The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Administration, aid workers are new Gods for them

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 09, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Administration, aid workers are new Gods for them

By Ramya Kannan

CUDDALORE, JAN. 8. In the revised pantheon of the coastal districts of Cuddalore ravaged by the tsunami, there are two new Gods: The district administration and the aid workers.

In the days following the December 26 disaster, the fisherfolk of Cuddalore have come to revere groups of people who were once complete strangers. As their once-violent grief settles like hardly visible dust on their shoulders, they now turn to the more mundane aspects of living beyond a tragedy. That means, food to eat, water to drink, clothes to wear and a roof over their heads. People who provide them these material comforts are those who have now become larger-than-life heroes for the survivors.

Collector lauded

And perhaps, the Cuddalore Collector, Gagandeep Singh Bedi, gets the loudest applause. "Our

Collector is like God. Write that down. Let every one know that the people of Devanampattinam are not thankless," says 91-year-old L.T. Vishwanathan, who has lived all his life in the village. He claims that he has never encountered this kind of generosity as followed in the wake of the tsunami.

Others sitting around him holding cards distributed by World Vision, a non-governmental organisation, agree. "The Collector, the Chief Minister, the army, the NGOs — we owe them a lot," says C. Subramani, a fisherman who was among the few lucky survivors, after being hit by a huge wave. He has no doubt that it is because of the relief that is pouring into the district that he has managed to survive.

Especially at Devanampattinam, which has been adopted by film actor, Vivek Oberoi, his family and guru, Swami Chiddanand Saraswathi. The villagers have not seen a single movie the actor has starred in, but in them, he has his biggest fan following. Having organised relief measures in coordination with the district administration, he and his team have now built 200 temporary structures for people to live and promise to partake in the effort to construct permanent structures.

At Pudukuppam, the tsunami swept up unawares more than a 100 people and carried them to their graves. In the village, which is hardly a few couple of hundred metres away from the sea, nearly everyone has lost a family member. Despite that, they gather on the streets to talk about how the Collector came to their town "three-four times." M. Govindasamy Muthiapillai says, his bare chest swelling with pride, "everybody has helped us. The people from the Jamaath even lifted our corpses!"

At Muzhukkuthurai, again, there are words of praise for restoring electricity and setting up a police outpost to ensure against vandalism. Same story in another part of the district: At Thalanguda, a premature claim filed for insurance is promptly sanctioned, much to their surprise. The Life Insurance Corporation officials have dispensed with their regular formalities and in a week's time, handed over a cheque for over Rs.60,000 to the family of the deceased.

The nonagenarian Vishwanathan probably sums up the emotion running strong in the district, when he says, surrounded by all the destruction caused by the tsunami, "Ithu puniyam seitha bhoomi (this land is blessed)."

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