I met this "REAL HERO" yday.

When mom told me about 2 commando's in the same ward as pa, I couldn’t wait for the next day to come and me to talk personally with them of their heroic hair raising experience. Same commandos who had encounters in Taj & Oberoi last month that most of us had been watching n reading so much abt. I spoke with one of them & here I pen the accont of it.

This young man must be in his mid twenties and has had 3 bullets pass thru his body while he luckily escaped some more. I didn’t want to make it sound like an interview, so simply asked him I was eager to know what happened around him. And I am happy he did that with a smile and some spice. Pravin Tibatiya, he is a MARCO. I fell short of words to tell him how proud we are for his courage. Such men are the real heroes!

They don’t call the trouble makers as 'terrorist' they call them militants. These MARCOs are trained and have instructions to 'shoot at sight' which means no militant caught by them is left alive.

It was the night of 26th running into 27th dawn. Pravin was among the first Naval troops reaching Taj at around 12.30 post midnight and his family had just no idea of it. While cautiously searching each lobby and floor in a group, they came across a dark room and the whereabouts of light switches were not known even to the person from hotel, guiding them. They couldn’t be using headlight, lighter or torch coz it would mean "here I come, shoot me pls' kind of signals to the militants in case they are positioned around, so they moved slowly and suddenly observed movement at the other end of the dark room (if someone is already inside, the science of light and sight says that they would be able to see them coming in- even in darkness). This group therefore slid back to where they came from except for Pravin who not able to turn back, hid himself behind a pillar & realised in no time that there are 3 militants behind a similar pillar on the other side of the room. There was random shooting in intervals. From the sound of gun/cartridge/magazine made by the unknowns, this MARCO force had already got to know of the AK-47's being used by militants. They also carried grenades and tear gas, all this being used quite wisely to make it tough this side. Pravin couldn’t move, neither could he see anything nor the gang outside could help him anyhow. Every time he moved, he had to face gun shots and he fired a few too. He was carrying grenades with him and when he used one, he just kept waiting for it to blow. Sadly, It didnt work. I asked him "were you scared?" to which he smilingly replied "dar hi hai jiski waja se insaan har kadam sambhal kar agey badhata hai”(Its fear that teaches you to be mindful, in short).

After playing this ‘eye spy’ game for about 1.5 hours between 1:30 & 3am, when he had already held her breadth for 5 min and couldn’t hold more, he finally thought death is certain. what he had to decide was - whether he wanted to die of tear gas filling his lungs or the bullet shots. So he pulled his socks, gathered everything he could (mentally n emotionally n physically) and jumped out from behind the pillar and ran towards the exit, without stopping to fire continuously at the other pillar, not sure if he gunned anyone to death. How were they surviving the tear gas is a mystery to me yet but what I missed to mention earlier is the reason why Pravin could not move out earlier with his group. When they were searching for the light switches n moving in slowly n they heard some movements, there was sudden firing when probably the militants would have seen them; one bullet hit him and actually blew off his left ear.

So all this while, he was bleeding, bearing the excruciating pain and not in his most alert states, just thanking god that it was not his brain. He also thanks god now that he was not wearing helmet (though I thought it was stupid of someone to send the MARCO in without helmets for security.) He says, if he had a helmet on, the bullet would have entered the helmet n moved round within the bullet proof helmet to rip off the top part of it only to make it worse for him. Painful isn’t it?

Once out, he fell unconcious in a while and was rushed out of the hotel, there was no medical facility right there so he was put in ambulance to the Naval hospital at 3.20am where he is being treated by various doctors for different parts of his brave soul’s abode.

The respect for him grows manifold when I learn his response to the 50K cheque offered to him last wk by someone from the state gov. This official made efforts to personally visit him but couldnt resist sounding irritated when Pravin refused to accept the cheque saying “do u even have an idea that it took me 3 hrs to find you here?” when Pravin humbly replied – “Sir what I did is just my job and defence even pays me for this. If you still wish to offer something, pls offer to the defence fund and when you talk of the painful 3 hrs, please dont forget the 60 hours put in by the force without a blink of eye.”

