Are you prepared for December 2…..????

I wonder is there any alter in me who takes charge of my mind completely when I sit in silence to write my regular food posts. I go blank or like a thick blanket covering over my mind…slowly alter takes charge calming my senses and making me write what the post demands for and I get soaked in the following words…

A lot more things happen on daily basis, a lot more keep me disturbed…as recently I have witnessed a brutal accident…where a biker was hit by a speeding water tanker crushing the head of the person and leaving him dead on spot. The dead body was half covered with a mat and police were busy diverting the jammed traffic. I could not sleep for days and to my fate I have to cross the same road every day.

Life is too short for fears…I read it somewhere…but still they are some which are deep rooted. Though we find ways to tackle them…they are still some which keep haunting us…Soon in two days, it marks the anniversary of worst floods Chennai has experienced in its time. The sound of rain which uses to soothe my senses scares me now. Rain is no fancy to me anymore. Seeing the downpour from the window and no star sky in the night for days is a nightmare. The only blinking red light is from the faraway mobile tower. The city slept in utter darkness for days, survived without drinking water, milk and fuel for days.

ATM machines ran out of money and somewhere totally shutdown due water logging. (In the present situation of Demonetization, where getting money for necessary things is getting difficult, can we sustain another December 2….???)Scary news came from everywhere which can even faint a brave heart. As every nightmare has to end this too will end soon, was the only mantra which kept the sprits high. Pray and you can get through this echoed in my mind. In all this, I came across some families whose worries, pains and fears are many times more than mine.

Three years back before floods, three families from different states of India, moved to Chennai. Chennai being the ‘Chamakta Sitara’ (Shining Star) offered attractive packages to people from all professions to come and conquer. A family of three from Vizag (a place in Andhra Pradesh) got prompted to Chennai on a better pay. The warm hospitality of Chennai people embraced them and within no time they felt, home away from home. Days kept rolling and when worst floods engulfed everything which came in contact, this family was shattered. The earner of the family who was recently been on dialysis, got panicked as the hospital where he use to go for his regular treatment has been flooded and most of the roads to other hospitals were blocked. With life’s little mercies somehow they could travel to Bangalore to their relative’s house and in time medical assistance was provided saving the family from the biggest trouble.

Another family who after living a tragic life in the upper northern state of India moved to Chennai in search of better environment to raise their kids. Though the weather, language, food …was completely different, they made their nest. Fought each day with grace and slowly rooted themselves strong and got attached to the place…..and that day when the devilish water gushed through, the young roots could not sustain…the place where they lived flooded and with a few months old baby tied to her back and three year old hung around her husband’s shoulders with necessary documents in a water proof bag leaving all the valuable possessions back, they were escorted in a military van. When I met her in park few days back she was telling me how the worst memories are still haunting her….

Then there is this mother, my neighbour with three kids, one boy and two twin girls all under age 5. Her husband went to his native to crack some land deal and she was all alone with kids when the downpour started. Though he was out of Chennai for just two days…the two days turned nightmare to his family back home. As they were staying in a flat on ground floor, though it was built on elevated area, the water which raised every hour created a panic situation and there was no hint to us that she was all alone with kids. When the water started touching the first step of three steps to enter her house, she got panicked. The family, who were staying in the first floor above her flat, noticed this and offered her and kids to stay with them. Though they speak different languages, though they have less space to accommodate another family of four, they did not think for a second. They gave food and shelter to her in the time of need till things were back to normal. Still chill runs through my spine when I think of those flooded days.

The weather forecast says Chennai may experience light to moderate rains from tomorrow….Get stock of the necessary things along with medicines and candles. Be safe.