Updates from India 75

What a month.

The monsoon has been in full swing with flooding all across India. The worst has been in the state of Kerala in the south where hundreds of thousands have been displaced and hundreds killed. A series of dams for supplying water were overcome by the sheer volume of rain and had to have their spillways opened to prevent the greater disaster of a dam collapsing. An intense effort is being made nationwide to help.

Thomson Reuters

By Jose Devasia and Malini Menon

KOCHI/NEW DELHI, India (Reuters) - Indian health authorities prepared defences against the spread of disease in flood-hit Kerala state on Monday as the water receded and a huge clean-up gathered pace after the worst floods in a century killed more than 200 people.

Incessant rain since Aug. 8 in the southern state has swelled rivers and triggered landslides. Dozens of people are missing and nearly a million are sheltering in thousands of relief camps, state officials said.

"The biggest challenges immediately ahead are cleaning of the flood-hit houses, rehabilitation, and prevention of water-borne diseases," said Mahesh P., a village-level officer from Rayamangalam, some 45 km (28 miles) from Kerala's financial capital of Kochi.

Light to moderate rain was expected across Kerala on Monday, bringing some respite to rescue workers, who have been battling rising waters and mudslides to reach tens of thousands of stranded villagers.

Rainfall in the state during the June-September monsoon season has been more than 40 percent higher than normal, with torrential rain in the last 10 days forcing authorities to release water from dozens of dangerously full dams, sending surges into rivers that then overflowed their banks.

Anil Vasudevan, who handles disaster management at Kerala's health department, said the state was preparing to battle any outbreak of diseases in the relief camps and preventive medicines were being distributed.

Mahesh said villagers had all pulled together to rescue people and prevent an even bigger disaster.

"The bulk of the credit for the rescue goes to the ordinary citizens. The army, the navy, the local authorities assisted them," Mahesh said.

"The flood has bonded the people like never before, with people sharing whatever they had."

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said there was no shortage of food in the state as traders had stocked up ahead of Onam, the state's biggest festival which falls on Aug. 25.

The state has cancelled all official celebrations in connection with the Hindu harvest festival.

All we can do is donate what we can to the relief effort and offer our prayers for those poor souls caught up in this disaster.

Christine has been unwell this month with a severe reoccurrence of the lung infection she has been suffering, resulting in near pneumonia. I will let Kris fill in the details but it looks as though a visit to a specialist in Ahmedabad may be on the cards soon.

In other medical news I have also been unwell. It seems I have developed a stomach problem, IBS, Irritable bowel syndrome.

·         It causes symptoms like stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation. These tend to come and go over time, and can last for days, weeks or months at a time.

·         It's usually a lifelong problem. It can be very frustrating to live with and can have a big impact on your everyday life.

·         There's no cure, but diet changes and medicines can often help control the symptoms.

·         The exact cause is unknown – it's been linked to things like food passing through your gut too quickly or too slowly, oversensitive nerves in your gut, stress, and a family history of IBS.

IBS can also cause:

·         farting (flatulence)

·         passing mucus from your bottom

·         tiredness and a lack of energy

·         feeling sick (nausea)

·         backache

·         problems peeing – like needing to pee often, sudden urges to pee, and feeling like you can't fully empty your bladder

·         not always being able to control when you poo (incontinence)

Lovely isn’t it! Looking on the bright side I have lost some weight.

Where this is going I don’t yet know but no doubt with Gods help I will cope.

Sorry, this is a short blog but we are both very tired and nearly didn’t do one.

      One small part of Kerala. This level of devastation goes on for mile after mile.

Continuous rain has filled the reservoir to bursting point.



Chickens we have added 20 chicks to our flock at the moment they’re too young to know how many are female, time will tell. They are settling in nicely they were about six weeks old when I got them and they’ve doubled in size. Very sociable and happy chicks, which we have separated from the older five hens till they’re bigger otherwise the older hens will peck the younger ones and could cause problems. We do have a black one which I reckon is going to be male and it keeps trying to escape so I have nicknamed it Houdini.

