(From top) Ankush Bose receives the certificate; recounts his story at home; Surabhi paints a picture at home; the plucky girl receives her certificate on stage. Pictures by Anindya Shankar Ray and Rashbehari Das

He hung on to dear life, wedged between the edge of a platform and the compartments of a passing suburban train.

Born with a rare genetic disorder, she consistently does well at school though many thought studies would be impossible.

The fearless Ankush Bose and the spunky Surabhi Singh were given certificates of recognition at the Surendra Paul Memorial Award for Courage at the Techno India Group presents The Telegraph School Awards for Excellence 2011 in association with Bengal Shriram and KKN Group.

Ankush is matter-of-fact while recalling the moments of terror on July 31 last year.

“I was about to board a train at Belghoria station when it started. I held on to the rod with my left hand while a friend of mine, Subhajit Roy, who was in the compartment, held my other hand. I went along with the train, my knees bleeding,” he says.

“After a while, I lost grip and slipped into the space between the platform and the train. Thankfully, I didn’t fall on the tracks.”

As the train sped past, all Ankush could do was try to stay alert so that he didn’t get dragged under it.

“It was a matter of a few seconds and I consciously tried to incline as much as possible towards the wall. I had to keep my cool and use my presence of mind, else I would have been carried away,” he recounts, sitting beside his father at his home in Belghoria.

After four compartments passed him by, Ankush got up and climbed on to the platform with bleeding knees and deep gashes on his back. He then waved to his father, who had no idea what his son had just gone through.

It is more than a year since Ankush’s near-death experience, but the scars on his back remain as a grim reminder. The memories of those few seconds still haunt him occasionally, but the Class XI student at St. Xavier’s Institution, Panihati, does not let them scar his mind.

Surabhi Singh was born with a rare genetic disorder called the TAR (Thrombocytopenia with Absent radius) Syndrome.

The disorder, which occurs in 0.42 in 1,00,000 live births, is characterised by the absence of the radius bone in the forearm and a dramatically reduced platelet count.

“I cannot make use of my hand freely. I write with difficulty, but I do write,” said the Class V student at Methodist School, Dankuni, who is yet to score below 80 per cent in an exam.

“When she was born, I did not think she would be able to pursue her studies,” says her mother Usha Singh at their home in Konnagar in Hooghly. “It is her determination and hard work that allows her to study.”

For Surabhi, even simple things, such as commuting to and from school, need Herculean effort. “On a rainy day, holding an umbrella and boarding the bus is a big challenge,” says the sprightly girl. “But I try to manage as much as possible on my own, because I don’t like taking help.”

For Surabhi, studies and drawing did not take the backseat, but she had to wean herself away from sports, much to her disappointment, because her condition often leads to bruising and potentially life-threatening haemorrhage. “Since my platelet count is low, it takes a long time for the blood to stop flowing if I cut myself.”

Surabhi’s eyes used to well up on occasions when she couldn’t participate in games with her friends. “She would ask me why she couldn’t participate,” he mother says.

If Ankush still remembers his abortive journey to Sodepur for his English tuition, Surabhi says she often has to deal with unkind remarks like “Tumhara haath kitna chhota hai (your hands are so small).” To these people, her retort is, “Tumhara dimag kitna chhota hai (your brain is so small)”.

“They are not spiteful on purpose, but I hate people sympathising with me. I always maintain a stern face in public so that nobody messes with me,” says Surabhi.