Mayiladuthurai woman who survived 2004 tsunami now entrepreneur who an entire community listens to

CHENNAI: All she saw was chaos, and the cries still haunt her. When the first and only tsunami wave hit her village, Vanagiri near Sirkazhi in Mayiladuthurai, on December 26, 2004, her relatives left her alone in a flooded thatched house in their frenzy to find a safer spot.

One decision that she took on that fateful morning amid the mayhem went on to define her and helped her evolve into a community leader.

“My brother-in-law (her elder sister’s husband) carried my mother and sister in his arms to a safer place. He could not help me. I was alone and had to run,” Sharmila Chandran recalls the events of the day.

In an urge to follow his brother-in-law to safety, suddenly, she remembered, as she says, the family had a cow and her calf tied next to her house. The calf was born a day before the disaster struck. “I rushed to the byre and untied the cow and the calf. As the calf was not in a position to run, I carried it and guided its mother to a safe place. All of us in our family were safe that day,” she adds.

Now, 20 years later, Sharmila runs Vetri Paavai Fisherwomen Producer Company Limited that produces dry fish products. She gives employment to around 50 women from her village. Known as Sharmi akka to her villagers, Sharmila ensures that fishermen and women in her village get benefits from the government including low-interest loans from banks.

Moreover, she has become an interface between youngsters and survivors of tsunami. She, along with Vijayakala, another tsunami survivor, have been identified by the State Disaster Management Department to create awareness on coastal disasters, including tsunami, among villagers. She also provides counselling to villagers, who lost their belongings to cyclones and floods.

“Since I run the company and also help the women, people listen to me. Also, I know about the topography of the village and vulnerable spots. We share our experience of the disaster to our children and other youngsters born after 2004 to prepare them for any kind of adversaries,” she adds.

Vijayakala, born in nearby Madavamedu, her native village, was just five years old on the black day. While her mother and sister were in their hut, and fighting through the flood, she was in her uncle’s house on the higher side, fortuitously. She moved to Vanagiri after her marriage. “Apart from creating awareness on disasters and training villagers on safety measures, we also train fishermen on how to face unforeseen situations at sea,” Vijayakala explains.

Recounting the day, Sharmila said that 26 people had lost their lives to the killer wave. “Most of the women died after nets, which were kept for drying on the sands, became entangled with their hair. They drowned as they could not free themselves,” she rued.

The family had the cow for the next 10 years until they sold it off. The calf also remained with them for years. Even now, Sharmila has cows with her that are offspring of the calf, which she carried in her arms.