ATM- All That Matters

Annie Cyriac

Ever since the rains began in Chennai, we have been receiving news of the floods, the heartache, misery and the tragedy. So many of our friends and relatives have been affected!

 My cousin called the other day from Chennai. They were not as hard hit as other less fortunate families, who had to be evacuated. Water had not entered their locality. But of course the floods had an impact on them. They had to go on for days without electricity. Days sans electricity, sans TV, sans IPod, sans internet! Unthinkable! But they survived.  So did the kids.  And commendably so.... The ladies of the colony shared parcels of food made from whatever vegetables and pulses were available in each kitchen and the men pooled in money to buy essentials as the ATMs didn’t work. Later they had to stand in long queues but even then, money was rationed.

They had no means of knowing what was happening elsewhere in the world around them. They were marooned. In desperation, they strained to get news from the radio sets in their cars. But round the clock, the 'Chennai Live' only aired contact numbers of relief workers.

The kids who were used to being catered to their personal preferences for breakfast lunch and dinner, now had to make do with leftovers that were heated up.

They lived out the art of conserving energy by using their inverter frugally, to make it last long. It was also a live demo of the topic they learnt at school: water scarcity and water conservation. They learnt to put the needs of others before their own. They learnt to share and care. The sparkle of crystal clear drinking water was no match for the glitter of gold or silver. Water was all that mattered. The guy, who brought them water, from fifteen kilometers away, could not be thanked enough.

With no school or tuitions to attend, the children of the neighbourhood got together to play scrabble, chess, hopscotch, hide and seek and all the other charming games that they never had time for. They caught tiny frogs, and at night, admired the fireflies that lit up the sky. They got to taste the simple joys of life. They tasted Nature.

 The floods have taught us lessons too. That life is not meant to be drowned in the floods of our bickering and pettiness. Nor is it meant to be a rat race to hoard money.   Those ATMs may not work in times of need. And that ALL THAT MATTERS is the peace and happiness we derive from helping our co passengers in the journey of life.