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NEW DELHI: The devastating Chennai floods have claimed over 300 lives and displaced 1.8 million. Damages have been estimated as a whopping ₹20000 crore. As Chennai limps back to normalcy, politicians have come under the scanner with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi become the subject of internet mockery as the PM’s press office released a doctored photo of him inspecting flood damage. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa too has faced a backlash for coming out in public only twice during the crisis -- one of which was the time she stepped out with the Indian Prime Minister.
Yet, somehow -- amidst all the chao, hardship and widespread devastation -- the people of India have found positives to take from the experience of the Chennai floods. In a post being circulated on Facebook, an unidentified user highlighted the principles of cooperation, generosity, religious harmony, initiative and empathy -- all of which shone through during the rescue and rehabilitation efforts tied to the floods.
If you know the original poster, please email us at editor@thecitizen.in and we’ll add due credit. In the meanwhile, here are the 25 positive lessons learned from the 2015 Chennai floods:
1. Religion can easily be kept at home where it truly belongs
2. Pride can be swallowed to the deepest pits of silence
3. Bravery can be very very infectious
4. Warmth can spread faster than violence
5. The strongest of gates of homes can open up even without request
6. Husbands who have never seen their own kitchens can sit for days in community kitchens without a single complaint and still be happy.
7. Women who were toiling with kids at home can coordinate some of the biggest rescue operations
8. The tightest purse strings are now over flowing without any strings attached
9. The Muslims have prayed in Hindu Houses, Hindus have prayed in Christian houses and Christians have prayed in Sikh house and Sikhs have prayed in Jain Houses without a finger or even a word raised against each other.
10. The mischievous youth have become the global beacon of hope.
11. Help has come from the poorest towards the richest for the first time and not the last.
12. Schools, Colleges and University of learning were teaching a new syllabus of accommodation and fellowship.
13. People who lost everything did not lose their smile.
14. People who threw stones at animals are feeding them
15. Social Media which is being called the next big evil has turned overnight into a tool which saved thousands of lives.
16. Theft and crimes on houses which were vacant and left open and on people forced on to the streets were less than normal.
17. Nobody talks of caste when allowing them home for food or stay or while distributing essentials.
18. Even the weakest can help the strongest.
19. People have learned to stand in a queue at the ATMs, Community Kitchens, Milk vending units, Supermarkets and Bus stations without jumping it .
20. Help can arrive before it is late
21. No one who came for help was ever turned back
22. Brotherhood is bigger than the subtotal of our differences
23. Kids and students who have not gone to school and colleges due to the calamity but ran out to help have probably learned the best lessons of their life.
24. Society can function beautifully with least governance
25. Politicians will never change.
