Love Transcends All Boundaries

The Kerala floods last month had a devastating effect on the state and its people, but what emerged when a whole state submerged, was the power of ‘Humanity’. In the days following the aftermath of the incessant rains and floods in the latter half of the last month in Kerala, emerged stories of human kindness, compassion and unity that was enough to warm the hearts of everyone in rain dampened Kerala. The whole world witnessed how Humanity shone through even as the state was grappling with a disaster that had brought the lives of everyone in the state to a standstill.

Some very heart-warming tales of the champions of humanity from the Kerala floods below:

Fishermen or Super-Men?

As the Kerala Police, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy and NDRF put their full might into rescue operations to help people stranded in flooded areas to safety, they received a back-up rescue team who had no uniforms, but who exhibited the same courage and valour as the officers, to rescue their fellow beings, even as they struggled to make ends meet – The Fishermen of Kerala. What sets their story apart from anyone else’s is that they did it out of their own will, without any compulsion and without expecting anything in return, but just out of their love for the people around them. They were able to rescue much more people than all the service personnel as they were able to go where most personnel could not even reach. One very special moment was when a fisherman offered his back to people to board a rubber boat as they were unable to get into the boat without a platform.

Face of God

One look at the photo below is enough to melt anyone’s heart. The picture of a policeman holding a baby rescued from a flooded area shared by the Twitter handle of Indian Police Service Association, moved many to tears, as the officer was holding the baby as if it were his own, saving it from the pouring rains, even as he was getting completely drenched. If you ever wondered if God exists, one look at the picture is enough to make you believe that God exists – in everyone who has compassion in their heart and if you want to see how He looks like, then you need not look any further than this picture. Undoubtedly one of the most touching images from the Kerala floods.

Angels from the sky

When a pregnant woman in her due date got stranded in her house due to the floods, angels descended from the sky in the form of officers of Indian Navy who airlifted her and flew her to safety where she gave birth to a very healthy baby boy. The Indian Navy and Indian Air Force airlifted many such stranded people who badly needed medical attention and saved several lives during the floods. The commoners who were rescued owed their lives to them, but how do they convey that to the officers who were on back-to-back rescue missions? So , they did this. The officers were in for a very sweet surprise the next day as they started their  rescue work!

The little girl with a big heart

Anupriya, an eight year old girl from Tamil Nadu won hearts across the nation, by her beautiful gesture of kindness and compassion, when she contributed her piggy bank money that she had been saving up to buy a bicycle, to the Kerala distress relief fund. Such a selfless act at such a tender age, Anupriya is a real hero! With children like Anupriya who exhibit such humane characteristics at such a tender age, we can be rest assured that the future of our nation looks very promising. 

Netizens to saviours

From using the Internet for trolling others to using Internet for saving lives, the young netizens of Kerala showed that there is more to them than just memes and trolls. When the entire state was struggling to come to terms with the tragedy that had struck them unexpectedly, these young guns in no time, channelled their networking skills to provide a platform to facilitate relief and rescue operations. Facebook and WhatsApp suddenly turned into control centres – a place for sharing locations of stranded people who needed to be rescued, to pass on important contact numbers, to share details of relief camps, to alert people, to guide them, and to motivate them. Many lives were saved thanks to these sharing platforms and to the tireless efforts of the tech-savvy millennials who put their life into what they do best!

And finally the unsung heroes – You and me, The Common Man.

We came across many stories of heroism, courage, extra-ordinary efforts and compassion during the recent floods in Kerala. We came across stories of many nations, states, organisations and prominent personalities offering help to Kerala in the form of money and resources. They are all heroes, no doubt. However, there are a lot of unsung heroes too , whose acts are no less significant than that of the others. They may not have superior powers or characteristics to talk for hours about, but they too have the spark of humanity in them and it shines through in their actions too. The unsung heroes of the flood - the common man like you and me, who showed that there is a hero in all of us by contributing in whatever small way possible to making a difference in the lives of all those who were affected by the floods in Kerala.

Among those unsung heroes are the IndianOil officers in Kerala State Office, who worked relentlessly during the floods to ensure that our Terminals, Depots, Bottling plants and Aviation Fuel Stations were operating smoothly to provide fuel to the rescue choppers and vehicles and all the relief camps so that rescue and relief operations went on uninterrupted. The families of the officers who had turned their homes into a nodal centre for preparing and dispatching materials to relief camps also deserve a very special mention for their contributions. And so do all the delivery boys, distributors, dealers and Retail Outlet Customer Attendants who went beyond their call of duty to ensure that supply of fuel was not interrupted at any cost, as timely availability of fuel meant saving several lives, at that point of time. 

Well, the above were stories that I had come to know through social media, news, colleagues, friends and family. However, recently I happened to get to know two such stories personally. I was in for a pleasant surprise a few days ago, when I got a call from one of my distributors in Tiruvaur district (one of the districts in my sales area) informing me that all the Indane distributors of the district had collected Rs. 1,00,000 for contributing to the Kerala Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund. As their officer, I couldn’t help but feel proud of the fact that there was so much kindness and compassion in them; and as a Keralite, I was extremely touched and moved by their gesture of voluntarily coming forward to help people from a different state. Shortly after that, I came to know that all Indane distributors of Cuddalore district also had already contributed relief materials worth Rs. 1,00,000 to the flood affected people in Kerala. Indane distributors of Trichy area office of IndianOil have always shown great interest in supporting humanitarian causes, of that I was aware, but by extending support to people of a neighbouring state, they have showed that they are “Pehle Indian, Phir Oil”. From all these stories, one thing is very clear – Love knows no boundaries. Love for one’s fellow beings, kindness and compassion, these are emotions that transcend all boundaries. The unprecedented support that Kerala received from all corners of the country and the world, in the past few weeks bears testimony to that.

Indane Distributors of Tiruvarur handing over a D.D of Rs. 1,00,000 towards Kerala CMDRF to The District Collector Tiruvarur, Shri Nirmal Raj (left), Indane Distributors of Cuddalore handing over relief materials worth Rs. 1,00,000 to the Cuddalore District Collectorate (right)

I have just shared with all of you, a few stories of human love and compassion during and after the Kerala floods that I am aware of, but there are so many that I am not aware of, which may be even more heart-warming and inspiring than the ones that I know. May all such stories be told, be shared. May all those heroes and their inspiring acts be celebrated, as they all serve as reminders to many of us, who in this fast paced world of ours, have forgotten that human mind is capable of so much love and compassion and that wonders result when our actions are driven by a mind filled with love and compassion.

On this Teacher’s Day, along with thanking our teachers from school and college, and our mentors at work, let us also thank all these heroes, as they have also taught us precious lessons in humanity, lessons that will stay with us for a lifetime!