Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:

usha manohar wrote:

Nature can be terrifying. Once a couple of years ago we decided to drive up the western ghats and spend time on the Kumaradhara river bank that flows through the mountains and is very scenic . It was early June and we knew that Monsoons were about to begin. When we started it was warm and clear. We parked the car and carried all the stuff that we had taken to have a picnic on the river bank which was about half km away and we had to climb down a steep hill. We spent some time , had lunch and suddenly it started clouding over and started pouring and we had never seen anything like it because the river waters started rising and began to swell up in a matter of minutes . We had to run for our lives carrying all the stuff and climb up the slippery hill side since by then they had become muddy with water flowing down from all the crevices ...It was a very scary experience never to be forgotten.

Wow! You were really very lucky that day to have escaped those flash floods. Every year, we read so many stories of unlucky ones being washed away with sudden spurts in river or stream waters. It must have been such a scary experience.

Although I myself have never been in a major incidents but only yesterday I realised how much magnitude the loss of people who are caught in such tragic incidents really is. Usha I guess you have read about Sipna - A man-made Jungle, they have a video and a page on FB. Yesterday, I spent the whole day there at Sipna with my son and  a few of his classmates and their mums. This place was created by late Mr. Pramod Nargolkar, an engineer by profession but a passionate nature lover. His wife, who now takes care of this place, told us yesterday that Mr. Pramod Nargolkar and 3 of his similarly passionate nature lover friends were invited by the governor of Andaman & Nicobar islands in 2004 to study the natural habits and lifestyle of turtles that visit the islands every year to lay eggs. Although their accommodation was facilitated elsewhere in proper guesthouse, they chose to stay on the beach in a tent to facilitate night time and early morning observation of the turtles. Unfortunately, the very next morning they were all washed away by the Tsunami waves. They probably caught the very first lashes of the tsunami. It is so sad to know about the loss of such invaluable people.

@Kalyani What a tragic incident! Such incidents make you think that our existence is so vulnerable. Actually, what happened was the call of nature's fury. They would have been alive if they had opted the accommodation arranged for them. See, how destiny provoked them to change their plan. So sad and it becomes so difficult for the family and friends to accept it. His work will remind people about him. 

Some time back I visited an island village surrounded by river water and back waters called Thanneerbavi to attend the naming ceremony of a new born baby. This particular village has about 160 households , majority of them fisher folks and agriculturists and their only access to mainland is through boats since there is no bridge. The villagers have been requesting the authorities to build at least a foot bridge which would help the school going children immensely.

As of now the students miss school during monsoon months when the river is in spate.In fact even that day as we took the launch to get there , I could feel the force of the swirling waters..The villagers have no launches, only country boats which are quite unsteady. I felt extremely sorry and at the same time could'nt help but admire the children who brave through the weather and the difficulty they face every day. They face nature's calamity every single day.

I remember it from my childhood days when I was 7 years old. My grandparents were posted in Bihar in a place called Sonpur on the banks of Gandak, a tributary of Ganges. We visited them during our Durga Puja vacation. It rained heavily that year and the river was overflowing. There were indication and warning about flood. So people got prepared for it. ... calling boats, stacking valuables on the top shelves and getting much needed food items and medicine in stock. I remember me and my brother were playing in the neighborhood when the river water came out with thrush. We and other children ran in fear towards our homes while the wave followed us. We ran and sat in our grandparents lap in the courtyard and watched the  waves drowning the steps to the house one by one and finally some water even entered the house. The flood was there for a week and then the water receded. We remember it more as a thril of childhood. We went in boat ride, catched fish etc. But the worst part was the stink with the sewage and sanitation issue. The wastes were seen floating in water