Chennai floods

The Chennai rains have wrought havoc the past few days. On the other hand it has also brought out the basic human dharma which often lies hidden within the multiple layers of cast, creed, sect, religion, social status and what not. A facebook post “Its raining in Chennai and its not just the skies that have opened up” has gone viral. It is one of the few occasions one is grateful for the existence of social media. So much help is being made possible- sharing of addresses of shelters, possible routes from one place to another, phone numbers of people helping with anything be it food or a mobile phone re-charge. All of us are praying that the floods cease and the city recovers.

I am from a small town now turned city in the far north eastern part of India. A region which records very high amounts of rainfall every year. From childhood a few things were an integral part of our accessory wardrobe-an umbrella, a raincoat, a pair of gumboots, plastic chappals. As I grew up, every monsoon we saw floods and in those days having a first floor in your house was a luxury. Many times even the main roads would be flooded. I think all of us who grew up there can remember having a good number of rain or flood holidays. Days together without electricity, knee deep, waist deep and even neck deep water for days, refugees at the government schools and such establishments and the prime minister doing aerial surveys of flood affected areas! Many of us have the experience of water entering our homes, cooking a mixture of rice and dal over a stove put on a cot, eating on the bed, studying in candlelight for an exam which had all probability of being cancelled. And when the water receded, the stink and muck that it left behind and the ardous cleaning sessions.

Though I am not in Chennai right now, I can really feel the misery people must be enduring there. I used to think that floods did not happen in big cities, that big cities are good with drainage systems and civil infrastructure that they are equipped to handle excess rain. But as I grew up and learnt that Mumbai gets flooded almost every year and this year the Chennai floods happened, both cities so near to the sea, I understood that being a metropolitan city does not guarantee an escape from nature’s fury!

I would consider them lucky, they, who are able to help Chennaiites directly. May these good samaritans carry on their work. For those of us who are not in the forefront, let us all pray for our fellow men. May humanity win over narrow divides. May we all survive this calamity unscathed!