A young fisherman living along the coast of Tanur in Malappuram district turned a hero overnight on social media. The act of solicitude by K.P. Jaisal, 32, during a rescue operation in the floodwaters of the Kadalundipuzha at Muthalamad near Vengara on Saturday won many a heart. He went on all fours in knee-deep floodwaters, allowing his back to be used as a footboard for a group of evacuees to get into a dinghy. Wearing chappals, an elderly woman stepped on his back and jumped into the dinghy, prompting another rescue worker to warn her that the step was not made of stone, but of the flesh and blood of a compassionate human being. The women who used Jaisal’s back as a step to board their life-saver dinghy were saying ‘Thank God.’ But the video that went viral on the social media portrays Jaisal as the kind-hearted savior.
“He genuflected in floodwaters to conquer our hearts. I feel proud of that man,” said Sunitha Kamar, a homemaker at Vengara, who spent three days worrying for her parents at Kalady, who had to be evacuated. For Jaisal, a volunteer of trauma care, it was no big deal. “This is part of our life. We live for humanity. And there’s nothing new in it,” he said.
Jaisal’s friend Pratheesh said they usually would not care too much about their safety when involved in rescue work and trauma care. But he too generously saluted his buddy.