What's Behind The Story? | S3 Ep 18

[00:00:15] Welcome to 4C Radio. We're broadcasting from the central campus of Christ University, Bengaluru. 4C Radio is brought to you by the Department of Media Studies, Christ University. For all those who are looking for a platform that focuses on communities, commons, climate and communication, this is the place to be. What's more, this station is run by a diverse community of students and dedicated faculty members.

[00:00:42] Tune in to experience hard-hitting interviews, fact checks, myth-busting, on-ground stories, campus news and more. In this episode, we speak to Maya Sharma as she shares her experience of covering the 2004 tsunami. Maya Sharma is a distinguished journalist with an experience of over 35 years.

[00:01:09] She is one of the most prominent faces of NDTV for over two decades. Having reported on a wide range of stories in Bengaluru, she has been widely recognized. Today, Maya Sharma shares her experience of reporting the 2004 tsunami in Chennai. She talks about what she witnessed and the challenges she faced while reporting such a major tragedy. On 26th December 2004, a massive tsunami hit several countries, including India.

[00:01:39] Chennai, being one of the areas badly affected by the waves, experienced flooding, destruction of homes and boats, and loss of thousands of lives. It was one of the most devastating natural disasters to affect the region. Student reporter Shinjani Chaturvedi in conversation with Maya Sharma. Hello, ma'am. Welcome to 4C. Nice to be here.

[00:02:04] So, ma'am, first off, I'd like to start with asking you if you could tell us about the story, like any story that you have covered in your career and you've really cared about. I think one of the stories which really had a big impact on me was the tsunami, the 2004 tsunami.

[00:02:25] The scale of it, the scale of the devastation, the way people's lives were upended, and also the courage and empathy shown by some of the people involved in this. I think that really had an impact on me. And it was, I have images from that time which still stay with me and very clear memories of that day, even though it was so long ago.

[00:02:49] If possible, could you paint a picture for us? Like, how did you get assigned to that story? And what happened on the day that you went for reporting? It was a regular Sunday. It was a day after Christmas in 2004. And I was at a press conference of, he was then a senior BJP leader, Venkaya Naidul. And he has a very funny style. He makes jokes, he makes word, word plays and that kind of stuff.

[00:03:13] So we were just listening to the press conference. And then we began getting messages, SMSs on the phone that there had been a huge giant wave in Chennai. And that some people had been washed away while walking on Marina Beach. That was literally all the information that we had, that there was a big wave on the East Coast. And we had no idea of the scale of what was happening. But we thought about it and in consultation with my Delhi desk, we left from Bengaluru immediately. We went to the airport, got the first flight that we could to Chennai.

[00:03:44] And from Chennai, we got into a taxi and began driving south along the coast towards the more affected areas, towards areas which had been very badly hit. And that was a first shock because it was getting dark by this time. And in the darkness coming towards us, that is traveling north as we were going south, we were driving through hundreds and hundreds of people who were walking on the road carrying their lives with them.

[00:04:10] You know, they wrapped up their clothes, whatever belongings they could in bundles, carrying children. They were just walking away from their homes because they were frightened. Maybe their homes had been destroyed. Maybe they felt another wave was coming. But by the hundreds, they were just walking away. They didn't know where they were going, what they would be doing. The administration tried to shelter them as much as possible. There was one temple where a thousand people were sheltered.

[00:04:36] And we spoke to them and it was very clear that they were just traumatized by what had happened. Then they didn't know what the future held. We spoke to them, we recorded their interviews, took shots, and we drove on to Karalur. And we stayed in a lodge there. There was a little lodge there. We managed to find a place to stay. And the next morning, as soon as it was light, we went towards the coast into one of the villages that had been very badly hit. Devanam Patinam.

[00:05:03] And when I went there, I remember asking one of the villagers, did people die from this village? And he said, yes, about 300. And I thought that's just too huge a number. I honestly thought he'd made a mistake. Maybe he was feeling emotional. I mean, later on when we realized that thousands and thousands of people had died, not just in India, but in other countries. We didn't know then how big it was. So I thought 300. Okay, that sounds very serious.

[00:05:29] And we moved on a little further, and I saw a man lying face down on a boat, sobbing and sobbing and sobbing. And I don't know if he'd lost human beings, if he'd lost his family, loved ones, or whether he lost his home. He was just lying there crying. At the beach, we saw a body. They were still, bodies were still being washed up or still being taken from the sea. It was really, really surreal.

[00:05:55] And we saw that the houses, the water level of the houses, it was several feet above the ground. And you try to imagine the force of water, five feet, the height of five feet. Nobody could do anything if the sea came in like that. Nothing could be done. So we had these stories of loss and of people who had been displaced twice.

[00:06:19] There were many Sri Lankan refugees who had fled from violence in Sri Lanka and were living in Tamil Nadu. They were in refugee camps. And again, this had happened and they had to flee their refugee homes. One lady I spoke to didn't know where her youngest grandchild was. Such trauma. Then in the middle of all this, the kindness of some people which came through.

[00:06:45] Many of these refugees were sheltered in a home for homeless boys in Pondicherry. And we went to that home to see what the situation was. And these boys who had nothing, they were either abandoned or they had no family. They had, when the refugees came, they brought them in. They brought them in, said, come in, sit down. We'll give you food. They comforted the crying children. They brought in their baggage. They made them eat.

[00:07:15] They gave them water. And the sisters who were running the establishment said we didn't even have to tell them what to do. We were outside getting people in. The boys were inside helping. And one of the boys were just, I asked them about this. And the boys were saying, I'm not scared. I'm not scared of death. We can die at any time. But the little children were scared. So we tried to comfort them. The garden looks so beautiful now with all these children running around in it.

