Nearly two long weeks have passed since the killer tsunami struck the east coast of India. Still, when you visit Srinivasapuram, one of the worst affected areas in Chennai on the Marina beach, it looks like a war front. Just a few metres away from the sea lie poles, bricks and rotten thatched roofs where there were huts once.
Looking at the debris, one wonders why people built houses so close to the sea in the first place.
Colourful clothes lie everywhere. One also sees television sets, school bags, broken doors and windows; and even an odd cycle or cycle rickshaw. The beach is full of tangled fishing nets, damaged boats and catamarans.
Even the trees, witnesses to the war cry of nature, look forlorn, devoid of its leaves.
Amidst all the debris, we see people too. Life has once again become active here. It is a testimony of the triumph of human spirit over catastrophes.
Many of those who have lost their huts and dear ones have started coming back. Some have even put up makeshift houses using blue tarpaulin. Some of them have started cooking food, washing clothes and bathing... But all of them go back to the pavement at night for fear of the sea attacking them while they are asleep.
But they are all impatient and angry. Impatient because they want to go back to the sea as early as possible, but there are no nets or catamarans. And angry because they are tired of leading a life dependant on handouts.
Also read: Tsunamis devastate India
Text : Shobha Warrier | Photographs: Sreeram Selvaraj