Raichur floods: How I captured the sorrow on her face

It was October 4, 2009 when I was in Gunjahalli in Raichur district to cover the worst-ever floods the region had witnessed.

A bridge there had been washed away by the floods. That was when I got the news that angry villagers of Thalamari had set police and other officials’ vehicles on fire. The villagers were furious over the elusive relief.

Sensing an interesting story, I immediately rushed to the village.

Thalamari resembled a war zone. Smoke was still billowing out of charred vehicles, angry villagers gave me a belligerent look; only the presence of police saved me.

But the villagers could not be blamed. They were hungry and in distress. But then, I was hungry too, albeit for photo-ops. I ventured deep into the village, shedding my fear for a while. It was shocking to see many houses washed away in the nature’s fury.

And in the middle of the wreckage of what was once a house, I spotted an old woman, struggling to salvage whatever was left.

She turned towards me just for a moment and I had the picture I wanted. The old lady was framed by the remnants of the havoc caused by the flood.

A disturbance elsewhere diverted my attention. I had to rush there and did not get a chance to even ask her name.  The woman haunted me that night.

I wanted to go back to the village and talk to her. I had a vicarious pleasure a year later, when I learnt that my colleagues found the woman with a home of her own built in the same place.