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NAGAPATTINAM, TAMIL NADU, INDIA, Januayr 4, 2005: Barefooted Maria Selvan, 63, walks aimlessly along the shores sobbing and recollecting the moments before and after the gigantic wall of water came crashing down over him. At times he beats his chest in despair and then goes silent. Then he points a finger to a piece of flattened land where his house once stood. His family survived the killer waves only to face a bleak future. Above the debris, 55-year-old Dharma Raj, who lost his leg in a boating accident seven years ago, sits on a small wooden plank staring at the sea. He refuses to speak. Raj’s newly married daughter, whose husband was killed by the tsunamis, kept him company. For the ones devastated by tsunami, there is now hope. Amid an acute shortage of skilled psychological counsellors, yoga experts have spread across tsunami-hit villages in southern India to aid people suffering from the post-tsunami trauma. Volunteers and individuals trained in traditional yoga, which combines meditation, breathing techniques and exercises, are focussing on Nagapattinam district where nearly 6,000 people were killed on December 26. The yogis have joined more than 100 volunteers from the Art of Living Foundation of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, a non-governmental organization, to counsel the disturbed villagers.



“This is a natural disaster. There is no point analyzing what happened. One has to save his mind now. For that we teach guided meditation techniques, some prayers and breathing exercises,” Satyojata Swami, Head of the Art of Living team, said. Doctors said a majority of the survivors, mostly from the fishing community, were yet to recover from the emotional shock of tsunamis which shattered their lives completely. “What is most important in the current phase is people to give psychological support. And there are not many of them around,” said V.S. Ananthan, a government doctor heading a 14-member medical team. Government official Vivek Harinarayanan, coordinating the relief operations with the non-governmental groups, agreed and said yoga experts could fill the gap. “Sometimes a simple prayer repeated over a period of time has the effect. In others it can be a breathing technique or meditation. But overall yoga is the most effective method to conquer one’s fears,” said Anand Antarag, another yoga expert.

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