On November 25, days before the second anniversary of the cataclysmic 2015 floods, a group of bloggers will come together and recall those grisly days when Chennai went under.
This meet-up is being organised by Sixth Sense, a publishing house, and Nam Veedu, Nam Ooru, Nam Kathai, a city-based forum. These bloggers (there are 21 of them) from The Chennai Bloggers Club have been chosen as they had written short stories and expository pieces on the 2015 floods that went into an anthology titled After the Floods.
“Following the floods in 2015, there were two overpowering emotions. One, a sense of helplessness and two, a desire to reach out to those hit the hardest. Our various blogs are a reflection of these emotions. After the Floods was inspired by After the Quake a book by Haruki Murakami,” says Bragadeesh Prasanna, one of the bloggers, who was bedridden during the 2015 floods, as a result of an accident.
In spite of his convalescence, he was helping people by gathering and disseminating information through social media groups about stranded people and their requirements. He is a writer-cum-marketer by profession.
Another author, Karthik Pasupathy recalls the three days he had to stay back at his office in Guduvanchery.
“Around 700 of us remained in office. As there was water everywhere, we were not able to get out and reach out to people. Yet, we found a way to be useful to others. At our office premises, there was no signal issue and we were able to make phone calls. So, we offered our mobile phones to unknown outsiders who wanted to make calls,” says Pasupathy, a content writer.
Meera Shiva Shankar, an English teacher, was involved in distributing food packets. In the book, she narrates her experience battling rats that had taken refuge in her house after the floods.
Srilakshmi Indrasenan, a social media strategist, opened her doors to women who were stranded during the floods. Encouraged by her example, her friends did the same for other similarly affected people. Srilakshmi’s story is about how rain brought together a husband and wife whose marriage was on the rocks.
In the upcoming meet, such experiences are expected to be shared. P. Karthikeyan, founder, Sixth Sense, says, “The bloggers are from different walks of life. The book is about offering and receiving help during the floods. Twenty years down the line, these experiences of Chennai floods will become folklore. So, I felt it was important to document all these stories. Hence, this book.”
“The 2015 floods was instrumental in the formation of many new groups. It brought people together. Those groups continue to stay and work for some good causes,” says Tripura Sundari, founder, Nam Veedu, Nam Ooru, Nam Kathai. The forum invites individuals, families, residents’ welfare associations, voluntary organisations, social media groups and others to take part in the event and share their experiences during the floods. The meet-up is on November 25 at Madras Literary Society, College Road, Nungambakkam.
Time: From 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.
Those interested may call 94442 53532.
