I was in a midst of personal emergency when the rains came lashing over my beloved city #Madras. Some imbeciles call it #Chennai.

Rains are depressing especially when you have been receiving it on a daily basis for over a month. Everything is wet and it gets to you.

You become uncomfortable, irritable and start detesting this weather of romance. Even season favourites, ‘Petrichor’, ‘Hot pakodas’, and ‘Ginger tea’ fail to lift your mood.

2nd December’ 2015

I was confined to a room with a view of the incessant rains that had started the previous night. The tempo wasn’t alarming. People could go about their chores. Many did. But by noon it became grim. Most offices issued advisories to their staff to leave early.

I was getting pings from friends and colleagues that the situation outside was undesirable. There was water logging, road cave-ins, traffic snarls…I thought to myself, maybe my restriction was a blessing to keep me safe. And it was.

As the day progressed, the building I was in was slowly becoming an island. Water was raising. From ankle, to shin to knee deep…and by evening we were marooned!

It was the worst downpour in 100yrs. People were stuck everywhere. On the roads, at bus stops, at the station, at the airports, desperately trying to get to their destinations but in vain.

Reports of inundation of arterial roads were coming in. The Adyar river, which originates near the Chembarambakkam Lake in Kanchipuram district, and cuts the city at 4 points, Nandambakkam, Saidapet, KotturPuram and Adyar was overflowing. This wasn’t good news and it could only mean one thing: my city will be under water soon.

3rd December’ 2015

It was time to leave my confinement. The water logging had me worried. The tempo of rains had eased considerably. And this where I had my second blessing. The building had excellent drainage system and the lull in the rains was enough for the water to recede. I drove away.

There were road blocks and cops everywhere. They were patiently directing apprehensive motorists. My usual route to home was blocked. Apparently, 3 out of the 4 access bridges over the Adyar river that connected north and south of the city had been breached, flooding all the areas around it. The quantity of rainfall received and high tide was too much for the Adyar river.

I had only one access bridge left to get to home. The circuitous route to home gave me a glimpse of the devastation. I could see panic, fear but yet there was calmness.

As I neared home, the park where I have clocked-in many miles of running, walking was completely submerged in water. It was a surreal mix of fact and science fiction!

I got home to no power. Family members filled me in on the calamity. It was a national disaster and many lives were affected. Army, NDRF had been called in for relief.

I was exhausted. Headache was getting the better of me. I showered in cold water, which was a punishment. But I egged on quietly when I realised what others might be going through.

The power got restored by late evening and we were able to charge our phones but without the mobile network, the phone was not much of use. It only added to the panic of friends, relatives who were trying to reach us to enquire about our safety.

TV news was depressing. The net was working intermittently. I was able to send ‘I am safe’ messages to people and post SOS messages on my timeline for help.

4th December’ 2015

The rains had relented. Sun was out. But people were cut off. Low lying areas of the city were the worst affected. I stay in old Madras and ironically the drainage system built by the British, hundreds of years ago, withstood this deluge and kept my area free from water logging. This was blessing No. 3.

The mobile network was still down, the only way you could check on people and friends was physically going to their homes.

Hit the morning running by heading to a convenience store to buy essentials. Everything was in short supply and people’s natural tendency to hoard creeped in. It was irritating to watch the inconsiderate baboons hoard items without leaving it for others.

Then there were the profiteers…I remember this classic dialogue from the super hit Amitabh Bachchan movie HUM,

Museebat mein teen kisam ke log hote hai … pehla taqat ke zor pe zulm karne waala atyachari … doosra us atyachari ke khilaf awaaz uthane waala krantikari … aur teesra in dono ki situation ka fayda uthane waala mere jaisa vyapari

Here the ‘Atyachari’ was nature. ‘Krantikari’ we citizens and ‘Vyapari’, these heartless souls who used the opportunity to sell essentials at 5 times the price! :/

I was able to check on a friends family and report to him that they were safe. By this time citizen volunteers were out in full force. Many of my friends rolled up their sleeves and selflessly jumped in to organise relief to stranded lives. And as I write this, they are still out there helping people. Proud of you guys!

Proactive Madrasis

It’s been overwhelming, tough few days. But one can either be reactive to the situation or be proactive. Being reactive would have meant whining, wallowing in self-pity.

I am thrilled we ‘timid madrasis’ were not reactive.

We helped each other out and took control of things that were in our control. And we went about it with calmness, dignity. I wouldn’t call this ‘spirit of the city’. I’ve a problem with that description.

Many of us who live here know that the city has a subtle resilience. We are not boastful about this and we go about it quietly.

Social Media Impact

Earlier during disasters HAM Radio Operators were called upon to coordinate relief. Now, this was an exclusive club. But social media made every one of us HAM Radio Operators. Facebook, Twitter served as mediums to post SOS messages, coordinate relief. People from outside the city, like #Bangalore #Hyderabad started coordinating and organising relief on basis of what they saw on Social Media.

As I count my blessings, I am humbled. God bless the city. God bless the people. Thank you to all those non-Madras residents for their contribution.

Much love Madras 😍