Chennai isn’t my home town, but then again, I can’t say that it isn’t either. I moved here over a decade ago and I’ve had a lot of feelings about this city, pride was never really high on that list…up until a few weeks ago. Pride is the only feeling I’ve had lately when it comes to Chennai. I was abroad as the city flooded. People were trapped, isolated, their lives washed away in front of them. People were also compassionate, selfless and braver than I knew people could be. I watched on Facebook and Twitter, and hit ‘share’ on every other post, advertising helpline numbers, medical care, rescue and shelter. I heaved a sigh of relief as I heard that my family and friends were safe and then I worried again, as I got updates of them going back out there, into the chaos to help and save others.
I will say this about Chennai, it is a city with exceptional soul. In the face of disaster, people did what mattered, they rallied, they comforted one another and they reacted splendidly. In response to the unforeseen ( even though many Tamil Ammas, including mine will swear they had predicted this years ago ) calamity, a powerful movement sprung into action – #ChennaiMicro. The floods saw an impeccably organized response from civilians. During the first two weeks of December, over five thousand volunteers took to the streets – handing out food, providing relief and rescuing people. The city came through for itself. Nearly 300 people died, but 3 million others came together- strangers opened their homes for shelter, restaurants prepared and distributed food and water and people shuttled one another to safety. Twitter and Facebook were on fire with posts offering up helpline numbers and relief information.
Like a wave through the city, an air of panicked purpose set in. I was a minuscule portion of the 2.8% of the 3 billion impressions the flood relief hash tags on Social media, but the city’s spirit was and still is resilient. A close friend created a base camp stocking food, supplies and providing shelter to stray animals as well. On day one they had 4 volunteers, but as word spread via social media on Day 2 of the he had over 80 people helping in that one centre, that is Madras for you. Local celebrities with massive social media followings like RJ Balaji and Actor Siddharth leveraged their on-line presence to mobilize rescue and relief operations on a large scale. They headed the #chennaimicro movement sourcing and distributing relief material to those desperately in need of it. It was a marvel to watch from across an ocean as the attempt to wash away the spirit of the city was quashed within the blink of an eye. I have extended family who have lost possessions, memories and even entire houses. As I type these words, the city is licking its wounds, recovering from it all, but it is stronger and surer of itself.
I just landed back in Chennai a week ago and I can feel the shift in the air. There is a solemn grace about it, and you can see the havoc the floods have wreaked, but the roads are busy- public transport functions like nothing happened and the people are as usual harried and rushing to work at 9 AM. Tomorrow, there is an event to honour the brave, compassionate and unbelievably selfless people who put their best foot forward as they literally waded into dangerous waters, at Chinmaya Heritage centre on 26th December 2015 at 5pm. Intended to honour the volunteers who worked tirelessly for the #chennaimicro movement and walk us through what they plan to do next, to make restore Madras to its former self. Be there to show solidarity to Chennai’s indestructible spirit and its incredible people.
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