September 14, 2005

For the little ones

Writing during this trip and a previous one, I've mentioned more than once that the most obvious legacy of the tsunami in Tamil Nadu is boats.

But on this trip, there's been one more legacy to take note of. I've seen these now finished structures in Nagapattinam, Shanmuganagar, Pushpavanam, C Pudupettai, Pudukuppam, Samiyarpettai, Cuddalore and in any number of other tsunami-affected villages and towns. They have been paid for by a slew of generous donors, ranging from Paul Astin's sixth grade class at the Topanga Elementary School in California (Shanmuganagar) to the Sri Vajrasen Vijayji Maharaj Senior Citizen Council of Gandhi Nagar, Vishwagram, Gujarat (Pudukuppam). And they are in a multitude of colours, invariably on a patch of grass grown on the sand.

Slides, swings, bars, merry-go-rounds. Children's playgrounds.

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