Gujarat, once a hub of business activities, is now a mass grave and a heap of rubble. Thousands have died, lakhs injured and many are still trapped under the debris. This calamity has made Indians from all around the world come together. We, at Zeenews.com, have been deluged by mails - most of them desperate to help whatever little their contribution might be. Manushri Bahukhandi reports.

The last few days have exalted the seemingly mundane work like ours. It is as if we have become a conduit of sorts between Gujarat and the rest of the world. And it is not exactly an enviable task – to release the latest bodycounts, to hear the fervent cries of the devastated, to sift through mails that ask specifically about untraceable relatives.

But there have been many mails that do dispel the gloom. Some mail-senders proffer concrete help, some desperate to know how to provide relief materials. Some just give ideas on how to help relief work. The ideas can be incredulous but, as it is, the ideas do not matter, the heart behind them does - a heart that beats along with those of the suffering in Gujarat.

Though the relief efforts from international agencies and different countries have quickened the pace of the relief operations, it is also a time when Indians all over the world have come together to pool in whatever way they can help and to show the world what unity in diversity really means.

"Dear Zee The ship (Krisna Vihar) was loaded with 200 tons of food and garments, and has left the port on 30 Jan. The second (Krishna Sagar) will be loaded with 300 tons of food, garments, and blankets. And will leave the port late tonight…Without Zee we wouldn`t be able to pass the message to UAE residence. Our team is working restlessly and feeling proud of generosity of Indian.”

One Mr Girish Sagar send this mail and his team includes Hasu Pattni ,Vikrant Kasare, Sunil Dogra, Vipin Sathi, Rafiqbhai, Kamlesh, Kishor, Naser, Sachin, Puran Singh, Smita Kamle, Pishu, Raja, Dipak Rupani, Rajubhai Bhanusali, Kirti Goswami, Salim, Manoj Pattni, wrote this to us. And he ended his note with this: “Plz note:- that we are not member of any org. We do not do this for publicity. Ye hamara farz he... Jai Hind. " Thank you Mr Ganga Sagar.
These are the people without whom relief operations would not be possible. But for them sending goods is not what they are limiting themselves to as it can be seen in the following messages.


“Sir,
We are one of Gujarat`s leading travel agencies. Our fleet of buses operates in the western region of India…We have our base at Ahmedabad in Gujarat. We have buses operating from and to Ahmedabad. At this time of distress and panic, in our efforts to help the people of Ahmedabad we would like to announce that we are offering to transport any food, parcels and relief material to Ahmedabad from our stations for free. We request you to make this public to all the generous people and institutions sending help to Ahmedabad. It is a request to make this public as soon as possible because this would be of help at this crucial moment where people need help and relief material more than anything else. Kindly contact me as soon as possible for full details.


For Punjab Travels Co.,

Sukhbir Bagga

For many people now is the time to forget their difference in their caste, creed, or even their races. As shown in this mail

“Respected Sir,
At this time of panic and distress, the Sikh Community wants to help out the people of Ahmedabad and Bhuj. To do as much as possible, The Gurudwara Shri Guru Gobind Dham (Ahmedabad) is providing free shelter as well as free langar (food) to all the people who have been victimised by the earthquake.
With Warm Regards,
SURJIT SINGH BAGGA (PRESIDENT) GURUDWARA SHRI GURU GOBIND DHAM SARKHEJ - GANDHINAGAR HIGHWAY AHMEDABAD PH: 685 2069

There have been thousands of mails with pessimism writ large on them – Tell us about our relative, we have not been able to contact them since 26th Jan and so on. Since 26th we have been doing the unenviable task of replying them, trying our best to instill some hope in them. What has made this task possible is the overwhelming response to the call for help. Cutting across borders (many mails have come from Pakistan and the Gulf countries), religions and castes people have stepped in to help. Some of these mails are really touching – for example a couple working at the Tata Institute of Fundamantal Research want to adopt a bereaved child whose picture was shown on the Zee News channel. Such sweet gestures are aplenty at this time of despair. This is what gives us the strength to serve people better…