Chaitali Dhar. Picture by Rashbehari Das (top), And Aniruddha Banerjee. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

Trisha Banik, Aniruddha Banerjee and Chaitali Dhar have one thing in common: they have survived, strived and thrived despite everything life has thrown at them.

Trisha, a Class XII student of Calcutta Girls High School, went from a 14-day coma and losing her memory to passing her ISC examinations, all in just nine months. Aniruddha was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was two years old, yet has aced the Madhyamik. Chaitali was born with a neurological disorder and left to waste in a psychiatric home. Rescued at the age of 13, she has left her disorders behind to become a student leader at Loreto Day School, Sealdah.

For the resilience of spirit that these three brave warriors have shown, they were honoured at the The Telegraph School Awards For Excellence on Saturday in the Surrendra Paul Memorial Awards for Courage category.

Trisha’s story is the stuff of Bollywood blockbusters. A road mishap on June 29, 2006, landed Trisha in hospital in coma with severe brain injury, affecting her memory. She forgot even her ABCs. After a month in hospital, she was taken home. “She only remembered her dog,” recounts Parthasarathi Banik, Trisha’s father. “She called us uncle and aunty. My wife and I would teach her the alphabet, show her pictures from nursery books and teach her addition and subtraction.”

The 17-year-old went back to school in August 2006. She was determined to sit for the board exams, even though her memory of the accident and the year before had been wiped out. “We discouraged her, but in vain,” recalled Trisha’s father.

And though she did not fair well in her school tests, Trisha passed her ISC with 74 per cent.

Trisha was not present at the Science City ceremony to receive her award as she couldn’t make the trip from Pokhra, Nepal, where she is studying MBBS at Manipal University.

Aniruddha couldn’t sit up straight till he was five years old; he could stand after he was eight and walk only at the age of 10. He still can’t run like boys of his age. But these are minor problems for the 16-year-old. The boy, who still can't sit at a chair while writing, attends a regular school — Buinchi BL Mukherjee Free Institution — with an attendant and has never come second in class. A gifted painter and poet, an avid quizzer, debater and public speaker, Aniruddha took his Madhyamik exam sitting on the floor and scored 81 per cent — the highest for a physically-challenged candidate.

But Aniruddha is dismissive of his abilities, “I haven't done much,” says the boy, who believes, “every sunset is a sunrise on the other side of the world”.

Chaitali,18, is thriving despite a brutal childhood. Her father abandoned her mother and two sisters when they were young. Unable to care for them, her mother gave the eldest up for adoption and left the other two, Chaitali and Rina, at a psychiatric hospital.

In the 10 years they spent in the state-run asylum, they picked up the mannerisms of those around them. Chaitali was 13 when, in July 2004, they were brought to Loreto Sealdah and enrolled in the Rainbow project. Chaitali was aggressive and abusive. Efforts to involve her in activities failed, till she was introduced to the Care for the Destitute Elderly — a project that engages young people to help and care for the elderly. Today, Chaitali is the leader of this group.

“She takes her responsibilities seriously and keeps a daily record. If an elderly person is suffering, she informs us immediately. Watching her taking an initiative is heart-warming. This is what leadership is all about,” says Theresa Mendes, senior social worker, Loreto Day School, Sealdah.