Rotary along with Sherlock Holmes, P G Wodehouse, Shanker-Jaikishen, Mohd Rafi, Pink Floyd has been my one of my abiding passions. Befitting a Gemini, I am prone to frequent mood and interest changes but Rotary has been one of the 'one fixed spots in a changing universe' as Holmes said about Watson.
At Rotary, we are committed to make the society we live in a better place to work while enjoying all the camaraderie, friendship and fun we share. I am priveleged to belong to a Club in India called Rotary Club of Madras, Chenna Patna (RI Dist 3230) and we did a fair bit of work during and after the Tsunami that stuck our coast the morning of 26th Dec 2004. I have attached a report which I published after I visited the coastal areas a few hours after the disaster trying to lend a helping hand to my fellow countrymen.
REFLIEF OPERATIONS AT KARAIKAL/TARANGAMBADI
The sight that greeted us was incongruous and would have been funny but for the fact that the mood was somber. One Ford Ikon, a Cielo, an ambulance and a few buses were scattered around in a large field along with scores of two-wheelers and one could appreciate the fury that had been wrought when one looked back and saw the now-calm sea was a good 700 meters away. Once in a while, Nature reminds us she is the boss is and we helpless human beings can only look on in awe at the power when on display and in sorrow at the destruction that is wrought.
Rotarians Capt Ravi, Saiseshan, Major Lakshmanan, Praveen Mehra and I; accompanied by my colleague, Anil of HCL Technologies and a few others left early for Karaikal in two cars. It was a good 6 hour drive & we reached Mr Ilangovan’s spacious office close to 1 pm and the mood in the normally cheerful little town was one of distress and sadness. Mr Ilangovan and Mr Chockalingam – 2 Lions as any – accompanied us with some of their associates most notably Mr Kesava who runs an orphanage and Mr Satya for a tour of affected areas and we saw for ourselves the state of roads, houses, bridges and boats.
Roads which proudly once carried 3 buses side by side and boasted a view of the sea rivaled by few, now looked forlorn, their width reduced to a few feet incapable of carrying even our car, the proud embankments reduced to rubble and lay scattered across us, the sides of the road a steep gradient now with water on all sides and a few feet away we saw a most distressing sight – a blue plastic chair on which presumably an old man would have been sunning himself in the early morning warmth and would have watched helplessly as the waves hit him.
The tragedy hasn’t spared anyone from any strata of society. A young doctor slated to go to UK for further Doctoral studies in a week’s time lost his life as he went to play tennis with his friends. His body was found about 2 Kilometers from the shore - a young life and talent lost in prime. Scores of fishermen & their families lost their lives, homes and livelihood and the waves stuck with force and surprise. Several pilgrims lost their life while they were on the beach after spending the morning in the pew praying. More than a hundred patients lost their lives as their hospital – more than a kilometer from the sea shore - was washed away and we saw the now-ghost like frame of the building with no doors or windows.
After a reconnoitering of the area with our new friends, we were informed that there was a good deal of aid material available in Karaikal proper, but the areas near Karaikal like Poompuhar, Tarangambadi etc were without proper aid as they were difficult to reach. We then went to one of the major relief camps at Tarangambadi where we saw 1500 inmates packed into a small school building living off aid. They were eating out of leaves and whatever they could get their hands upon and our distribution of plates and glasses was very welcome. There were not enough medicines and doctors at the site were glad to see the quantity and quality of drugs that we were carrying, drinking water is in perennial short supply and we were able to unload some of the water packets we were carrying. Clothes and bedsheets were to be distributed in areas where they are really needed and our friends in Karaikal were planning a trip to Thirukkadayur to distribute the balance over the next day or two. We also met a hard working Rajya Sabha MP, Mrs Gokulindira and the Project Officer, Mr Balasubramaniam who asked us for further relief material and long term assistance to rebuild houses, schools, hospitals and boats.
There is request for further material most notably, utensils, medicines, drinking water sachets, Bedsheets & Chatais (mats used for sleeping). There is also the need for like minded people to volunteer and ensure distributions reach the right people. Most important there is a very real need to assist the affected people to rebuild their shattered lives – vocational training for widows, houses, boats & fishing nets for the fishermen, schools for children and long term medicinal assistance for people affected both physically and mentally by this most unexpected tragedy.
The most poignant memory of this trip was when we called a certain Dr Valluvan’s number who was a close associate of our new friends in Karaikal. The recorded message ‘this is Dr Valluvan speaking, I am fine…’ the sound dies away to waves pounding in our ears and we could visualize the valiant doctor even at the last moment letting his friends know he is fine. In heaven.
