Weathering the Storm in Erasma

 

Introduction:

The story gives an account of the storm that hit the coastal town of Ersama in Odisha state in the year 1999. A young boy Prashant faced the fury of the storm and reached his village. The details of how he worked hard to help the villagers overcome the devastation caused by the storm inspire us to have courage and a positive approach towards life. This is written by Harsh Mander. He is an Indian author, teacher, and social activist.

Meanings of some words and phrases:

Menacing: dangerous and harmful

Fury: extreme strength

Incessant: unceasing, continuous

Ancient: old

Rent: filled

Swirled: moved or flowed along with a whirling motion

Mortar: a mixture of lime, cement, sand, and water used to construct buildings

Surge: gush

Refuge: shelter

Wrought: produced as a result of something

Fractured: broken

Bloated: swollen

animal carcasses: dead bodies of animals

blessing in disguise: an apparent misfortune that eventually has good results

Tender: soft, raw

huddled: together in a group

flashed through his mind: came to his mind

Bereaved: to have lost a family member or a friend to death

Recede: reduce

Expedition: journey

Waded: swam

Macabre: horrible

Catastrophe: disaster

Remnants: small remaining quantities

eyes brimming: eyes were full of tears

Motley: desperate, varied in appearance or character

Battered: injured

Tumult: uproar of a disorderly crowd force

Triumphantly: victoriously

Bellies: stomach

Orphaned: a child who loses either one or both of his parents to death

Stigma: disgrace

foster families: a family that provides custody or guardianship for children whose parents are dead or unable to look after them

Summary:

Weathering the Storm in Erasma narrates the adventures of a young man Prashant who was marooned on a rooftop for two nights following a dreadful storm.

Prashant had gone to the coastal town of Erasma in Orissa to spend a day with his friend seven years after his mother’s demise. It was that fateful day the storm-lashed in full fury with heavy wind and rain. Trees were uprooted and water entered neck deep inside the friend’s house. For two days, everyone took refuge on the roof until the situation calmed down a bit.

Although everyone tried to pursue Prashant to stay for a few more days as the situation had not fully settled, he was determined to move ahead. Using a stick to guide him, he waded his way through the water to his village, eighteen kilometers away. He found his family members in a Red Cross shelter. Things were not going on well in the Red Cross camp. He filled in as a leader and did several things to solve the problems they faced.

Prashant saw a crowd of 2500 people at the shelter. Many had lost their families in the disaster. They were grief-stricken as the catastrophe had snatched everything. For the last 2 days, they had survived on green coconuts but they were running out of stock. Prashant took control of the situation. He formed a group with some elders and young people. They persuaded the merchant to give them the stock of rice and after 4 days the crowd ate a meal. Then the group of volunteers cleaned the shelter and tended to the injured people. Prashant engaged the widows to work for an NGO which gave food for work. He engaged the children by arranging sports matches for them. The volunteers managed to set up foster families comprising of the widows, orphaned children, and lone men who would form a family and support each other. Like this Prashant overcame his grief.

Think About It:

1. What havoc has the super cyclone wreaked in the life of the people of Orissa?

The super cyclone devastated everything in Orissa. The majority of the houses had blown away by the strong winds and rains. Muddy water covered everything as far as the eye could see. Many people lost their lives. Bloated animal carcasses and human corpses floated in every direction. Even the strongest of the trees had been uprooted. People became homeless. Children lost their parents and became orphans. There was a shortage of food and drinking water. People were sad and helpless. The scenes were gruesome and heart-wrenching.

2. How has Prashant, a teenager, been able to help the people of his village?

Prashant, who was a teenager decided to help the people of his village by stepping in as a leader. He organized a group of youths and elders to jointly pressurize the merchant to given rice for the people living in the shelter. After this, he organized a team of youth volunteers to clean the shelter and to tend wounds and fractures of the many who had been injured.

Prashant found that a large number of children had been orphaned. He brought them together and constructed a polythene shelter for them. He asked some women to look after them. He conducted sports events and cricket matches for children to keep them active and engaged.

Women were mobilized to look after the orphan kids, while the men secured food and other essentials for the shelter. When he realized that the women were becoming too grief-stricken, he persuaded them to start working in the food-for-work program.

3. How have the people of the community helped one another? What role do the women of Kalikuda play during these days?

The people of the community came together to help one another under the leadership of Prashant. They jointly started the relief work. They persuaded the merchant to part with his rice for the people in the shelter. They gathered branches from fallen trees to lit a fire, on which they cooked rice for all to eat.

When the military helicopter did not return after dropping some food parcels, the youth task force made the children lie in the sand with the empty utensils on their stomachs to communicate to the passing helicopters that they were hungry. This formula worked well and the helicopter started making regular rounds of the shelter to drop food and other basic needs.

Women were mobilized to look after the orphans, while the men secured food and other essentials for the shelter. Women started working in the food-for-work program started by an NGO.

4. Why do Prashant and other volunteers resist the plan to set up institutions for orphans and widows? What alternatives do they consider?

Prashant and the other volunteers resisted the plan to set up separate institutions for orphans and widows because they felt that in such institutions children will grow up without love and affection and widows would suffer from stigma and loneliness.

Prashant and his group suggested that the children and widows should be resettled in their own community where they can get a homely environment. They suggested setting up of foster families made up of childless widows and children without adult care.

5. Do you think Prashant is a good leader? Do you think young people can get together to help people during natural calamities?

Yes, there is no doubt that Prashant is a very good leader. He has all the qualities of a leader.  Though he himself was grief-stricken, he got a hold of himself and decided to initiate the relief work in the village. He helped the people of his village in every possible manner to bring their lives back on the track. He is full of energy and has great motivational power.

Yes, young people can definitely get together to help people during natural calamities. Youth is the power of a society who can use their strength and vigor to help people in need.