Rising above these waters

You think Kerala, you think water; just that the shades of the water have drastically changed this time. The clear warm waters which always beckoned weary travelers from all over the world have now turned cold, muddy and furious; lifelines choking on themselves in this beautiful state that I call home. It is my place of solace and I turn to it, whenever I seek for it. For those of us who do not live currently there, among the many things that make us home sick, the monsoon months of June and July pull at the nostalgic chord in us the strongest. Come August 2018 and I almost wish for no more rains in my beloved land. We have had enough to last us another 100 years! The heavy and incessant rainfalls that resulted in unprecedented floods have been wreaking havoc in this little strip of land by the sea and as I watched the news and read posts on social media a deep sense of helplessness kept growing inside me. The fact that family and friends were being affected was on one side but on the other was this heavy weight of nature’s relentless fury unleashed on God’s own country with no sight of any near respite. Ten days back I remember making fun of my sister who was following the news closely from the time the rains had started acting up. I teased her as she went digging in to the history of the dams and anything that the media fed by way of information on the rains and the possibility of floods. My smiles froze as I watched the five shutters of the Idukki dam open; two at first and then the remaining three for the first time in 26 years on 8^th August 2018. It was the beginning of a nightmare and from then on there was no stopping of the deluge. 34 of the 39 dams are now open for the first time in their histories and Kerala was living its biggest nightmare from the time anyone alive today could remember. A journalistic report in Malayalam on the floods in 1924, which is considered to be the first of its kind recorded in the history of Kerala, mentions the same places and towns in the report as the worst hit then too; Chalakudy, Idukki, Aluva to name a few. While the 1924 floods saw animal and human corpses floating in the flood waters the images which rule the deluge in 2018 are of unstoppable waters and submerged buildings, stranded people and relief camps busy receiving fresh inhabitants on a daily basis. Yes, we brought it on to us; yes, we never paid heed to the warning bells as we got busy with indiscriminate urbanization and resultant deforestation; and yes it’s now payback time from Nature. Yet, when a disaster of this magnanimity struck home all you wanted to do was to be there on the ground and help bring life back. And that’s what we are doing. The calamity in Kerala has brought out the best in its people. It is there for everyone to see; the youngsters who were written off as irresponsible and insensitive are seen leading rescue activities in their localities, rushing from spot to spot with supplies and helping hands. People have forgotten their differences- political, religious, philosophical- for the time being and are rising up to the occasion, taking control of the situation  not waiting for help to be rendered to them. The government has been extremely sensible in dealing with the whole situation by letting the local administrative authorities take charge of their respective terrains and move forward. This has led to smooth flow of operations without the hassle of red tapism or differences blocking the rescue process. The NDRF and the military forces have been beyond impressive with their efficient and timely manner of operation. I have always been proud of our armed forces but this time, so close to home, I have followed their mode of operations closely and the shy yet content smiles on the faces of these people when brought face to face with a TV camera have won my heart along with those of many thousands of others.  The media too, forsook its hunger for melodrama and scoop and was hands-on in reporting and extending the channels of communication to help with the rescue operations thus in keeping with the true journalistic spirit of news reporting. People from all over the world are reaching out to help in whatever way they can and it is heartening to see cartons of supplies being shipped by the truck load to various places from all across the country. I have been saving the best for last. The stories of the Kerala fisherfolk across the state rushing in their boats to help people in need when every other mode of conveyance proved impossible had been doing the rounds. Over 2800 fishermen were involved in these rescue operations and their stories of courage and dedication deserve very special mention. With their hearts on their sleeves andatheir boats in tow they have been wading through 10 feet plus deep dangerous waters to rescue close to 3000 people on their own. I have been devouring their stories on the media and what touched me the most was the sincerity with which they went about this with no expectation of any return of any kind. Now back in their homes with damaged boats they are now on their way finding their feet back on firm ground.
While every minute of the day passed by with a fervent prayer for this nightmare to finally end there were these images which made you feel hopeful again; hope that is slowly turning in to a belief that we will rise above these waters.