The water level was rising inside the commode and that is when I began to panic. Till then I was very calm. It was the first of December 2015 and I was really scared. Fear mongering had begun a few weeks ahead and Chennaites were fearing the worst. The common thought that plagued everyone was that if the waters from Chembarambakkam were to be released, entire city of Chennai would submerge.
Inspite of the whatsapp forwards, the rumours and the fake news, I kept my cool humming a favourite song .....Que sera sera whatever will be......thinking aloud that there was no point in worrying and I went about my daily routine normally. That is the trick in keeping cool. Stay active and do what you love so that you forget to worry. As simple as that.
The water started entering the apartment complex. I was prepared though. I was ready to shift to my parents house in the event of water entering the house. Keeping important documents and certificates, cheque books and cash, I was wondering whether I should wait or vacate the home immediately. We live in the ground floor and luckily the water stopped rising when it nearly reached the doorstep. We were quarantined for a week after which the water started receding.
The deluge happened on 1st Dec 2015 and brought mayhem to the entire city leaving people stranded in their homes. That was the first time that Chennaites went into a forced quarantine. The first drill happened in 2015 much long before people worldwide started talking of self isolation for containing a virus. The entire city went on a lock down. All shops including medicine stores were forced to shut down.
Infact the second half of 2015 was a terribly wet year in Tamilnadu and Chennai in particular. We experienced storm bursts and continuous showers from September onwards which finally culminated in the great deluge. The deluge was primarily due to opening up of the reservoirs that were filled to capacity. As the Chembarambakkam reservoir was opened and the government swiftly swung into action and inspite of issuing timely advisory, the first question on everyone's mind was....
" Why the delay in releasing the water ? Why couldn't the government anticipate the rising levels in the storage and start releasing in phases from November itself ? "
As I look back, as a citizen, I now realise that there must have been effective preparedness on the part of the government from September. For the citizens, the seriousness of the situation struck only at the time of the massive disaster which luckily was anticipated and the government was taking periodical stock of the situation from a few months ahead itself. I take immense pride in the state government headed by Amma which handled the deluge situation extremely well and four years later Chennai, my home, inspite of it's water woes and mosquito menace is doing well.
The annual rainfall in chennai is very errartic, unpredictable and we depend on the north east monsoon for the city's supply of water. A deluge, this huge was unimaginable in the drought city even in the wildest of dreams. Citizens didn't expect it and were unprepared. The government however was not and we citizens are grateful for that. This should serve as a lesson for us in these trying times today. Stay prepared, take necessary precautions but never panic. Thanks to the actions being taken by our governments, this crisis too shall pass.
The unprecedented rains of 2015 turned out to be a once in a 100 year catastrophe. Here we are looking at once in a 100 year pandemic. Looking back at 2015, I see visuals of people being rescued in helicopters from roof tops and in boats from low lying areas. The army was called in and the civilian army was wading in hip and shoulder deep waters helping to rescue people and also distributing aid. As always the healthcare warriors were at the forefront displaying amazing courage in setting up camps in the most affected areas. As a mother of doctors, today in 2020, as I see and read about the selfless thousands of warrior healers attending to their patients worldwide, forgetting home and sleep, my heart swells in pride. May their tribe increase and may they be blessed with a long and healthy life.
I was marooned in an island, the apartment complex surrounded by water on all sides. We had no power for a week. Some areas had power outage for 10 to 15 days and some ever more than a month. There was no internet. The only source of communication was the landline and friends and well wishers called to update us about the situation around us. The weeks of darkness that engulfed the entire city of Chennai claimed lives but overall the government did exceptionally well in their rescue work of saving many lives.
When the sun finally started coming out from behind the dark clouds and the waters started receding, the streets lay strewn with expensive household items. The fury of Mother Nature was clearly visible and man was rendered powerless. Time and again, she warns but we do not heed to her warnings thereby bringing upon misery upon ourselves. The situation was extremely terrifying and as we worried about an imminent epidemic, the government swung into swift action yet again and ensured that there was no outbreak of any disease in Chennai or any part of Tamilnadu. For those who complain of the lack of cleanliness, let me tell you one thing. We appreciate the neighbour for their efficient efforts but fail to see our own government's enterprise and endeavours, considering the fact that we are a country where religious congregation be it in temples, churches, mosques or festivals is normal and part of our year long public activities.
The work of garbage disposal was undertaken on a war footing and cleared in record time. For those who remember, water had reached the second and third storeys in many areas. Adayar river overflowed the banks and encroachments and huts were washed ashore. There was widespread destruction. There were losses to property and nature proved to be the leveller. The poor and the homeless who survived had nothing to lose. Many of the rich and wealthy had to repair or rebuild their homes.
Facing a crisis again today, I think about the widespread fear created by an invisible virus and Mother Nature comes to my mind. Global culture, customs and traditions highlight the importance of nature and her resources. Irrespective of religion, people worship nature and yet also defy her. Why ?
There must be a dictum which we as humans fail to see and hence we keep offending her. It's not only about being in sync with nature, conserving and protecting her but something more that we seem to be missing. As I was pondering on a grave mistake that we could be doing repeatedly, I came across a post about the wet markets in Wuhan where there is big business in wild animals which are sold for human consumption.
As I read it out to my mother, seated next to me, I nearly threw up and she remarked casually. Do you know why it's named as the Corona Virus ? I stared at her face, with a blank look when she quipped rather confidently.....
It's named as the Corona Virus because Man has become Carnivorous......
&
I was like 😱🤐
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