Search for loved ones continues

Rukhiben, who had lost her husband and two sons aged three and four and belongs to the Rabri community whose main occupation is cattle rearing, refuses to give up searching for her loved ones.

"I am still searching for my two children and husband. The villagers are taking care of digging out the dead. There is so much destruction that we are lost as to from where to begin our operations."

Whenever they start getting a stench, all the villagers get together and start digging in that place, Rabri said. "This is how we try to find the dead. Sometimes we find animals underneath the debris. We carry the logs left here by many people who come in trucks, place them over the dead and burn them as it is very difficult to carry the dead humans or animals somewhere else to be cremated."

She says the entire village is full of smoke as a result of the mass cremations taking place in the village. "Sometimes I am sure that my husband and two children are dead but I am still waiting to find their bodies before I accept this."

Far worse for the living. Says Rabri, "We see huge trucks loaded with blankets and eatables passing from the outskirts of our village to Bhuj. But it is very rare that they stop to deliver the goods to us. Sometimes, due to overloading, some of the relief goods fall on the road from the vehicles. We run to gather them. Whoever gets it is considered lucky by us".

Nine-year-old Nilesh, who was found sitting and eating a piece of roti (bread made of wheat flour) next to a body being cremated, said: "I am not afraid of the dead. I used to be once, but now with so many of them put to flames, I do not bother. The only problem is the bad smell of the flesh burning. Where will I go. Everywhere it is the same."

When asked about his family, he said: "My parents as well as my younger sister who is two years old are all safe. But my mother suffered serious injuries to her legs as she was the only one inside the house when the earthquake took place. My father was somewhere outside grazing the animals while my sister and I were playing out in the open."

His mother could be seen sleeping on a mat under a tree.

Damubhai, another villager who was seen clearing the debris, said: "I do plan to walk up to the army check post which is situated five kilometres from here. I want them to come to our village and give us something to eat. If things do not improve, we have no other choice but to beg or steal. We are poor, ignorant people whose occupation is rearing cattle."