Friday 11 December 2015

Namma Chennai!

Chennai is my hometown and I am proud to say that I am a Chennaite right from my birth. I stepped out from my mother’s womb into this world in this great city and I am 33 now living as a Chennaite. All I know and observed about Chennai right from my childhood is love, care, passion, humanity and togetherness.

Have you ever seen a city with different people following different religions, languages and cultures living together sharing and caring each other with great love and care? If not please come to our lovable city Chennai, the mixture of both modern and traditional values.

All these years Chennai city was marked and ranked for many things in this world… right from Abdul Kalam to A R Rahman, all born genius are from Chennai. This year, unfortunately or fortunately, Chennai is celebrated for its human power and humanity in each and every citizen of Chennai in this recent flood. Humanity is in the roots of Chennaites, and it is shown during this recent flood. #ChennaiFlood #ChennaiRains #ChennaiRainsHelp the hashtags that trended for all good reasons on social networks, fighting the highest rainfall of the century, and occupied constructions that made the situation most challenging, hardest, and unforgettable! Though my street was not affected much by flood, thanks to the madras corporation (Madras, I said…) for such a wonderful planning, but most of the areas in the city was affected a lot and most of them lost everything in a single day.

The rescue operations carried out by National Disaster Rescue Force, Indian Army, Volunteers, and crowd sourced helplines, was the most wonderful thing that could happen or one could experience. There were many incidents that broke my heart, writing a few of those for you… I was moved by the words of 80-year-old man words, “I was helpless… seeing my wife gets drowned in 8 feet water inside my house and that too in front of my eyes.” He said he never experienced such a huge flood in his lifetime in Chennai and he was holding the fan and stood for almost 18 hours until rescue team saved him from flood. Another incident that shook my heart was an officer and his wife, working as a headmaster and headmistress, got drowned in flood while returning home from school. They have two children, and both of them were not aware of the biggest loss in their life. Their relatives said that the flood washed away the happiness and future of the two little kids, but the kids were smiling looking at the camera without understanding the fate scribbled by this flood in their life. It was really very heart breaking to hear and see many such incidents.

Everything became useless. Yes, there were

Machines, but no power to work;
Mobiles, but no tower to call.
Money, but no ATM to withdraw;
Vehicles, but no road to drive;
Houses, but no space to live;
Clothes, but no options to change;

The only expectation by people was food, water and helping hands to rescue them. Even big shots were expecting someone to rescue them, their powers or designations did not help or matter.

Many lost their documents....
Many lost their certificates....
Many lost their things....
Many lost their houses....
Many lost their beloved....
Many lost their sweet memories....
Many lost their business....
Many lost their money....
Many lost their jewels....
Many lost their clothes.....
Many lost their parents....
Many lost their children...
Many lost their life.....
Everything that’s needed to survive…
But not the “BIG HEARTS”, “HOPE” & “HUMANITY”

No caste, no religion, no status, stopped Chennaites from helping each other. Right from the common man to the great Indian Army rescued people at the right time and provided them a shelter and food. No one was idle or thinking twice to help others in this worst situation.

As they say, “Nature is the best teacher!” We stole the nature's property by destroying lakes and rivers, and in turn Nature took back its property for the own goodness of human beings and for the better survival of our next generation. That’s the bitter truth, but still we have to accept it. Chennaites should use this as an opportunity to correct the mistakes they committed and give back the Nature what it deserves. Hope Government also learnt not to fail again in making proper water draining systems and urban planning.

I am sure Chennai will be back with the same great honor and pride with the help of fellow Chennaites.

Remember, Chennai didn't sink in this historical heavy rain and flood; it just rose a few hundred times in terms of humanity grounds and values. Chennai is #madeofgreat! That’s why Chennai is my favorite city in India with respect to these three key features - Drive, Design and Connect! Check more #madeofgreat stories here at http://madeofgreat.tatamotors.com

2 comments:

  1. Hello Priya Akka,

    It's so nice to see you blog after a long time. It's quite disheartening to see how a disaster took lives of innocent people. I appreciate the power of unity among Chennaites. My prayers for you all. May Chennai rise and shine as ever :)

    Keep Writing!

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