She is all of 18, but Anushka Nag has beaten cancer twice.

First when she was in Class III and was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and the second three years later, when the disease relapsed.

“I was too small in Class III to comprehend what had happened to me but in Class VI I used to be depressed. After the first round of chemotherapy, my hair came off almost like a wig. It was difficult to deal with the reality of how I looked different from others my age,” said Anushka, now in Class XII.

On Saturday, Anushka received the Surrendra Paul Memorial Award for Courage at the inaugural ceremony of the 29th edition of IIHM presents The Telegraph School Awards for Excellence 2024 in association with The Bhawanipur Education Society College and Exide at South City International School.

From Class III to IX, Anushka was mostly homeschooled. Only in Class X, she returned to Air Force School Barrackpore. She scored 75 per cent in her Class X board exams.

“My immunity was compromised and I was vulnerable to cold and cough. The doctor had advised me to take precautions,” she said.

The second time, after six rounds of chemotherapy, Anushka underwent stem cell therapy.

“For so many years I have never felt that I have done anything extraordinary, despite my mother telling me that I am a fighter. But on Saturday, while I received the award, I felt proud of myself,” she said.

The awards ceremony turned the spotlight on many such faces silently fighting battles every day, medical and financial, as the co-host for the day, Raisa O’Brien described them: “They have taken it on like the Olympians we’ve seen on TV the past few days.”

“We have our own champions, right here, let’s take a few minutes to recognise them,” she said while introducing the courage awards.

She was also talking about students like Neha Sahani, a first-generation learner who is the daughter of a domestic help and has scored 74.2 per cent in Class XII.

“At times, buying one extra textbook was difficult,” Neha said.

The first-year student of political science attends morning college, helps her mother in household chores and takes time out in the evenings to take tuition classes for primary schoolchildren.

“I earn ₹2,000, a part of which I give my mother, some I use for my expenses and the rest I save for my higher education,” said Neha. She received the Delhi Public World School, Barasat Scholarship.

On Saturday, 1,100 certificates of honour and certificates of merit, scholarships were handed over to students, teachers, schools and parents. Last year, more than ₹40 lakh was given as scholarships and this year, over 400 entries have been received from schools and individuals from across the state.

The award ceremony on Saturday was split into two sections, one in the morning and second in the afternoon.

“We did not think that it is (The Telegraph School Awards) going to become this and we are going to give so many scholarships and we are going to reach the whole of Bengal. We just started it and it grew and grew,” said Barry O’Brien, founder-convener of the awards ceremony and trustee, The Telegraph Education Foundation.

The concluding ceremony of the awards is scheduled for August 24 at the Science City auditorium.

“It is a celebration of life, it is a celebration of achievement, its a celebration of
people’s struggles and triumphs. Please come, even if you do not get any citation or award on that particular day,” he said.

Sudip Mondal, the father of eight-year-old Supratim, went on the stage on Saturday to collect The Abhirup Bhadra memorial “Thank you baba-Ma” Award.

Supratim, undergoing treatment in Chennai, had called his father twice since morning, asking him: “Have you collected the award?”

The boy is undergoing treatment for bladder and urethral complications. “He had one surgery on July 27 that went on for six hours. He has been in and out of hospital from the age of two,” said Sudip before rushing to video call his son to show him the certificate.

O’Brien’s message was to put the cart before the horse in personal and work life, and take calculated, clever and wise risks to see miracles happen. “This is a mini miracle,” he said.