Nirmala walked several miles to lead the herd away from the city
Fourteen-year old Nirmala Toppo has become something of a minor celebrity in the eastern Indian state of Orissa. In June, panic gripped the industrial city of Rourkela one night when a herd of wild elephants entered residential areas from dense forests nearby. Nirmala, forest department officials say, acted as a real-life "pied-piper" when she managed to drive the herd back to the forest, much to the relief of the residents. She walked many miles with the herd, guiding it out of town, in the process getting blisters on her legs which later turned septic.