Chapter 26: chapter 26

22When the Sri Lankan Ethnic problem was at its peak, there were many agitations in Tamil Nadu in support of it. Secunderabad was an amenable place to bring people together on the grounds of religion. But it was a place not suitable to conduct meetings in support of the Sri Lankan Tamils. The few Tamil organisations which were in the city considered it as a political problem. There was no humanitarian approach to it. A section of the Sri Lankan refugees that came to India was sent to Hyderabad too.There were Sri Lankan refugee camps, put up in Bala Nagar in Hyderabad. They were given temporary jobs in a private spinning mill. The wages were low. it was given along with free doles. But the mill did not give the refugees the full amount that was due for them; even that amount was not given regularly. This fact along the pathetic condition of the Tamils in the refugee camps made news in many English newspapers. I also wrote a long essay in Junior Vikatan under the title, ‘The Sri Lankan Tamils were dying in Telugu Desam!’Sri Lankans were put up in sheds. They were long halls without proper toilet facilities. The families were separated from one another by the sack-curtains between them. There was no ventilation at all. The rice that was given to them in fair price shops was of very poor quality.The agony that they had to leave their beautiful country blessed with the bounty of Nature and to live in poor sanitary conditions expressed itself in their faces. (Se. Yoaganatha, a Sri Lankan writer once came to Tirupur twenty-five years ago. When he came to the area where my house was, he was simply shocked. The ditches and the garbage produced deep hatred in his face. If such a situation prevailed in any part of Sri Lanka, the people themselves would shoot the concerned ward councillor, he told me. The streets would be sparkling with cleanliness, he continued. The present condition of Tirupur was still worse. It had been madeinto a vast garbage basket of foreign countries. The whole city was filled with garbage, dust and chemical waste. He told me what the I.P.K.F men observed when they went to Sri Lanka: “What a beautiful country! Beautiful houses; each house is self-sufficient with coconut groves, sweet drinking water well, good hygiene and a fine environment. Then, for what are these people fighting?” they asked...There were many sheds. Due to the poor sanitary conditions there were many infectious diseases that took a big toll. There were some young men, who escaped to Tamil Nadu, throwing their refugee-identity cards away in order to escape from the intolerable and unliveable conditions. Some of them were arrested by the police. Chandra Hassan, who was then a leader of a political party in Sri Lanka, came to Hyderabad. He sought a meeting with the then Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao. But he was denied permission. We approached Ramoji Rao the editor of Eenadu News Time. He telephoned the Chief Minister’s office and said that he would publish the news, “NTR refused to meet Eelam Leader!” the next day. The permission was given immediately.1. N.T.R gave us an early morning appointment. His house was in the Abids road. He became very emotional on hearing the Eelam problem. “My sisters and mothers are being raped. They are being killed by bombing. I can’t remain a silent spectator! I love them! I give their cause my moral support!”2. I had another chance to meet N.T.R. with journalist Addiyar. We were asked to come at 4 in he morning. Addiyar and I went at 4.30. N.T.R.’s assistant told Addiyar that the chief minister had been waiting for him from 4 a.m. “I was waiting in the lodge to take a cup of coffee!” Addiyar told the assistant.“He got up at 3 a.m. That was his habit. Then he took biriyani and was waiting for you!”“What did he eat at such an early hour?”“He took three of Lord Murugan’s ‘vehicles’! His friends!”“Murugan’s vehicle? Lord Murugan!”“Yes! Three whole chickens!” N.T.R. was sitting majestically wearing a saffron dress!That was the summer of 1987. I was preparing to leave for Tirupur. Hyderabad was very hot- it was excruciating! The winter was cruel! The water in Tank Bund used to get frozen. In the summer, the places, where there were lots of trees, would go dry. I was trying to escape the heat of the summer.I was travelling in Charminar Express. The face of the young man who was sitting opposite to me was not like that of a Tamil. He was holding the back numbers of Tamil weekly magazines, Kumudham and Vikatan in his hands. It seemed that he was restless. He was browsing through the pages again and again. He was absent for a long time when the T.T.R came for his routine check.When he returned after a long time, I asked him his seat number. He said that he had no ticket. I slowly understood his Sri Lankan Tamil. He said that he would disappear into different compartments whenever the T.T.R made his appearance and would definitely reach Chennai somehow! He had a bag in his hands, which had some clothes. He told me that he had come to Hyderabad as a refugee and was put up in one of the sheds in Bala Nagar. He was afraid about the deaths that occurred there. He had planned to escape to Chennai!“If I escape the eyes of the railway police it would be a big relief. I have some relatives in Chennai. I’ve escaped the bombshells. It is enough if I could save my life. Chennai would take care of me!” he told me with confidence. The train was speeding fast!