My reflections from 1994 Pneumonic Plague epidemic in Surat

It was a hot summer afternoon in September of 1994, me (9 years old then) and my sister 14 year old were doing our usual chores. We lived in Surat, an industrial city four hours from Mumbai. We got a landline call around 6 PM from our neighbor living 2 floors above us. He said water from the municipal corporation is contaminated with plague. Dead rats spread to men living in the slums, that went to contaminate the potable water. Panic spread quickly. We got several calls. I took my paper phonebook and called every classmate of mine to not drink the water.

I remember, how my sister meticulously pasted a note on every tap and shut the valve from the bottom of the tap to not let our muscle memory win over the circumstance. Quickly, the rumors of growing death spread. We heard the news of tens and thousands of people fleeing overnight to escape from a term that was new to me “quarantine”. I remember my dad telling us, the only place that will accept us without second thought of us being carriers is my paternal grandmother’s home. My grandmother lived in a small village in Tamil Nadu, atleast a day of travel by train from Surat. As the dilemma grew with increasing reports of deaths and infection, my father made plans for me, my sister and my mother to flee the city. However, he couldn't leave as he worked in the essential services. Just as the scare spread, the borders were closed, schools shut down and the city was put to a standstill.

For 45 days, we were home and supported each other. In that era of no mobile phones, or Netflix or the Internet, me, my mother and my sister played hours of card games, Uno and Business (Monopoly). We watched diplomatic DD news that conveyed one message. The Government is working towards eliminating plague. We didn’t get daily newspapers. The only contact was the landline phones. We spoke to our friends and relatives on a regular basis. We ate breads, rice and non perishable foods as fresh vegetable stores closed. Remember the days when we used to buy fresh veggies and milk for daily consumption and store them in a small Godrej fridge? :) Concept of stocking fresh foods for several days and frozen veggies didn’t exist then.

But, the city persisted. We didn’t give up! Fought this epidemic with an iron fist. We didn’t think it wouldn’t affect our daily lives, we followed all orders and didn’t venture out. Massive cleanliness drive kicked in. My city became the second cleanest city in India by 1995. I don’t have pictures of them, but my memories are vivid.

25 years later, the world around me is in the same state, perhaps worse than what we faced. Globalization has proven both boon and bane, but the indomitable spirit to win this virus remains the same. Our courage, hope and faith remains the same, our race to out win this war is the same! Perhaps it is the time to reflect on the importance of life and it’s necessities than all the freedom and luxury we get in this world. Please stay indoors, follow orders strictly, and lets do our bit here, for our parents and our generations to come.

Signing off with this Sanskrit quote “Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu” (May everyone in the world see happiness and prosperity).