Humanity Shines In Times Of Adversity

On the morning of 26th July 2005, I never imagined that it would be a day which I would never forget. In fact, it was a day every Mumbaikar would remember for their lifetime. It was a regular school day for us, and we had not at all anticipated what was about to occur. It was my first year as a teacher and I was the class teacher of Grade 1 of a reputed ICSE school located in the western suburbs. Towards the end of the day, it started raining heavily, so the school authorities decided to send the students home as quickly as possible. The children sat in the school buses and were on their way home. Some teachers who stayed far away were also allowed to leave. But, the teachers who lived nearby, were requested to stay back with the students. Many students were unable to go home as their parents were stuck and could not reach the school to pick their children up.

            

Due to the heavy rainfall, there was a complete breakdown of the public transport system, the houses and the roads were flooded with water and phone lines went dead. Mumbai had come to a standstill and people were in a state of panic. Some school buses broke down on the way and were left stranded on the roads. Some parents whose children were on the buses, became frantic when their children did not reach home. Luckily, the children in one of the school buses, received help in the form of food and shelter, in the office of a Television production company, which was located in a nearby building.

           

At the school, we received help from the people living nearby, who provided dal, rice and biscuits for everyone. The school authorities made arrangement in the auditorium and provided mattresses for everyone to sleep. I was unable to contact my mother, who was alone at home, to inform her that I won’t be able to come home that night, as all mobile networks were down. My brother, who was in Goa at that time, called me and I told him what had happened, so he could inform my mother. My father also had to stay back at his office that night, as he could not manage to get any conveyance to go back home.

          

I did not sleep the whole night. I was wearing contact lenses, which started hurting my eyes, so I had to remove them. But I could not see without them, and I had not carried my spectacles with me. In the morning, the remaining students’ parents came to pick them up. I went walking back home, treading carefully, quite wary of potholes on the way, as I could not see clearly. Finally, when I reached home, I was so relieved, even though there was no electricity. My father had to walk back home from his office which was very far away.

           

It took a few days for things to get back to normal. Children were traumatized after this experience, as they would start crying whenever it rained. We were in shock, as we had witnessed nature’s fury that day, like never before. But the spirit of Mumbai was still alive, as people reached out to help each other, in this time of crisis. It was heartening to see humanity come out in full force, in the face of calamity.