These are some of our new chicks, the black one on the right is Houdini

This side sectioned off to give the chicks shelter and
protect them from the older Hens

Lots of fruit on our Papya trees

Training a flowering shrub across our drive

More fruit on another Papya tree

OOPS.....................

Comments by Kris

Well this month finds me with yet another chest infection, bacterial due to previous exposure to black mould spores in the previous house we lived in which had a lot of mould on the walls, Doctor said it can take up to two years to clear. I am now on further treatment but if things don’t improve we’ll go to Ahmedabad in next state to see a senior respiratory consultant for their opinion. They are a little concerned if it does not respond it could become pneumonia but I feel this treatment will see me right.

Chris has been diagnosed with IBS so it has been a rough month for us and will mean the blog is shorter this month as we have not been anywhere due to health issues On a positive note we have an aruvedic remedy which is helping the IBS.

Moti our three legged street dog has been unwell this month and has been living with us, he’s now feeling better so went out today, he comes and goes as he pleases. He got so wet in the monsoon that he had difficulty keeping warm so in he came dried off and given a bed in the living room to keep him warm. He’s getting old now and his arthritis is definitely a problem now, slower at moving when he first gets up and very stiff in the joints. Saying that he still is very protective of me and would see off anyone or animal that causes me problems. Recently he gave a friend Peter a shock when he thought he was being threatening to me, it was just simply the friend ran after me as I was getting into a taxi and Moti took it as a threat even though he knew Peter quite well. I don’t think people believed me that he was very protective. Luckily Moti just gave a warning and did not actually bite Peter as I reassured him it was ok and Peter was a friend, Peter continues to give fuss to Moti which he loves.

Chris started smoking again about 2 years ago and was desperately trying to stop for some considerable time. Well with the help of patches he’s now up to day 9 without a cigarette, fabulous. I am trying to support him and I remain very proud of his achievement. We tried medication but it did not help and the side effects were really bad, so patches it was to be.

Today was quite a shock for both of us, Amba Chris’s sister brought her neice Gita to see us with her mother. The child who is about four or five was badly burnt about a year ago and although scarred on her face and body its her arm that is the really big worry. The tissue is badly damaged, weeping and you can see her bones, she has contractures of her elbow and wrist and the hand is swollen with oedema. This is a really serious and painful injury for a child and if not treated could kill her, we immediately took her to the hospital for treatment. They are very poor and live in an isolated area so financially they were probably unable to pay for treatment. Both doctor and nurses were very shocked at the state of Gita’s arm, I am doubtful they will be able to save the arm and she may need amputation near her shoulder, at least she is going to have to undergo daily painful dressings and at least two surgeries to help the contractures. My heart broke as she screamed whilst having it cleaned and dressed. Dr Goyal was great with her as were the nurses, she’s now on medication and pain relievers which should make her more comfortable. Because of her age they have little they can give her to take all the pain away. I can’t imagine how she has coped over the last few months and I thank God for Amba that she had the sense to bring her to me for my opinion after she saw me dressing Chris’s burn. We have suggested Amba, her sister and Gita stay with us so were near the hospital and we can look after the little one. It’s difficult for Amba as her sister lives over an hour away in the jungle area on the outskirts of Udaipur and her brother in law doesn’t care as it’s a girl not a boy, which is still a problem especially in rural areas. Please pray for her quick recovery and hopefully we can save the arm.

This last month was Raksha Bandan (Rakhi) for the fourth year I tied a band on my Rakhi brother Jatin and for the second year Amba tied a band on Chris and I, this year her elder daughter also tied a band on Chris and I. For us this is not a tourist gimmick we take it serious and respect that it makes us family. I remain known as Bhabhi (pronounced Barbie) which means older brother’s wife. 

Well thats all for this month
God bless you
Chris and Kris
Udaipur