Muscat: August 16 was a black day in the life of Sijo K Mathai, a young air-conditioning technician in Muscat. It was on this day that he lost five members of his family, including his parents, elder sister and her two children, besides his childhood home, to the gushing waters that have ravaged the Indian state of Kerala. Sijo, who was in constant touch with his parents who lived in the Kurancheri village of Thrissur — one of the worst-affected by torrential rains and resultant flooding — soon lost contact as flood waters snapped all communication lines. He desperately tried to reach out to the volunteers trying to rescue the flood-hit.
On hearing that a landslide had claimed the lives of five of Sijo’s family members, his friends forced him to pack his bags and bought him an air ticket so he could head home. They, however, did not disclose the sad news to him.
“We knew disaster had struck his family. We sent him home without informing him about the tragedy,” Sathyanadhan, one of Sijo’s friends, told the Observer.
Sijo’s father Kollam Kunnel Mathai, mother Rosi, sister Saumya and her daughters Merin and Milna, had perished in the landslide triggered by torrential rains.
“His wife and newborn baby were saved because they were in her house after her delivery,” said Sathyanadhan.
All Sijo could find at the spot was a heap of mud in the place of his house.
“He was very close to his family. They were living in the family house on the hillside in Kurancheri,” said another friend of Sijo.
Flood waters had claimed 19 lives, including some children, in the village. It has been a heartbreaking sight in Kurancheri. Many of them are returning to their homes from the relief camps, trying to come to terms with the reality.
KABEER YOUSUF
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