Marina Beach

[Indian]

destroyed

[Indian]

another one

[Indian]

no beach

[Indian]

Twisted remains of cars, motor scooters and other vehicles lying interspersed with rooftops blown away told their own story on the Marina beach on Monday.

Upturned carts that sold shells, green mangos, peanuts, garlands, bangles and other knickknacks littered the beach.

Gone are the giant wheels and merry-go-rounds - the sea has claimed them all. The newly built Marina swimming pool is filled with seawater, its painted fences lying askew.

Even as the sun kissed the now gentle sea, barring a few rescue workers, the once sparkling beach basked in its loneliness, something unthinkable during the holiday season.

A day after the tsunami struck, the bustling beach was devoid of its joggers, dog walkers and children playing cricket, as the people attempted to cope with the worst natural disaster to hit them in living memory.

Monday morning there were only signs of devastation anywhere one looked.

And, in what may seem a macabre reaction to the disaster, one Tamil channel has set up cameras to catch the next tidal wave - if an when it comes.

"We want to catch it on camera," explained one cameraman matter-of-factly.

The scene was so very different Sunday morning, with boys playing cricket, tourists taking in the sights and women waiting for their men folk to bring in the morning catch when, all of a sudden, everything disappeared under the huge 40-50 ft high waves that crashed on the beach.

Many of the elderly on their morning constitutionals were among those washed away by the swelling sea. No one exactly knows who or how many.

There were no grandmothers in Nike shoes, no puppies and grandsons running beside them.

"It is winter, so most people were sleeping indoors. If it had been summer, there would have been more casualties", said Palani, a fisherman who lived on Foreshore Estate, a land extrusion just south of the Marina.

"It was the drivers from the auto rickshaw stands nearby who first jumped into the rescue effort, filling their vehicles with the injured who were left by the receding water and ferrying them to hospital," Palani said.

On Monday, they were without fares, the police having cordoned off the entire 12-km beach.

Piuli Paul had gone with grandparents to the beach Sunday morning. The Class three student from Bangalore lay unconscious for hours before being rescued. Her mother, father and grandfather were also saved but grandmother Bela Paul, 73, was washed away.

Prasad had brought his wife and son here on a holiday from Hyderabad. The seven-year-old boy was washed away.

Eleven-year-old Deepak and his friends had gone to the beach to practice the "Kalarippayattu" martial art. He died.

For the denizens of this Tamil Nadu capital, the Sunday the tsunami struck will long remain etched in memory.

[GunsNRoses]

Darn, that hits really close. I didn't go much to the Marina (Elliot's was a lot closer and more personal), but that beach is bloody huge (largest in the world, according to some books). The marina crowd starts to build up around the afternoon really. In the morning, there's usually only joggers and yoga nuts out there.

[Brahmin]

We should only be thankfull that this did not happen in the evening. If it had happened in the evening we would have seen more than 100,000 die.

[viruss]

agar yeh ghatna Mumbai main bhi ho jaati, to isse bhi bada anarth ho jaata...


bhagwan ne bacha liya...

[Budmaas]

सुनामी कहर मरने वालो की सन्ख्या ६८,४६४ हुयी [२९/१२/०४ १३:४८]

[Indian]

Originally posted by Budmaas
सुनामी कहर मरन&#2375

pata naheen ..woh kitna thay.
today in news bulletin ..the numbers are showing up around 60,000

and it is increasing every hour.

[BKN]

Originally posted by viruss

bhagwan ne bacha liya...

Agar kahin Bhagwan hota to inte log marte hi nahi!!!!

kahan hai Bhagwan????

[Xandu]

high waters

[Xandu]

pix

[Indian]

Originally posted by Xandu
high waters

this is so freakin ...

have seen videos in tv , very disturbing images of piles & heaps of dead bodies(most of them children & women), bulldozers are used to lift them and dump into pits.