Have you read Thurber’s The day the dam broke. I still laugh when I read James Thurber and this story of how rumors about a broken dam wall created panic in Columbus, Ohio, is one of my particular favorites.
But broken dam walls are not all ha ha ha…
“Look at these pictures,†said Hoster, holding photos of houses turned on their sides and upside down, bowled over by the raging waters of the Scioto River. “There was nothing funny about the flood, just loss of life and loss of property.â€
Still, “Thurber wrote brilliantly and humorously about the flood, and that’s how most people now know Columbus, if they know it at all — as that place with the funny flood.â€
This is my friend’s Bombay rains story. He had left his secure (and boring?) job and very recently started his own catering business. His kitchen, all set up with borrowed funds (and every penny of his savings) was in Saki Naka – a wall separating it from the Mithi “river”.
(the wall stands on the other side of the river but broke on this side)
Except the wall broke the day it poured in Bombay.
(where the wall used to stand)
He went to inspect the kitchen two days after the rain and found his 2.5 ton deep freeze floating in a room way inside the kitchen. 2.5 tonner – I saw three grown women standing inside it today storing cut vegetables and meat on the shelves lining the freezer – that big.
And the water mark remains on the walls in all the rooms – just a little above my shoulder level…
And I saw the “river” for the first time today. I am still shaking my head at the thought that this piddly stream caused all that destruction that terrible day. To me, it will always be “river”.
(this is the “river”?)
Today, he is back on his feet. He proudly took us around his kitchen; all friendly smiling staff and huge amounts of cheese and brave plans for the future…
***
(I know there have been tragedies in no way comparable to this, people who have lost lives and all their possessions – if that is in your mind as you hit the comments button, please spare me. This is just my friend’s story – let us take it as just that. Photographs through my mobile phone.)
Charu
Good for your friend. It always heartening to read such success stories. Augurs well for everyone doing secure and boring jobs everywhere :)).
Sourin
Charu,
I haven’t read Thurber’s book. But I have lived in Columbus for couple of months. The Scioto river is quite narrow and I never thought it could be capable of causing havoc!!!
I must read the book.
Ah. That was sad. Good that he has not lost hope. My wish, mr friend.
Ah. That was sad. Good that he has not lost hope. My wishes, mr friend.
Sourin, yes that takes a lot of guts – and foolish courage 🙂
Shivaji, it is not actually a book bu a short story – the day the dam broke. but Thurber is fun, read him anyways!
Neel, thanks, will pass on your message to him 🙂
The loss may not have been as great, relatively, but the story needed to be told. Good luck to your friend. And the photos were from your mobile? Wow!
Thanks Sujatha, I was really wary of rude comments from moral high-grounders, so the disclaimer!
Isn’t it sad how we have to get on the defensive straight away and second-guess our own intentions? Uma did the same thing over the weekend on one of her posts. Such a waste of emotion.
Sujatha, I know what you mean… Uma and I keep discussing this often. but the Indian blogosphere is getting vicious – too much for me to handle 🙁
hey m8,
this is the story which teach us a lot, there are lots of illegal and unauthorized construction all around the place in mumbai. i think the people took the place of river and left a river very little passage to flow, but this time the river had shown us all what it need to flow.
so now it was the wake up call for every body of us, and then also u dont wake up u r lazy.
tell ur freind to move his place as fast as he can, bcoz disasters doesnt have the time table. may be he might be not so lucky other time.
so better to wake rather than being lazy.