The massive tsunami that hit the state of Tamil Nadu on December 26, 2004, brought with it destruction, chaos, and deaths. Nagapattinam witnessed over 8000 deaths, roughly 50 percent of deaths reported in India and 76 percent of deaths in Tamil Nadu.
The tsunami swept away entire families, houses, and left behind orphaned children, widows, widowers, the elderly, and parents whose children were lost to the giant waves. During that period, the then-District Collector of Thanjuvar, IAS officer J Radhakrishnan, came forward like a messiah and decided to adopt and foster the children who had lost their parents to the tsunami.
Recently, one of those children, a girl that Mr. Radhakrishnan had adopted, got married and he was there by her side to solemnize the wedding. In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, the officer emotionally described his relationship with the girl.
FOSTERING THE LITTLE ONES
Out of the hundreds of children who were left orphaned by the tsunami, 99 did not have any immediate extended family, who could have taken care of them. So, they were accommodated in the Annai Sathya Illam, an orphanage that was opened soon after the tsunami.
Two of those children, Meena and Sowmya, then aged 3 months and 6 months respectively, did not have any relatives anywhere. Considering them as the children of God and Nagapattinam, Mr. Radhakrishnan decided to foster them.
“They lived in Annai Sathya Illam, and my wife and I regularly visited them. We made it a point to keep in touch with them, no matter where we were. The most emotional part for me is that these kids started calling us Amma and Appa and that’s how I became a father to all those little children. Whenever I used to call them, everybody fought for the phone to talk to us. These young kids are and always will be very close to my heart,” said an emotional Mr. Radhakrishnan.
Along with the officer, his team of officials also began spending time with them, and together, everyone became a family. The then President of India, Late APJ Abdul Kalam, also visited the kids and praised Mr. Radhakrishnan and the entire family for taking such good care of the little ones.
SOWMYA AND MEENA – THE APPLE OF HIS EYES
Mr. Radhakrishnan was especially close with the two little girls – Sowmya and Meena – who were infants at the time of the tragedy. For the two girls, their whole world was their ‘Amma and Appa’.
“Gradually, everyone moved out of the orphanage except for these two. They became siblings to each other and were always together,” he said.
Narrating an incident, the officer said that during the Gaja cyclone of 2018, he visited Nagapattinam and went to see Meena at her school. She came rushing to him and hugged him tightly. The officer also embraced her and unknowingly asked her about where she would go after she graduates from school, to which she burst into tears saying, “Appa, don’t you know I have nobody in this world except you?”
The little girl’s innocent remark touched everybody’s heart making them emotional. The officer consoled her and made her realize that she is not just his daughter, but the daughter of the entire city, state, and God himself. The officer even came back from halfway to meet Sowmya and spend time with her before returning to his district.
GETTING SOWMYA MARRIED
Now that Sowmya had completed her studies and was on the path to becoming independent, a family in Tripura wanted to welcome her as their daughter-in-law. She was also willing to get settled and liked the prospective groom. Therefore, the officer gathered everyone and decided to solemnize the wedding.
“We organized the wedding with the help of the local District Collector who arranged for contributions. Someone sponsored the catering, another sponsored the jewelry, and together we collected enough to get our little girl married,” Mr. Radhakrishnan told Indian Masterminds.
Ultimately, following all the Covid protocols, the officer got Sowmya married in the officer’s club in Nagapattinam.
“It was a poignant moment for all, and especially for us, as Sowmya got married on 6 February. Her words, ‘Appa and Amma’, are still ringing in our ears,” Mr. Radhakrishnan said.
SYMBOL OF NAGAPATTINAM’S RESILIENCE
Both Sowmya and Meena are symbols of the resilience of Nagapattinam which has always been challenged by natural disasters. As Mr. Radhakrishnan says, disaster is not and should never be treated as statistics. Beyond the deaths, loss of houses, livelihoods, and trade, there are a number of issues that make recovery prolonged and painful. The resilience of the people of Nagapattinam, which is the epicenter for many disasters, be it tsunamis or cyclones, is remarkable.
Sowmya’s wedding did not just bring tears of joy in his eyes, but also left him with a lump in his throat, as he witnessed the tiny 6-month-old rescued girl stepping into a new phase of her life as a beautiful bride, resplendent in bridal finery.
