ndumati lost her mother to the tsunami on December 26. She had left her ailing Amma and gone to fetch water when the waters besieged her hut. Eight years ago Annapurna, her mother, had an operation that virtually left her immobile. To help her with the daily chores, Indumati dropped out of school in class VI to become her mother's right hand.
That morning seeing the waves rise, she ran for her mother. Her five brothers ran from their boat. But none of the children could get to Annapurna. After the water receded they found their mother's body.
Indumati's mother was cremated in a mass funeral pyre by the sea and her family received Rs 1 lakh as compensation from the state government. Her family hadn't been allotted a temporary shelter so she had taken refuge at a relief camp in a school building. Like many others, she comes here to cook and eat her meals. Her younger sister has resumed school but Indumati told her not to go to school today.
She was scared. There was talk of another tsunami.
OTHER DISPATCHES FROM TAMIL NADU: The lost fishermen of Talaguda