26th Dec 2004 (From my cousin's diary)

It was a sluggish Sunday morning post Christmas. Dad, bro and self were happily enjoying delicious breakfast which mom had prepared. We got up late as we were tired of watching all the Christmas programs in (on) TV the previous day. Clock showed 9.05 AM. As we were watching a recent tappy number, there was suddenly a power cut. Jezz!! Staying at Kalpakkam, powerhouse of where electricity production to more than four states, power cuts is very unusual.

Wondering what could be, curious me peeped through the window to see what was happening outside. We heard some loud screams of people running around. Screams which were from people in deep trouble craving for help. Sensing something alarming, we stepped out of our house which was on the ground floor. What I saw was the view of my life which is still fresh in my eyes, a BIG fluffy white enormous ball kind of an object, around 10 feet racing towards our building. All four of us were transfixed, we couldn’t budge even. It was racing very furiously pace as it came closer and closer.. We literally froze at the very spot. I could visualize that something bad is going to happen. A huge wave just 25 feet away from us came closer and closer making us feel numb but suddenly the furious pace slowed down gradually reducing its pace touching our feet like yet another wave. A big shallow pit near our building was the savior for us, which shielded us from being hit by that deadly catastrophe “TSUNAMI”.

I had been to beaches very often and enjoyed a sense of pleasure playing with huge waves, but for the first time in my life, felt heavy pain when the wave touched the feet. We felt something was going wrong as the wave was all muddy carrying objects like Scooters, wheel chairs from hospital which was one of the first places the Tsunami wave hit.

We could see many people running with dressings on their body, carrying trips in their hands. My dad decided to go to hospital to help people out there. He didn’t even know if there is one more wave following this, but he made up his mind, my mom always ready to accompany him instructed us to help as much as we can as life is all about being good human. I could see real hero and heroine in my life that day.

We all rushed to the hospital. Few people were already helping the patients to vacate hospital if the patients were not very ill. We were helping them, new patients hit by Tsunami started coming, making the situation worse. Doctors were busy; we could see few doctors who were out of their shifts rushing to hospital to help. It was then I understood the DOCTOR’s profession was best in life as we saw them as GOD and they were the only ones who could save lives.

Meanwhile many bodies started piling up; we realized the situation becoming worse as time went by, there was one more wave. Fortunately that didn’t hit hospital much, it was on the other side, and the bridge which connected the other part of our township started trembling resulting in a crack. Many families were split because of this. They were not even sure if their family members were in the other side or not. Telephone lines were damaged.

My heart skipped beat as I saw couple of my friend’s parents bodies who became the victim of this deadly wave while trying to save their children/friends or any other person around. We came back to the house with two victims who had escaped by clinging onto trees. Mom prepared quick breakfast and served them tea to them. We gave them our dresses. Their families also came to our home. One of the victims had even lost his daughter. His wife wasn’t aware of this loss. She only thought her daughter was missing. As she (the mother) was a little ill, we took a lot of time in breaking this news to her slowly.

Though I have seen couple of deaths personally, this disaster which unleashed havoc on many lives came as a total shock to me. My brother sensing the fear and shock consoled me saying that it is time to act fast and help people rather than crib on what had already happened.

That tragic day had finally ended. However from the next day, things were a little clear, we could understand what Tsunami was, what had occurred etc. We got information about our friends and their families. The chief doctor with many big shots in our town decided to conduct medical camps in the nearby villages.

I and a few other friends managed to get permission from our colleges for a week and we volunteered to help the doctors and nurses. From the next day, we would start early each single day in a truck laden with food, clothes, medicines and important vaccines to avoid spreading of diseases. We had no mode of communication for the next few days. So we would go in a group to every village, provide them food, clothes and some basic needs, make them come in a queue (based on priority of their needs), inquire into their real concerns and take it up with the concerned authorities. We realized that we were suddenly doing things that made our life useful for others.

As days passed by, we realized that having a lot of money didn’t really matter. At the end of the day it was all about helping others in the hour of need – this is what really made our life meaningful and complete. There were so many families who were really rich losing their children right in front of their eyes. Money was not of importance to any single individual during this grave hour. Food, petrol, electricity, phones and practically everything one could think off was actually shared between everyone, related or not. It was the “REAL” society, “REAL” Mother earth with humans living in that mattered.

I often wonder – “Is GOD really creating such disasters to teach people what life really is and how we as humans should help and depend on each other?”

The big shallow pit which saved our lives has the beautiful TSUNAMI Park built in fond remembrance of people who died on December 26th, 2004 reminding each of us that money is just money and not everything in life, especially for people like us who run behind dollars and Euro’s these days.

“Time is money says the proverb – How true?” Timely help, timely love, timely human touch is the need of the hour. 

-Sowmya Narasimhan