Bhandup’s youngest animal lover bags scholarship

Friday, December 18, 2009

Four-year-old Hitesh does not know the meaning of ‘animal lover’ but his love for animals has not gone unnoticed

Recently, he bagged Robin Age Bright Sparks Scholarship for Horse Power (training in handling and riding horses). The sholarship is sponsored by an equestrian centre and gives the child a chance to stay at the centre and interact with ponies and horses.

Speaking about the award Sunish Subramanian founder of PAWS stated, “This year our NGO got a mention in the Limca Book of Records- 2009 under Youth for Animals category. Hitesh’s award is in fact an award for all of us because he is our youngest member. As he lives in my neighbourhood I have observed this child very closely. Unlike other children, Hitesh is not afraid of animals. For a four year old kid this is something amazing. Hitesh plays with all the injured birds and animals undergoing treatment at our centre.

However, he is very fond of snakes so we allow him to handle the non poisonous species. A few months back, Hitesh came to me carrying two tiny sparrows. He had rescued these birds from the dogs. Even his parents were not aware of his brave deed. Touched by his compassion towards these tiny birds, our organisation decided to enroll him as the youngest member. This news was published in The Times of India, that probably must have caught the attention of the publishers of Robin Age, a magazine for children in the age group of 5-12 years.”

Little Hitesh who is a pre-primary student from NES Sunbeam English school does not know the meaning of ‘animal lover’ but his love for animals has not gone unnoticed. The Robin Age scholarship entitles him to undergo training in horse power, mainly lessons on how to handle horses. According to his mother Neerjala, “Hitesh is a quiet child he does not like to play with a bat or ball. However, he loves playing with all kinds of live animals and birds including snakes. Initially, I was scared when I found him handling snakes, but now looking at his passion my fear is slowly dying. I have started reading books on animal life to know about the various creatures, their food habits, etc so that I can update him during his growing years.”

Incidentally, Hitesh’s favourite television channel happens to be Discovery followed by National Geographic and snakes are his friends.