Cyclone brings Chennai spirit to the fore

Seshadri, a resident of Nungambakkam, offers half-a-dozen packets of biscuits to a group of workers busy chopping a fallen tree that is blocking the road, elsewhere the local residents join workers and policemen in pulling down a damaged tree that is in the danger of falling, at another busy intersection an ambulance is stuck in traffic, immediately people rush to divert traffic and clear the path for the ambulance…

These are common scenes in Chennai as residents and volunteers step in to lend a hand to the authorities involved in clearing the damage caused by Vardah, the severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds of more than 100 kmph that made landfall in the city on Monday.

Schools and colleges were closed, offices and most businesses were also shut as power supply has been cut and telecom network is also down. This adds to the hassle of short supply of money following the demonetisation — ₹500 and Rs 1,000 currency being pulled out of circulation by the government last month.

But the city’s residents are pulling on, Vardah is just one more inconvenience.

The unprecedented rains and floods of December 2015 brought out the best in the city as people spontaneously came out in numbers to help in every possible way, distributing food packets to the affected, providing shelter to strangers and working with the authorities.

This time too, the spontaneity and the uncomplaining attitude to absorb punishment and lend a helping hand were apparent.

At Mylapore, outside the Ramakrishna Mission Students Home, there is a huge crowd of people near the gate, the reason — the students had arranged a battery of electrical extension boards from their generator to help people recharge their hand phones.

The students did this in addition to volunteering in cleaning the area of debris.

The city is getting back on its feet with élan after the beating it took. Inconveniences are many, petrol bunks are crowded as residents fill up plastic cans with fuel to power generators to light up homes that have gone dark over the last two days, people brave rain and slush to queue up outside ATMs to draw cash, with communication networks down credit cards and debit cards do not work. They just cheerfully buy less of what they had originally planned… Chennai goes on.