When everyone around her was running helter-skelter to escape the fire raging in the Crystal Tower on Wednesday, Zain Sadawarte, all of 10, displayed remarkable courage and calmness in safely guiding them away from the chaos. Through the disaster management knowledge she'd gained in school workshops and through extensive reading, the 16th floor resident asked everyone to go towards the balcony, to ensure a faster and better evacuation process.

Before all of this happened, Zain was peacefully asleep around 8.30 am, as it was a school holiday. But the rest of her building was not in such a peaceful state. "People were shouting and there was chaos, unlike the kind one would expect at this hour of the day. In panic, I opened the main door, and a gust of smoke just blew into my face; I shut the door immediately," said Jayashree, Zain's mother, who was left with bruises on her cheeks because of the smoke.