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Onam in Kerala is a mega festival. Probably " The Mega Festival " For those who do not know ... Kerala is a small state in the southern most part of the India. A coastal state that is famous for being " God's own Country ". It is a time where business booms, people celebrate with flowers and colours. Of course India as a whole celebrates life with colours. But in Kerala where the people are generally laid back and unassuming - this is one time of the year where we become just like the rest of the country.
This year however Onam ( August - September 2018 ) was - well different. Unlike every other year - this year the celebrations weren't all about new clothes, flowers and pookkalam ( flower carpet ), It wasn't about festivities and high spirits. But then Onam can't be ignored in this tiny coastal state of Incredible India and the special people that live here - the mallus - celebrated nevertheless ... albeit with a difference.
This year we celebrated with a sense of loss - a sense of belonging and togetherness. Inspite of the sense of gloom and despair that enveloped the state we celebrated the fact that we have millions to watch our back.We celebrated the fact that our flooded muddy houses did not dampen our spirits beyond repair.
The festivities for Onam traditionally starts 10 days before Thiruvonam ( the culmination of celebration ). It starts with Atham ( a day in the malayalam month of Chingam ) and one of the most famous tradition marking the advent of Onam is the Athachamayam ( colourful procession ) at Kochi. This year Atham ( August 15 ) brought along with it a Thandav ( destructive dance ) by the rain gods. A procession of people - rendered homeless and deprived of their life savings. The state had been receiving unusually heavy rains this monsoon season and which kept increasing the water levels in all the 39 ( at last count ) dams in this tiny state. What followed was release of water from 33 out of the 39 dams and the flooding of almost 80 percent of the entire state.
There has been talks of wrong decisions , untimley actions , lack of sense of caution and an absolute unpreparedness. I wouldn't want to discuss the right and wrong of it here - not my place to do so. I see the government decision like a game of chess - where you think for a while and make a decided move and just as you take your finger off the piece - you panic - for at that point you see the mistake you have made and there is a sense of chaos as you do not know then the scale of disaster you have opened yourself up to. To open the dams or not was always a decision that needed to be made. But when will forever remain a point of debate and discussion. Unprecedented was the heavy rains from May onwards. Red Alerts across the state didn’t prepare us for what to expect.
But what followed the disaster was nothing short of amazing. Probably the best happens when you least expect it. Vice versa too. The last 10 days leading up to Onam saw the mallus rise up even as most of the state got submerged in the deluge. The last 10 days saw people come together as a whole without waiting for anyone or anything. Right from the rescue operations - on the ground and at the background - to the setting up of relief camps, to volunteering at camps and ensuring continuous supply of relief at those camps , to rehabilitation of those who had lost everything - the malayali people did just about everything they could. It didn't matter if you were the police , the collector , the district officers , the navy and armed forces , a film actor , the corporates , the neighbour , the fishermen , the students , the parents , the NRI Keralite , the mallu brothers and sisters from other states in the country - everyone pitched in - the common man , woman and child just took it upon themselves to hold the state up. Almost every single malayali soul was up and contributing. We didn't stand back and have doubts about our efforts or its impact - we just marched forward and put those efforts into the sea of efforts that cradled the state.
The spirit of sons of the seas ( fishermen ) and the focussed operations of the navy and armed forces earned a special place in our hearts. Those who came silently called by only the wails and despair of humanity , did what they had to do and left just as silently taking a lot of prayers with them. We were rescued by people who looked to be angels with their calm and composed nature ... who assured us they would come back to rescue us. Even 3 days after rescue we continued to receive calls to ensure our safety - location pins of stranded people were being sent ( by friends and relatives within the state and without ) to rescue teams without any restrictions. They took pains to ensure every pin they received individually and collectively had been covered.
We started by doing what was necessary at a given point of time. The we moved on to do what was possible. And suddenly we were doing amazingly , seemingly impossible things. And that is not an easy thing to do - to hold ground when the ground beneath your feet is being washed away in a deadly manner. When savings and dreams of a lifetime were being washed away - the Keralites didn't beat their chest and cry for help - instead they rallied together and fought to keep the state and its people afloat.
