AFULA, ISRAEL
The innate courage must come from her faith, the forbearance from the typical life of a Mumbaikar. Sandra Samuel, the brave Indian nanny who saved a little Jewish boy from the terrorists, is as tough as nails and as philosophical as a weathered yogi.
Hailed as the heroine of the Mumbai terror episode for whisking away two-year-old Moshe Holtzberg while grenades burst and shots rang out, Sandra today is a celebrity of sorts in Israel and within the Jewish diaspora. Kids in New York are doing class projects, writing her thank you cards, while organisations in Israel are felicitating her. There is talk of awarding her Israel's top civilian honour. The attention is overwhelming, but she keeps it in perspective. No fuss, no muss. Only a calm that defies easy explanation.
Whatever the circumstances she faces, one senses that Sandra will serve, she will smile, and she will survive. Perhaps the confidence comes from her complete identification with her "Lord"—Sandra is a...