Coelreidge came to mind...Water water everywhere, but not a drop to drink….
At Rotary, we are committed to make the society we live in a better place to work while enjoying all the camaraderie, friendship and fun we share. I am priveleged to belong to a Club in India called Rotary Club of Madras, Chenna Patna (RI Dist 3230) and we did a fair bit of work during and after the Tsunami that stuck our coast the morning of 26th Dec 2004. I have attached a report which I published after I visited the coastal areas a few hours after the disaster trying to lend a helping hand to my fellow countrymen.
REFLIEF OPERATIONS AT KARAIKAL/TARANGAMBADI
The sight that greeted us was incongruous and would have been funny but for the fact that the mood was somber. One Ford Ikon, a Cielo, an ambulance and a few buses were scattered around in a large field along with scores of two-wheelers and one could appreciate the fury that had been wrought when one looked back and saw the now-calm sea was a good 700 meters away. Once in a while, Nature reminds us she is the boss is and we helpless human beings can only look on in awe at the power when on display and in sorrow at the destruction that is wrought.
Rotarians Capt Ravi, Saiseshan, Major Lakshmanan, Praveen Mehra and I; accompanied by my colleague, Anil of HCL Technologies and a few others left early for Karaikal in two cars. It was a good 6 hour drive & we reached Mr Ilangovan’s spacious office close to 1 pm and the mood in the normally cheerful little town was one of distress and sadness. Mr Ilangovan and Mr Chockalingam – 2 Lions as any – accompanied us with some of their associates most notably Mr Kesava who runs an orphanage and Mr Satya for a tour of affected areas and we saw for ourselves the state of roads, houses, bridges and boats.
Roads which proudly once carried 3 buses side by side and boasted a view of the sea rivaled by few, now looked forlorn, their width reduced to a few feet incapable of carrying even our car, the proud embankments reduced to rubble and lay scattered across us, the sides of the road a steep gradient now with water on all sides and a few feet away we saw a most distressing sight – a blue plastic chair on which presumably an old man would have been sunning himself in the early morning warmth and would have watched helplessly as the waves hit him.
The tragedy hasn’t spared anyone from any strata of society. A young doctor slated to go to UK for further Doctoral studies in a week’s time lost his life as he went to play tennis with his friends. His body was found about 2 Kilometers from the shore - a young life and talent lost in prime. Scores of fishermen & their families lost their lives, homes and livelihood and the waves stuck with force and surprise. Several pilgrims lost their life while they were on the beach after spending the morning in the pew praying. More than a hundred patients lost their lives as their hospital – more than a kilometer from the sea shore - was washed away and we saw the now-ghost like frame of the building with no doors or windows.
After a reconnoitering of the area with our new friends, we were informed that there was a good deal of aid material available in Karaikal proper, but the areas near Karaikal like Poompuhar, Tarangambadi etc were without proper aid as they were difficult to reach. We then went to one of the major relief camps at Tarangambadi where we saw 1500 inmates packed into a small school building living off aid. They were eating out of leaves and whatever they could get their hands upon and our distribution of plates and glasses was very welcome. There were not enough medicines and doctors at the site were glad to see the quantity and quality of drugs that we were carrying, drinking water is in perennial short supply and we were able to unload some of the water packets we were carrying. Clothes and bedsheets were to be distributed in areas where they are really needed and our friends in Karaikal were planning a trip to Thirukkadayur to distribute the balance over the next day or two. We also met a hard working Rajya Sabha MP, Mrs Gokulindira and the Project Officer, Mr Balasubramaniam who asked us for further relief material and long term assistance to rebuild houses, schools, hospitals and boats.
There is request for further material most notably, utensils, medicines, drinking water sachets, Bedsheets & Chatais (mats used for sleeping). There is also the need for like minded people to volunteer and ensure distributions reach the right people. Most important there is a very real need to assist the affected people to rebuild their shattered lives – vocational training for widows, houses, boats & fishing nets for the fishermen, schools for children and long term medicinal assistance for people affected both physically and mentally by this most unexpected tragedy.
The most poignant memory of this trip was when we called a certain Dr Valluvan’s number who was a close associate of our new friends in Karaikal. The recorded message ‘this is Dr Valluvan speaking, I am fine…’ the sound dies away to waves pounding in our ears and we could visualize the valiant doctor even at the last moment letting his friends know he is fine. In heaven.
Coelreidge came to mind...Water water everywhere, but not a drop to drink….
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