Kerala - The Fightback Continues

Kerala still carries the scars of last year’s deluge. But the state has become a byword for resilience

- Cithara Paul

Rain does not evoke romantic thoughts in the minds of many Malayalis now. For them, all that it brings back are the dark images of gushing water, loud cries, people stranded on roof-tops, uprooted tress and floating bodies. One year has passed since the mega-flood ravaged Kerala. And the fear is quite palpable even now. “I am scared of rains. Whenever I see clouds getting darker, I remember those days. Suddenly I feel a gnawing pain inside me,” said Sajitha Jabil, who was in the last days of her pregnancy when the flood happened. Sajitha was airlifted by a Navy helicopter, and she gave birth immediately after reaching the hospital.

Far away, on a hilltop in Idukki district, Anil, a tribal youth, sleeps only when sun is about to rise. “What if there is cloudburst in the night, as it did last year, and landslides happen? We all will be deep inside the sludge. So I stay awake as others sleep,” he said.

An entire neighbourhood had got flattened by rocks and sludge even as he watched helplessly. “It was raining heavily, but still my hands can feel the warmth of that kid whose body I unearthed,” said Anil, rubbing his hands heavily, as if to remove the memory of that warmth. “The truth is that I am unable to sleep.”

Joseph K. from Kalady in Ernakulam district still shuts his eyes every time he sees a water body. He had stayed on a rooftop amid gushing waters on the banks of the river Periyar for four days. “I shudder at the sight of dark clouds and the sound of rains. Even the sight of a calm lake unnerves me,” he said.