Soft Spot Of The Village Toughie

On August 5, villagers of nearby Kalloli had kept similar faith in him. That day, the Krishna waters were rising, levelling every landmark, including the tall sugarcane shoots. Excess water had been released from the Koyna and Hidkal dams, swelling the tributaries which converged at Kalloli. Most people in the low-lying areas had been ferried to safety. But a bunch of 72, including women and children, defying a government order, had held on for three extra days hoping their prayers to Yedur Lord Veerabhadra would be answered and the waters would quietly recede.

That didn't happen. As the waters rose neck-deep, the stranded saw death reflected in it. It was evening and the light was fading fast. The villagers turned to Subhash, the village toughie and a proven risk-taker. Subhash responded like a true hero. He rowed a boat—against the tide—and took all seventy-two people to safety. "The entire place was submerged in 13-14 ft of water," recalls Subhash. "People were on either on the terraces or their first floor rooms. A three-month-old baby and my 100-plus grandmother were among those stranded. I made the first trip at 4 pm and my third and last trip at nine that night."

"I am very strong but my arms were giving away because I was rowing against the tide. Still worse, I was rowing over sugarcane fields; the oars got stuck at times. I brought them back in three batches. In most cases, I had to carry them on my back and put them into the boat. Fear had numbed their senses. The carcasses of the livestock had already started floating. Some six people, who could not be picked up, had to be rescued by a helicopter the next day."

The funny thing is, had the rescue operation failed, Subhash would have been behind bars. He had apparently signed an undertaking with the local relief authorities that if anything happened to the boat or the people, he would be liable for punishment.

Subhash expects no monetary reward for his heroism. "Someone like me can spend all of it in hours," he laughs. "What I need is a government certificate, which says I did this good deed. I'll frame it up on my wall." And never mind if no one but Subhash ever sees it—it's about his own route to immortality.