Bengal Floods: “If I'm homeless now then so is Gopal…” Heart wrenching story of human suffering from a relief camp

From a distance something sparkling could be spotted in the hands of a little child. The sun had briefly come out of the clouds, for less than a minute and the sunlight bouncing off the water, brushed by the hands of the little girl, made the shimmering object even more pronounced, before disappearing into the ripples as our boat slowly approached the land to anchor. We had reached Kushali Primary School, a small building standing on top of a heaped land, like an island with water on all its sides. This was one of the many relief camps opened by the police after the devastating floods washed away villages after villages, including Kushali, at Khanakul in Bengal’s Hooghly district. While all the other houses around the school were submerged under water, the school too was partially affected but its roof was spared due to it’s extra height, courtesy the heap on which it is standing.

As we entered the compound we saw the twelve families who took shelter here after flood waters inundated their village and came gushing into their houses on Tuesday night, September 17. More than a week has passed by and they haven’t been able to go back to their village. “We have to stay here. We don’t have any place to go. Our houses are washed away, there’s still waist deep water in the village. Once the water recedes, we will have to rebuild the house. For now may be will be using plastic sheets to create a canopy and live there after we find our way back to the village. The floods have also washed away the road leading to our village”, said Montu Santra, one of the many who were compelled to take shelter in the relief camp. He showed the animals that a few families managed to bring along with them to the relief shelter.

The boatman who ferried us to the camp, a local villager himself, shouted from a distance to show us the depth of the water around the school. He dipped his makeshift bamboo paddle straight into the water and brought it out to show the watermark. “Babu it is more than 7 ft”, Kanchan screamed. There are many children in the camp and their parents are extra careful to ensure they don’t slip on the muddy floor and fall into the water. Amongst some children huddled together, we found a shy girl trying to hide behind her mother upon seeing us. It was the object in her hands that sparkled to beckon us from a distance. As we approached her, we found a small brass idol of Lord Krishna in her tiny hands. Her name is Rima Santra, 12, a student of class VI. As water breached their house, she left her life behind but brought the idol of Krishna with her. The idol is also known as ‘Gopal’, the younger self of Lord Krishna. Her mother standing next to her murmured “they are inseparable”. Rima couldn’t save her books or toys. The water didn’t allow her family much time- the choice was life over material possessions, they chose the former.

“I couldn’t lay my hands on the toys. As water level was rising, I saw my doll get washed away. Then most of my books went with the water. The idols were about to go too but I grabbed them. One after the other I picked the small idols and put them inside a bag and then put the bag on the loft. There is Laxmi idol, Shiva idol, Durga idol…all are not there on the loft. I just brought ‘Gopal’ with me”, Rima said, while caressing the bass idol of ‘Gopal’. In jest, we asked her as why did she bring only ‘Gopal’ and leave other deities behind, and if other deities would feel offended, to which she replied without any hesitation and almost promptly “Gopal Amar bhai…"(Krishna is my brother)

Treating ‘Gopal’ like your brother, son or may be a member integral to the family, is a very common practice in Bengali Hindu households but what stands out is Rima’s choice of ‘Gopal’ over her doll at that hour of crisis. “I am sure one day I will go back to our place. My mother doesn’t tell me much if the house is standing or washed away. It was a kachha house. But never mind, as long as ‘Gopal’ my brother is with me I am happy. If I go back to a broken house, then ‘Gopal’ will too; if I have to stay homeless then ‘Gopal’ will too”, Rima added but her smile couldn’t hide her fears and the tears that had welled up in her left eye.

Seeing us talk to her, Rima’s brother joined us. He is two years younger than her and his name is Krishna. Rima’s love for Lord Krishna, made the name an easy choice for her brother. As we were about to leave, the human Krishna whispered “don’t tell Didi but I know she loves ‘Gopal’ more than me but I love my Didi more than Gopal”. The 10 year old brother also added, “if Gopal doesn’t make a house for her then I will make one for my didi, I will also find her doll”.
More than five lakh people have been affected in Khanakul alone due to the floods. The state government estimates that about fifty lakh people have been hit by the floods across nine districts in the state. According to the official figure, 28 people have lost their lives and the state maintains it was a “man made” flood, because of Centre’s DVC releasing water in an unplanned manner and without informing the state government officials.