[00:07:40] And even the refugees, the ones who had come away from the tsunami, they were saying, the children helped us so much. They took care of the little ones. They helped us with everything. And I was just so amazed because those boys had nothing themselves. They had these extra people coming to stay, living in their quarters. And they just wanted to give and to look after. Maybe because they didn't have much for themselves. They knew what it was like to be in need. And they wanted to help.

[00:08:09] And that was such a, such sweetness in the middle of such despair. That's remarkable. If I may ask, what were the challenges that you faced while covering this specific story? There were some physical challenges like we just left. I didn't go home. I didn't pack. I literally bought a couple of t-shirts and went across. So we're living in the same clothes for, I think we were there for almost a week, five days to a week. So we were just literally living like that.

[00:08:38] That was one thing. It was a challenge also not knowing what to expect. As we went along, we realized the scale of the devastation. The absolute scale of what went wrong. And that was another challenge. You feel it. When you see people crying, when you speak to, we spoke to a fisherman near Pondicherry, who said, I wish we had died. We've lost everything. I wish we had died in the wave. They just didn't know what their future was.

[00:09:07] So that was an emotional challenge as well. And that feeling of a bit, the shock of life just turned upside down for so many. And the hope that their lives would be better, like the children I met. The children I met, the boys, young boys I met, I hope they have a good life. The little babies who are at the refugee center. I hope they went on to have a good life. One doesn't know. But there were lots of challenges on this particular shoot.

[00:09:36] And also the strange challenge at the end of it, getting into the car and going back home. Safe home in Bangalore. Safe and dry. Knowing that all that suffering was still there. It is a strange feeling. Keeping that in mind.

[00:09:58] What would be some personal takeaways that you had after doing the story, like on your way back home to Bangalore? What were your thoughts? The thought whenever you see suffering like this. That how hard life is for some people. How the struggle just to have enough food to eat. A roof over their head. A place of safety to call their own.

[00:10:30] We know it in theory. But when you're seeing it face to face, it's just a strong reminder of how much people suffer in this world. Just to get the basics which so many of us take for granted. There was also that feeling of, like I said, when you go back safely. My home was safe and warm and dry. I didn't face the risk of being drowned by the sea. It was just...

[00:10:58] You're aware of that and you're aware of the unfairness of it. You know, it's... That dichotomy is there. It really is there. It's been 22 years since 2004. And what do you think can be done about the issue now? We discussed migration. We discussed refugees. We discussed about how lives can be upended in a single disaster.

[00:11:26] And also, now increasingly more so than ever, climate is also becoming a part of the conversation. So what do you think can be done about these issues now? At a very practical level for those survivors, I had actually gone back after several years. I went back to visit a home that had been built by contributions from NDTV viewers towards people who had survived the tsunami.

[00:11:53] It was a home for the elderly who maybe lost their families or lost their homes. So they were living there. They were living in... They each had... They were sharing rooms. They just had a bed, a little place to keep there. It was very basic. But they were safe. They were guaranteed food and shelter for the rest of their lives. And at the end of the day, there was music played and we all held hands and we danced. And it shows that life goes on, that you do go on with life, that you do somehow come to terms with changed circumstances.

[00:12:23] So practically, to make sure that they're looked after, the ones who could not find a job after that, who could not go back, that they need to be cared for. The vulnerability, because now with the melting of the ice caps and the rising of the water levels, this is just going to be happening over and over again. It's... Coastal cities are in deep danger. Islands are in deep danger. High tides are going to be there. People...

[00:12:52] You can see it even in the west coast of Karnataka and Mangalur. You can see how the sea is eating away the beach. A house which was some distance from the sea is now right on, which is such a feeling of vulnerability. So what needs to be done also at this stage is... Which is what people have been trying to do. To get people to wake up, to understand what is happening. And it's not helped at all by politicians who say, this is all a myth, it's not true.

[00:13:22] They set the whole thing back. The use of fossil fuels, the use of AI, which will also cause its own damage to the environment. People just think it's somebody else's problem, but it's not. It's ours. In our own lifetime, we're going to see it. Forget the lifetime of the next generation. It's not being taken seriously enough. We're doing our best to kill this planet and it's the only home we have. Awareness has to come.

[00:13:53] Finally, on that note, is there anything else that you'd like to add for our listeners? I think it's these stories which affect you. It's easy to move on to the next, to move on to the next story. But if you can keep what you felt at that moment, whether it was gratitude for what we take for granted, whether it's empathy for those who are suffering and the feeling that you wanted to help those who are less fortunate.

[00:14:20] I would love it if we can think of that. Because there's always somebody who needs something and there's always something we can give, whether it's time, whether it's money, whether it's attention. If we can give to others of that, I think that will be worth it. And if somebody can think that others are in need and it's not all about ourselves, I think that would be a wonderful thing if people can take away. That's a beautiful thought. Thank you for being here today, ma'am. Thank you for your time. Thank you so much, Shinjani. It was a pleasure.

[00:14:50] Thank you. As Maya Sharma mentioned, the melting of ice caps and the rising of water levels are a huge wake-up call. We need to take this more seriously and spread awareness regarding these issues. Thank you for listening to this podcast. As always, stay curious and tune in for more.

[00:15:18] This episode was hosted by Manu Rangaraj. Interview conducted by Shinjani Chaturvedi, edited by Guru Aditya and illustrated by Varnika Singh. Please write to us and follow us on X and Instagram.