the brave Gujarathi mother who batted and saved her daughter from mugger crocodile

The Vishwamitri River is a seasonal river which flows east to west between the Mahi and Narmada rivers in Gujarat.  Originating in the Pavagadh Hills, the river winds through  Vadodara and joins the Dhadhar River and Khanpur River before emptying into the Gulf of Khambhat near Khanpur village.

Batter is a liquid mixture of one or more flours made with ground grains or soaked grains that are ground. Batters are used to prepare various foods. The word batter comes from the old French word battre which means to beat, as many batters require vigorous beating or whisking in their preparation.  In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher. In Cricket,  batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke.  The modern bat is specially made, has a handle and flat-fronted willow as the blade. 

  

             Here are the  - photos of two women batters of contrasting styles !!

On left is a New Zealander - Suzannah Wilson Bates who  plays for the Otago Sparks in the State League as well as for her national team, the White Ferns. She currently holds the highest score and highest batting average in the New Zealand Women's Twenty20 cricket team. She won the Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year 2013.  She also represented New Zealand in Women's basketball during the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The one on right one is not an International, but Diwalinen Vankar of Gujarat is ‘mother-courageous’. In Gujarat, Diwalinen Vankar went with her daughter to wash clothes in Vishwamitri River. A mugger crocodile grabbed her daughter kanta's right leg and dragged her into the murky  river.  Vankar, 58, tried to pull daughter - Kanta - free from clutches of crocodile.  That was not successful .... then  she started attacking it with her  bat in fact a washing paddle. 

The heroic mother saved her daughter from the jaws of a 13ft crocodile in a 10-minute long battle, armed only with a wooden washing paddle. The sudden attack rattled Vankar, who hastily grabbed her daughter's hand to try and pull her free from the clutches of the crocodile.  The mugger crocodile clasped its powerful jaws round her daughter with its razor-sharp teeth.  Vankar said: 'I was using all my force to pull her back, but the crocodile was so powerful I could not move her an inch.

'For a moment I felt the crocodile would drown my daughter as it tried to roll  in to the water.' But the quick-thinking mother then decided to attack the crocodile - that can grow up to 15 feet long - with her washing paddle. 'For several minutes I tried to pull her with my hands, but then I got hold of the wooden bat and started hitting its head forcefully', she said.

Her daughter’s leg  was trapped between the piercing teeth and she was crying in pain,  her hands were scratching the river bank to get a grip – the valiant mother did not let her go.  Kanta suffered leg injuries but could escape due to the tenacity of her mother who displayed exceptional courage.  After hearing the commotion, villagers rushed to help and drove Kanta to hospital, where doctors were treated her for a leg injury. She has since been discharged.

Speaking from the hospital, her mother said: 'I thank God for saving my daughter. The injuries are not that serious and doctors say she will be fine in sometime.' A wildlife officer said the river is home to ferocious crocodiles and villagers have been warned to steer clear of the river.   Reports state that some people had been killed in crocodile attacks and that there are more than 200 crocodiles in the Vishwamitri River.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

8^th Apr 2015.

Photo of Diwalinen Vankar and news credit :  www.dailymail.co.uk/