Chennai: Even after a decade, 52-year-old G. Shenbagavalli is resolved to find her daughters by visiting all the costal villages that were struck by the tsunami in 2004. Her unflinching hope and love for her daughters continue, even as her family members are slowly abandoning the woman, citing that the depressed mom fails to come to terms with reality.
Tsunami may have washed away G. Shenbagavalli’s (52) husband, but her pursuit to find her missing daughters remains intact since 2004 to fulfil her husband’s deathbed wish.
Shenbagavalli recalls her husband’s choking voice battling for breath, “Our three daughters are alive, they managed to run away from the deadly waves and now it is your duty to trace them.”
It all started with a holiday trip when her husband Govindaswamy suggested a trip to Kanyakumari on December 23, 2004. “They called me several times but I told them that I would like to stay back. I never thought this decision of mine would separate me from my family,” weeps Shenbagavalli, a worker in mess.
The Kumari trip extended to Nagapatinam as the three daughters decided to visit the Vailankanni temple but on the fateful day of December 26, 2004, the teenage daughters were playing along the beach sand when the massive waves struck the coast of Nagapattinam.
Working in a mess near Tambaram and earning a paltry amount, Shenbagavalli has decided to spend all that on travelling and tracing her daughters. When asked about what she does on her non-working day’s Shenbagavalli says that she goes to coastal villages in search of her daughters. After the unfortunate incident, she now lives alone near Kattabomman street, Kamaraj nagar in Perungaluthur.