I have never felt as proud being a malayali as I do now. As a Keralite I can with so much confidence look anyone in the eye and say - this is what we do. We fall and we pick ourselves up. We do not stand by and wait to be picked up. Our youngsters gathered with their gadgets and social skills to coordinate with the rescue teams , Our unaffected districts ensured that the camps were open and functioning with sufficient supplies - we did not wait for the central or state government ( majority of the supplies at camps came from voluntary contributions from common people in small and regular supplies and from corporates who let out their stock in bulk supplies ). The collection centers were an organisation by itself - the CEO, the student , the doctor , the lawyer , the banker , the electrician , the businessman, the collector , the women and children , all pitched in with zest and energy in all activities ranging from unloading - sorting - collecting - arranging - packing - loading. It was amazing how the supplies at the camps kept replenishing itself - contributions within the state and some so well organised deliveries from neighboring states ... we were truly blessed. Truly God's own. Day in and day out - this process continued and continued.
And when the rains stopped - we still didn't wait. We walked out of camps to clean and salvage whatever we could of our homes, dreams and lifetimes. And no we didn't do it alone. We still continue to hold each others hands as each home gets cleaned and life restored to some level of normalcy. We didn't wait for government programs and packages and gum boots and cleaning materials. The humans of Kerala had come face to face with possible death , utter chaos and complete disaster and we donned our shield of self reliance and resilience and no matter what interruptions came we just got into the process of returning to our lives and getting on with it as we knew it. Most of the houses remained flooded for 4 days , some to the height of 7 feet. as the water receded into the river and the sea , the houses were left with slush and mud atleast 2 inches high. Furniture, Clothes and most belongings were damaged beyond repair. Evidences of a life lived were completely wiped off - what remained was memories in our heart and will to survive in our spirit.
And as we did this I hope and pray the government steps up its act. We did not majorly crucify them for the disaster - a possible man assisted natural disaster - maybe - maybe not. We did not burden them with sole responsibility during those crucial rescue operation days. We did not cause chaos and confusion while we waited out in camps as our lives crumbled. We did not wait for them to clean our homes and raise our spirits. We do not want to wait for declaration of the flood that ravaged our state as a " National Disaster " for the simple fact that it was not beyond the coping capacity of our state resources. We understand that calamity has been classified as that of " unprecedented severity ".
We understood resilience was our epithet. A month later we opened up our state to tourism.
We just moved on.
Related Links - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala ; https://www.keralatourism.org/ ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpTMhLWUZCQ ;
( This is my post for the Topic of Week 1 - " ITS HARD TO BEAT A PERSON WHO NEVER GIVES UP " - Concrits as always are always welcome )
This year however Onam ( August - September 2018 ) was - well different. Unlike every other year - this year the celebrations weren't all about new clothes, flowers and pookkalam ( flower carpet ), It wasn't about festivities and high spirits. But then Onam can't be ignored in this tiny coastal state of Incredible India and the special people that live here - the mallus - celebrated nevertheless ... albeit with a difference.
This year we celebrated with a sense of loss - a sense of belonging and togetherness. Inspite of the sense of gloom and despair that enveloped the state we celebrated the fact that we have millions to watch our back.We celebrated the fact that our flooded muddy houses did not dampen our spirits beyond repair.
The festivities for Onam traditionally starts 10 days before Thiruvonam ( the culmination of celebration ). It starts with Atham ( a day in the malayalam month of Chingam ) and one of the most famous tradition marking the advent of Onam is the Athachamayam ( colourful procession ) at Kochi. This year Atham ( August 15 ) brought along with it a Thandav ( destructive dance ) by the rain gods. A procession of people - rendered homeless and deprived of their life savings. The state had been receiving unusually heavy rains this monsoon season and which kept increasing the water levels in all the 39 ( at last count ) dams in this tiny state. What followed was release of water from 33 out of the 39 dams and the flooding of almost 80 percent of the entire state.
There has been talks of wrong decisions , untimley actions , lack of sense of caution and an absolute unpreparedness. I wouldn't want to discuss the right and wrong of it here - not my place to do so. I see the government decision like a game of chess - where you think for a while and make a decided move and just as you take your finger off the piece - you panic - for at that point you see the mistake you have made and there is a sense of chaos as you do not know then the scale of disaster you have opened yourself up to. To open the dams or not was always a decision that needed to be made. But when will forever remain a point of debate and discussion. Unprecedented was the heavy rains from May onwards. Red Alerts across the state didn’t prepare us for what to expect.
