summary of Weathering the storm in Ersama in 2-3 paragraph
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Weathering the Storm in Ersama Summary
About the Poet
Harsh Mander is an activist and author of several books including, Fractured Freedom: Chronicles from India’s Margins. He is the Director of the Centre for Equity Studies, a research organisation based in New Delhi. A social activist who works with survivors of mass violence and hunger, as well as homeless persons and street children.
Poet Name Harsh Mander
Born 17 April 1955 (age 64 years), Shillong
Profession Author, Columnist, Researcher, Teacher
Education Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, St Stephen’s College
Weathering the Storm in Ersama Introduction
Weathering the Storm in Ersama by Harsh Mander is based on a true story of the adventures of a teenager Prashant was marooned on the roof of a house for two nights following the dreadful storm that hit Orissa (now Odisha) on 27th October 1999.
The storm had killed thousands of people and devastated hundreds of villages. Prashant showed extraordinary courage at the face of the great natural calamity. He saved his own life and came in the forefront to lead the disaster management in his village.
Weathering the Storm in Ersama Summary of the Lesson
On 27 October 1999, Prashant, a young boy of nineteen, went to meet his friend in Ersama, a small town in coastal Odisha. Osama was some eighteen kilometres away from his village. In the evening, weather suddenly changed and soon there occurred a strong storm with devastating winds. It was later termed as super cyclone. The wind velocity was 350 km per hour. Prashant had never witnessed such a menacing storm.
The storm was followed by heavy and incessant rain which washed away several houses and people. The angry waters swirled into his friend’s house, neck-deep. So, Prashant and his friend’s family took shelter on the rooftop where they spent two nights in the same position. They froze in the cold and continuous rain. Prashant could see in the grey light of the early morning the destruction caused by the super cyclone.
There was water everywhere in which standing some fractured cement houses in a few places. Bloated animal carcasses and human corpses floated in every direction. Even huge trees had fallen here and there. Prashant was worried about his family. But he was helpless.
Two days later, the rain stopped and the rain waters slowly began to recede. Then Prashant decided to go to his village and see his family. He took a long, sturdy stick, and then started on the difficult journey to his village through the swollen flood waters. At places the water was waist deep which slowed his journey. At several points, he lost the road and had to swim.
On the way, he came across many human bodies and carcasses of dogs, goats and cattle. But he could barely see a house standing while passing through the villages. Eventually Prashant reached his village, Kalikuda. He was depressed to see the widespread destruction everywhere.
Answer:
Prashant was a young boy of nineteen years of age. He belonged to Kalikuda, a village in the coastal state of Odisha. He had lost his mother seven years ago.
On 27 October 1999, when he was visiting a friend in Ersama, a super cyclone hit the area. There was large scale devastation. The gushy winds and rains continued for two days. They remained on the rooftop of the house and survived on the tender coconuts from the coconut trees that had fallen on the roof. As the rain stopped, Prashant left for his home as he feared the worst for his family. He took a stick to help him find the road. At times, he had to swim through the flood waters. On the way he met two friends and their uncle and the group moved together. They came across dead bodies of human beings and animals which floated with the current. As they crossed villages, not even a single house could be seen. Prashant’s house was shattered too and he saw the belongings hanging on the branches of the trees. He wept as he felt that he had lost his beloved. He went to the Red cross shelter in search of his family. There Prashant met his maternal grandmother. She was elated to see him alive as they had not expected that he would have survived the storm. Prashant saw a crowd of 2500 people at the shelter. Many had lost their families in the disaster. They were grief stricken as the catastrophe had snatched everything. For the last 2 days they had survived on coconuts but they were running out of stock. Prashant took control of the situation. He formed a group with some elders and young people. They forced the merchant to give them the stock of rice and were successful. After 4 days the crowd ate a meal. Then the group of volunteers cleaned the shelter and tended to the injured people. Prashant engaged the widows to work in the NGO named “Food for work”. He engaged the children by arranging sports matches for them. The volunteers managed to set up foster families comprising of the widows, orphaned children and lone men who would form a family and support each other. Like this Prashant overcame his grief and learnt to smile even in the face of adversities
Explanation:
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