Maduranthakam is a pilgrim centre in the Chingleput district of Tamil Nadu. The English collector there was Col. Place. That year the place witnessed a huge deluge of rain and storm. The large lake situated there was already brimful, and it was not unusual for it to burst its banks and overflow, spreading havoc and misery and disease in the countryside. Buildings, cattle and crop perished and human lives were lost.
The elders of the village went to the Collector and pleaded for help to avert such a threatening disaster. The collector personally went and surveyed the area to assess the danger, and assured the people that he would do something about it. He sent the people away, and was closeted in his chamber with his assistants for hours. An old resident of the place told the collector that all this was because of their neglect of the Ram temple there. It was dilapidated and rebuilding it was very expensive.
The collector heard him in silence, but was very worried as ominous dark clouds with their water cannons were threatening destruction. All were fearing that the night would bring in the torrential rain and the flood. Unable to sleep, the collector saw the ominous clouds dark and threatening. He reached the lake again late at night along with his entourage. As he climbed onto the high bank of the lake, he saw a terrifying sight of a vast sheet of water, ocean like, spread all over and rising every minute. The rain came down in sheets of water and the wild wind tore his umbrella. The frightened collector was helpless and terrified. His assistants wondered what he could do with a handful of men against this powerful force of nature. “Now nobody except God can save it,” he muttered.
(Courtesy Bhavan’s Journal dated 19-3-1972)