Death took the form of muddy water, and gushed into the house, leaving Moidu Onapparamaban of Mundakkai little time to think.
The power had gone off two hours ago even as torrential rains mercilessly hammered the area. Ear-shattering sounds that punctuated and drowned the drumming of the rain signalled an impending catastrophe.
• Moidu did not read the signals right. The loud sounds were of torrential rains triggering a landslide above his house. The mountain, which formed the perfect background for his house, had opened up.
• The sixty-year-old man was fast asleep on the cot when he woke up to a chill, and wetness engulfing him. The water had then submerged the cot on which he had been sleeping.
• The bewildered man sat up, looking around and trying to grasp the nightmarish situation. He then heard Ramsheena's screams for help.
• The water was still rising in the house. Moidu swam out of the bedroom, and into the dining room, where he got a clearer picture of the situation. The water has broken into the house through the front door and windows. He slashed his way to Ramsheena's room in pitch darkness.
• Moidu found Ramsheena standing on the cot, screaming. The baby in her arms, too, was crying loud. The elderly man joined them and held them tight to him.
• He soon realised that the situation was not safe, as the water rose to his chest level. Additionally, the water was whirling, as if to gulp them down. Moidu realised that he could not reach the door until the flow of water subsided.
• The man reached up and got a grip on the ceiling fan. Ramsheena clung to her father's shoulder. Even as time ticked by, mud started splashing on their faces, making it difficult to breathe. Inside the house, they felt time was standing still.
• The flow of water slowed a bit, and Moidu, held his grandson up in one hand and swam out through the backdoor, Ramsheena was still clinging to him.
• The water was only up to Moidu's chest in the backyard since it was on an elevated level. However, the current was strong, which snatched away the lungi he was wearing. He still held the baby up, and dragged himself and Ramsheena to the road.
• Once on the road, Moidu, now naked, and his family searched for a safe place. It was then a jeep came speeding. Those in the vehicle offered him a towel to cover his nakedness. They were numb when the jeep sped with the man, daughter, and grandson to safety — and a fresh lease of life.
• Neither Moidu nor Ramsheena knew what had happened to their house. They had not looked back while fleeing.
• That fateful night, Moidu's wife Khadeeja and elder daughter were in the medical college hospital, where the latter was undergoing treatment. She was to be discharged the previous day, but a stomachache held the mother-daughter duo back in the hospital for one more night. It saved them from the traumatic experience.
Report: SP Sharath. Illustration: Siddique Assisia.