A step towards Self Discovery

TARA BHATT: CLIFTON STRENGTHSFINDER

 

Your Theme Sequence report presents the 34 themes of talent, in the rank order revealed by your responses to StrengthsFinder. Your Signature Themes, the five most dominant, are listed first. Your Theme Sequence can be helpful to you in exploring beyond your Signature Themes. By leveraging the themes of talent toward the top of your sequence, you can enjoy personal and career success through consistent, near-perfect performance. The themes toward the bottom of your sequence are likely to be less apparent in your day-to-day behaviors. Sometimes they reflect what people don't enjoy or think about very much. Spend some time thinking about your unique Theme Sequence and consider how your themes, separately or in combination, impact your work and personal life.

 

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1) Developer : A person strong in the Developer theme recognizes and cultivates the potential in others. They spot the signs of each small improvement and derive satisfaction from these improvements.

 

2) Relator : People who are strong in the Relator theme enjoy close relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.

 

3) Connectedness : People strong in the Connectedness theme have faith in the links between all things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason.

 

4) Harmony : People strong in the Harmony theme look for consensus. They don't enjoy conflict; rather, they seek areas of agreement.

 

5) Maximizer : People strong in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.

 

6) Individualization : People strong in the Individualization theme are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively.

 

7) Discipline : People strong in the Discipline theme enjoy routine and structure. Their world is best described by the order they create.

 

8) Analytical : People strong in the Analytical theme search for reasons and causes. They have the ability to think about all the factors that might affect a situation.

 

9) Responsibility : People strong in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.

 

10) Consistency : (formerly Fairness) People strong in the Consistency theme are keenly aware of the need to treat people the same. They try to treat everyone in the world with consistency by setting up clear rules and adhering to them.

 

11) Deliberative : People strong in the Deliberative theme are best described by the serious care they take in making decisions or choices. They anticipate the obstacles.

 

12) Activator : People strong in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.

 

13) Strategic : People strong in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.

 

14) Intellection : People strong in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions.

 

15) Adaptability : People strong in the Adaptability theme prefer to "go with the flow." They tend to be "now" people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time.

 

16) Self-Assurance : People strong in the Self-assurance theme feel confident in their ability to manage their own lives. They possess an inner compass that gives them confidence that their decisions are right.

 

17) Futuristic : People strong in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.

 

18) Empathy : People strong in the Empathy theme can sense the feelings of other people by imagining themselves in others' lives or others' situations.

 

19) Input : People strong in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.

 

20) Positivity : People strong in the Positivity theme have an enthusiasm that is contagious. They are upbeat and can get others excited about what they are going to do.

 

21) Significance : People strong in the Significance theme want to be very important in the eyes of others. They are independent and want to be recognized.

 

22) Restorative : People strong in the Restorative theme are adept at dealing with problems. They are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it.

 

23) Achiever : People strong in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.

 

24) Belief : People strong in the Belief theme have certain core values that are unchanging. Out of these values emerges a defined purpose for their life.

 

25) Arranger : People strong in the Arranger theme can organize, but they also have a flexibility that complements this ability. They like to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.

 

26) Command : People strong in the Command theme have presence. They can take control of a situation and make decisions.

 

27) Communication : People strong in the Communication theme generally find it easy to put their thoughts into words. They are good conversationalists and presenters.

 

28) Learner : People strong in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.

 

29) Woo : People strong in the Woo theme love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with another person.

 

30) Focus : People strong in the Focus theme can take a direction, follow through, and make the corrections necessary to stay on track. They prioritize, then act.

 

31) Context : People strong in the Context theme enjoy thinking about the past. They understand the present by researching its history.

 

32) Competition : People strong in the Competition theme measure their progress against the performance of others. They strive to win first place and revel in contests.

 

33) Includer : (formerly Inclusiveness) People strong in the Includer theme are accepting of others. They show awareness of those who feel left out, and make an effort to include them.

 

34) Ideation : People strong in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.