If the 2015 Chennai Floods celebrated the spirit of the city, Kerala Rain brought out its humaneness. Even as Chennai stood up for Kerala, a few stories would remain etched in time.
An eight-year-old boy living in Harrington Road collected school kits to reach out to kids in Kerala. “The day after he saw the girl from Villupuram donate Rs. 8000, I saw him opening his piggy bank and counting the money inside,” says Sudha Ramen, the mother of little Sanjaai Dayal. Having found only Rs. 450 inside, Sanjaai looked up to his mother for help. “You think of an idea,” Sudha replied.
“We decided to go the streets and appeal to houses in our locality.” Sanjaai, being a lively kid had befriended students across ages in school. He spread the word and slowly Chennaites poured in with erasers, scales, notebooks, pencil boxes and exam pads to encourage the little boy. An excited Sanjaai drew up a checklist to donate at least 100 bags. “Every day I was revising my parcel details for the railways! We did not want to give anything substandard. The value of every kit would be around Rs. 500. We bought waterproof bags from money received from friends and family.” Finally, 350 kits were distributed to kids studying in government and aided schools in Kerala.
Another viral-worthy story was Chennai lads rushing to the aid of animals in Kerala. “We have done rescues across India, but Kerala’s Idukki district was particularly challenging,” says Nishanth who was part of the team. “We worked for two days in Idukki, where we had to walk through areas where landslides had happened. After assessing the situation, we had to frequently come back to our vehicles to carry extra tools. Many animals were stuck in the sand and had died before we reached. We needed high-ended machinery to remove the sand,” elucidates Nishanth.
“The waterlogged plains of Kottayam, Chengannur, and Thiruvannur were easier because our team is more experienced in handling flood situations,” says the self-made wildlife conservationist. Although the team prioritises the safety of rescuers, every venture into affected areas is not without assuming an immense risk. “Although a lot of young people volunteered at our shelter, we only take experienced hands for rescue operations. The riskiest venture in Kerala was when we swam across 25 feet of water, took a boat to cross a lake and then a river to rescue 18 dogs of a breeder,” Nishanth, the founder of the travel company, Snatch a Break, passionately recalls.
All-women organic market launched
In Chennai, The Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women, in association with the city-based ‘Organic Farmers Market,’ began the monthly all-women organic market. Although more than 80 per cent of the farming labour is done by women, they are hardly recognised in the agricultural sector. Hence this concept of showcasing women,” says Subha Bharadwaj of OFM.
While the urban population got to interact with farmers and understand their toil, women farmers could directly learn from the market that the demands of a city are different from those of towns. “There is an apprehension among farmers in general that people would not buy expensive produce. We wanted them to understand that adhering to the more expensive organic farming methods would yield sufficient monetary benefits,” she explains.
Increasingly, there is a segment which prefers authentic produce with minimal technological and chemical interference. The rural population which moves to metros for work are organically inclined as well. With the involvement of numerous self-help groups and the government, Subha says that the men in the lives of these women are supportive of their cause. “It helps the farmers network too. The response from customers has been encouraging,” she adds.
