Tsunami Relief 2

At Vellapalam ( Fishing Colony) near Nagapattinum
This article is written by Priya as an account of our Trip to Nagapattinum for the relief operations.


Journey to Lands unknown….. 2


The next day came bright and early and we were on our way back to “Our Village” as we had started fondly calling it ……….We had breakfast in our village’s small tea shop …..Very rustic …..On dried coconut leaves, as a substitute for plates and sumptuous idlis and chutneys. From the tea shop, the way to the fishermen’s hamlet was a little distance which we covered in an open auto-like vehicle which is used to transport materials from place to place. We were fresh and raring to get back and start our work.

In the morning, we started off by collecting data as I mentioned before. We had to cover the entire village, so had to start early and be quick. We actually went to each and every house inspecting the damage done and making notes of what was needed in the area.
While doing so, we spoke to the villagers. Some of them were really keen to take us to their homes ……..they kept asking us about “Sapad” which in Tamil means food!!!!
In fact we went to a lady’s house and the lovely lady offered us coconut water from fresh coconuts taken from the trees right in front of us ……we had coconuts ……quenched our thirsts and filled our stomachs …….
In the evening, after the work was almost done, we went to the beach along with an experienced old fisherman whose face was weathered by the sea winds and he knew whatever there was to know about that belt of sand and sea …………no one ventures to the sea these days ………they all are waiting for some time before they go on with everyday tasks of earning their livelihood again. We felt the sand sink at places really deep because of the silt brought in by the waves and at some places there was quick sand also ……..pretty dangerous!!! But all in all, I did manage to bring something of the mighty Bay of Bengal with me …….some shells, some sand …..It is said that if you place your ear near the shell’s mouth, you can hear the sound of the sea ……and that’s what I did ……….the fisherman even caught a crab for me to take home …..Which of course I promptly refused!!!!


The awe inspiring thing here is the Human Spirit …..People, who have witnessed first hand, one of the worst tragedies to affect Mother Earth, were drained but they were coping ……and doing a great job at that. There was music blaring from one of the houses for the entire time that we were there …..Blatantly playing Tamil music, a strong reminder of the Theory of “Life Goes On” …….........

As we left Our village in the evening , we were a wee bit sad , we knew we wouldn’t see these people again in our lives , in whom we had found some great talking and shared laughter …enjoying those moments , trying so comically hard to talk to them in Tamil and doing a great job out of it also …………………..Meena , Abinaya - the kids ,Chitra –the beautiful young lady to whom I offered my favorite chocolate ,Salla Marie who said she’ll come with me to Hyderabad , that old woman who asked me to teach her grand children in the school , the Village Leader ‘Kalyan Sundar’,Anand Kumar and the kids posing shyly as Rajnikant in front of us ……the goat I held , the puppy I played with …………
It was time to say ‘Bon Voyage ‘to fellow villagers and move on …….

I knew I was leaving behind a beautiful place ……..with a treasure of memories and and the knowledge of learning the simple Lessons of Life ………………”Time and Tide waits for None “ …………….the Tamil music still blaring in my ears ………

We left for Nagapattnam and then for Pondicherry the same night. We wanted to experience the famous place before we finally said our Adios to this beautiful part of the country…………southern most places of India. One thing that I realized is that our country is beautiful ………….it offers amazing places to visit and myriad of cultures to relish………

We must explore our own country and explore the unknowns, realize the varied cultures, feel the Local music , enjoy the local meals , listen to the heart beats of the young hearts and cherish the kaleidoscope of memories in our hearts forever ………….