Real Heroes honoured: A night of hope, promises

REEL AND REAL HEORES: The awardees and the guests pose for the shutterbug.

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Keywords: Mukesh Ambani, Real Heroes

Mumbai: It was an awards night like no other. As India's rich and famous applauded, the focus for once was on the country's unsung heroes: men and women who have shown extraordinary courage and determination to make a difference were honored.

Each Real Hero – awarded Rs 5 lakh – had a story of grit and inspiration.

Said Sonam Wagchuk, the awardee in field of education, “Ladakh mein logon ki jaan jate bahut dekha lekin desh ke liye jaan dene ki zaroorat hai. (I have seen a lot of people dying in Ladakh when the need of the hour is to die for the country.)

The event had its own personal moments: a rural development activist from Uttaranchal offering a partnership with India's biggest business house Reliance Industries Limited, a woman boxer from Manipur blessed by cricket's original little master Sunil Gavaskar, an NGO which helps slum children in Kolkata make films wanting to make movies with one of Bollywood's biggest heroes Aamir Khan.

“I am very honoured and proud to be with 24 such people who have dedicated their live in service of others,” Khan said.

Reliance Industries - which partnered with CNN IBN in this unique initiative - promised to scale up the partnership next time.

“Let Real Heroes be a movement that inspires hundreds and thousands of people at grassroots to raise the bar and achieve even more and together. Let's build a partnership,” said Mukesh Ambani.

Even as the 24 real heroes came together on stage, the event had truly driven home the point: in a media-chasing-celebrity-chasing-media world, this was one day that truly celebrated the triumph of the human spirit of the anonymous Indian.