But what followed the disaster was nothing short of amazing. Probably the best happens when you least expect it. Vice versa too. The last 10 days leading up to Onam saw the mallus rise up even as most of the state got submerged in the deluge. The last 10 days saw people come together as a whole without waiting for anyone or anything. Right from the rescue operations - on the ground and at the background - to the setting up of relief camps, to volunteering at camps and ensuring continuous supply of relief at those camps , to rehabilitation of those who had lost everything - the malayali people did just about everything they could. It didn't matter if you were the police , the collector , the district officers , the navy and armed forces , a film actor , the corporates , the neighbour , the fishermen , the students , the parents , the NRI Keralite , the mallu brothers and sisters from other states in the country - everyone pitched in - the common man , woman and child just took it upon themselves to hold the state up. Almost every single malayali soul was up and contributing. We didn't stand back and have doubts about our efforts or its impact - we just marched forward and put those efforts into the sea of efforts that cradled the state.
The spirit of sons of the seas ( fishermen ) and the focussed operations of the navy and armed forces earned a special place in our hearts. Those who came silently called by only the wails and despair of humanity , did what they had to do and left just as silently taking a lot of prayers with them. We were rescued by people who looked to be angels with their calm and composed nature ... who assured us they would come back to rescue us. Even 3 days after rescue we continued to receive calls to ensure our safety - location pins of stranded people were being sent ( by friends and relatives within the state and without ) to rescue teams without any restrictions. They took pains to ensure every pin they received individually and collectively had been covered.
We started by doing what was necessary at a given point of time. The we moved on to do what was possible. And suddenly we were doing amazingly , seemingly impossible things. And that is not an easy thing to do - to hold ground when the ground beneath your feet is being washed away in a deadly manner. When savings and dreams of a lifetime were being washed away - the Keralites didn't beat their chest and cry for help - instead they rallied together and fought to keep the state and its people afloat.
I have never felt as proud being a malayali as I do now. As a Keralite I can with so much confidence look anyone in the eye and say - this is what we do. We fall and we pick ourselves up. We do not stand by and wait to be picked up. Our youngsters gathered with their gadgets and social skills to coordinate with the rescue teams , Our unaffected districts ensured that the camps were open and functioning with sufficient supplies - we did not wait for the central or state government ( majority of the supplies at camps came from voluntary contributions from common people in small and regular supplies and from corporates who let out their stock in bulk supplies ). The collection centers were an organisation by itself - the CEO, the student , the doctor , the lawyer , the banker , the electrician , the businessman, the collector , the women and children , all pitched in with zest and energy in all activities ranging from unloading - sorting - collecting - arranging - packing - loading. It was amazing how the supplies at the camps kept replenishing itself - contributions within the state and some so well organised deliveries from neighboring states ... we were truly blessed. Truly God's own. Day in and day out - this process continued and continued.
And when the rains stopped - we still didn't wait. We walked out of camps to clean and salvage whatever we could of our homes, dreams and lifetimes. And no we didn't do it alone. We still continue to hold each others hands as each home gets cleaned and life restored to some level of normalcy. We didn't wait for government programs and packages and gum boots and cleaning materials. The humans of Kerala had come face to face with possible death , utter chaos and complete disaster and we donned our shield of self reliance and resilience and no matter what interruptions came we just got into the process of returning to our lives and getting on with it as we knew it. Most of the houses remained flooded for 4 days , some to the height of 7 feet. as the water receded into the river and the sea , the houses were left with slush and mud atleast 2 inches high. Furniture, Clothes and most belongings were damaged beyond repair. Evidences of a life lived were completely wiped off - what remained was memories in our heart and will to survive in our spirit.
And as we did this I hope and pray the government steps up its act. We did not majorly crucify them for the disaster - a possible man assisted natural disaster - maybe - maybe not. We did not burden them with sole responsibility during those crucial rescue operation days. We did not cause chaos and confusion while we waited out in camps as our lives crumbled. We did not wait for them to clean our homes and raise our spirits. We do not want to wait for declaration of the flood that ravaged our state as a " National Disaster " for the simple fact that it was not beyond the coping capacity of our state resources. We understand that calamity has been classified as that of " unprecedented severity ".
We understood resilience was our epithet. A month later we opened up our state to tourism.
We just moved on.
Related Links - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala ; https://www.keralatourism.org/ ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpTMhLWUZCQ ;
( This is my post for the Topic of Week 1 - " ITS HARD TO BEAT A PERSON WHO NEVER GIVES UP " - Concrits as always are always welcome )
