Maharaj

In 1948, when the Ganges was flooding in Kanpur, District Magistrate Kishan Chand was inspecting the affected areas by boat. Many important people were on that boat with him, including Senior Superintendent of Police Omkar Singh, the district congress president, and the tahasildar (tax collector). Suddenly water began to fill the boat. The lives of everyone were in danger, and there seemed to be no way out of the situation. In desperation Omkar Singh cried out again and again, "Baba, we are drowning. Save us." Hearing him screaming, all the others thought that he had become mad with fear. Just then an uprooted tree floated by and touched their boat. Seeing it, Omkar Singh left the boat and climbed onto the tree. The others followed him, and within a few moments the boat sank. The Ganges flows in between Unnao and Kanpur. The floating tree could have been carried away to Unnao or could have been overturned by the fast-flowing water. Instead, the tree floated to the bank on the Kanpur side, and everyone was saved from drowning.