Note: Manorama usually refrains from publishing images of deceased victims from disaster sites. However, we believe that this particular image captures the profound sadness that lingers in Mundakkai and Chooralmala. We apologize sincerely if this causes you any distress.

Wayanad: The funeral pyre was small, yet it carried an unbearable weight of sorrow. Among the flames was just a single hand. Ramaswami used to hold this hand gently when it took its first baby steps. It was the hand of his daughter, Jisha. He had watched her grow, guiding her through life until the day he gave her hand to Murugan in marriage. But a brutal landslide has ripped Jisha and Murugan away. All that remained, carried back to him from the distant Chaliyar River, was this one hand, identified by the wedding ring inscribed with Murugan’s name.

As Ramaswami placed the hand on the pyre, his grief overflowed. He wept openly, covering his face with trembling hands, the same hands that once cradled his daughter. His heart also ached for his wife, Thankamma, and his son-in-law, Murugan, who were still missing, swept away by the landslide. Just the other day, they had found the lifeless body of his grandson Akshay and laid him to rest.

Thodupuzha Ashram to support Abhijith and Pranav
In the aftermath of the devastating landslide, two young boys, Abhijith and Pranav, find themselves as the sole survivors of their families in Punchiri Mattom. Their lives were turned upside down overnight, leaving them adrift in a sea of uncertainty and grief. Yet, amidst this tragedy, a beacon of hope has emerged.

The Sreekala Theerthapadashram in Thodupuzha has offered to adopt the boys, pledging to support their education and guide them toward stable futures. Having learned about the boys' plight in an article published by Manorama. It was Shaijish Vishwaprabha from Kizhakoth, Kozhikode who reached out to Swami Vivekananda Theertha, the head of the Ashram. Swami Vivekananda contacted Baburaj, a close relative of Abhijith and expressed his desire to meet the children once they regained their mental resilience and offered unwavering support for their future.

Swami Vivekananda also emphasized that the Ashram’s assistance would not interfere with any government aid or support from other agencies, ensuring that Abhijith and Pranav receive all the help available to them.

All alone from now
As the ground beneath them gave way, swept away by the floodwaters that crashed down, lives were forever changed. People, from five years old to fifty, were left isolated, their families torn apart by the relentless landslide. Here are some of the stories of those who lost their loved ones.

For Punchirimattam native Soorya, her brother Vishnu who works abroad is her only remaining family member as she lost her father Rajan, mother Maruthayi, and siblings Jinu, Shiju, and Andriya in the landslide’s fury. It was just three months ago that Jinu married Priyanka, a native of Nanmanda in Kozhikode.

Muhammad Hani, a brave boy was held onto his grandmother, who was trapped neck-deep in mud, for hours using only his hands when the landslide swept away their house. All his other family members, including his father Jaffer Ali, mother Ramlath, sister Ranan Rasla, brother Muhammad Aslam, grandparents Viyyumma and Muhammad, and his uncle Shamsuddin, along with his aunt Shabna and cousin Shamha Parveen, were lost to the disaster. Hani now stays in a relief camp at St. Joseph’s School, Meppadi. Shamsuddin's daughter, five-year-old Sidara, had a miraculous escape after being trapped on the roof of their house.

Sidarathul Munthaha, a five-year-old girl returned to life after being caught in the mud. She is the daughter of Shamsuddin and Shabna, who ran a resort in Chooralmala. She, too, lost her sister Shamha and grandparents in the tragedy. Muntaha is now with her mother’s sister in Chembochira, Meppadi.