Karnataka - Hubli-Dharwad   

An effort to preserve a brave boy's memory

Staff Correspondent

MEMORIES: Vasudev A. Patil's wife Sandhya and son Shreyas, who died when the tsunami struck Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu.

HUBLI: Probably, Shreyas would have survived had he not run towards his mother to help her. The thought keeps haunting his father, Vasudev A. Patil, who is the only member of the three-member family to survive the tsunami on December 26 last year.

Mr. Patil, an architect from Hubli, had planned a trip to the eastern coast along with the family of a close friend. "We planned to visit Pondicherry and Chidambaram, and decided that the two families would meet in Chennai. My wife Sandhya, Shreyas and I reached Chennai on December 25 and were joined by Shashidhar Udupa, his wife Geetha and son Pranav from Bangalore. We went to Pondicherry and, on the next day, travelled to Chidambaram," Mr. Patil recalled.

"Cuddalore falls on the way, and my friend suggested that we spend some time at the Silver Beach which, he said, had been beautifully developed. We reached the beach at 8.30 a.m. The children returned to the shore after playing for a while and were near the vehicle we were using. Although I observed somewhat unusual waves in the sea, I didn't take them seriously. I asked the others to hurry up as we were supposed to visit the Navagraha temples during the puja time. Suddenly, we saw a big wave and started running towards our vehicle. My wife was not able to walk briskly on the sand and she fell down. Shreyas rushed to help her though I shouted to him that he should remain where he was. The next moment I found myself crushed under a huge wave," he said.

"For a moment I thought I was going to die. But somehow I managed to come to the surface. When I raised my head it seemed there was water everywhere. At that moment I saw a fishing boat and I grabbed a rope which was tied to the boat. I was dragged by the boat for nearly a kilometre. When the water level receded, I found myself clinging to an electricity pole," Mr. Patil said. What followed was a desperate search for his wife, son and his friend's family. But only Pranav had survived the killer wave.

Scenes from that fateful day continue to haunt him, a year after the tragedy. But he has learnt to live with grief and wants to do social service in the name of his son.

A soft-spoken lad

"My son was a brilliant, soft-spoken boy. I still feel that had he not rushed towards his mother he would have survived. He was brave enough to go to her rescue. I want people to remember him and that's why I am going to help educational institutions and other organisations in his name," Mr. Patil told this correspondent.

He plans to bring spiritual leader Rishi Prabhakar to the region to conduct the "100 per cent memory programme' for schoolchildren and "adopt" a few educational institutions. Initially, he has decided to conduct programmes at St. Mary's High School, where his son was a ninth standard student, besides V.S. Pillai English Medium School and an institution at Athani, his native town.

He intends to give scholarships in his son's name.

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