiting. As the vomit had blocked the boy’s nostrils and wind pipe, Narendranath’s effort to revive him with artificial respiration failed. Then he used his mouth to suck out the blocking vomit from the boy and save him.
In 1984 he had been instrumental in saving the life of a colleague who fell from a train. And again in 1998 he had taken the leadership to save a family involved in a car accident at high range Khandala in Maharashtra.
Perhaps such things must have prepared him for the act of saving his 3-year-old son who got into the swimming pool without his knowledge. When Narendranath saw the listless body, he did not falter. He forced out the water from the boy’s stomach and then started giving artificial respiration. After what seemed like agonizing minutes, the boy suddenly jerked back to life and started breathing slowly.
Perhaps this, and the gratitude of those he has saved, are greater rewards for his heroic acts, he feels.
Courtesy:
S.Harikrishnan (text), Tony Dominic (photo), Sree, Malayala Manorama,
September 24, 2006
Contributed by: Administrator
