Umarsadi is a small village inhabited by fisherfolk near Udvada, separated from the Iranshah Atash Behram by the Pariyali creek. Some years ago a sailor-cum-fisherman from this village made history when he swam non-stop in the choppy sea for over 36 hours after his fishing vessel sank during a cyclonic storm. He swam to keep himself alive, and when he saw the shore ahead he thought he had reached Tithal beach, a resort near Bulsar. But in reality he had been carried by the currents and his own efforts to the southern coast of Kathiawar, somewhere near Bhavnagar, over 190 kms distant by sea and 430 kms by road.
Some three decades prior to this incident, there had been another case of courage and bravery by fishermen of the same village. A woman had been in labor for many hours during a difficult delivery. Rather than taking her to a hospital in Pardi, the villagers, who had greater faith in the gynecologist (my father Dr Minocher Meher Homji) at the Parsi maternity hospital at Udvada, approached him. There was a torrential downpour but the fishermen entreated my father to save the life of both the mother and the baby as they had heard of his miraculous handling of such difficult cases.
They had brought with them a palanquin (palkhi) in which my father sat with his bag of instruments and other paraphernalia. The palkhi was suspended over strong wooden bamboo poles and borne on the shoulders of four fishermen, two in the front and two at the rear, with an additional two men to provide relief at intervals. All went well till they reached the creek which was in spate. The water was chest high but the fishermen were not dissuaded. They placed the palanquin over their heads and waded through the overflowing creek and eventually reached the village. The patient was relieved of her pain and a healthy baby was born. The return journey was uneventful.
It was not right to expect exorbitant fees from the villagers, but after a few days we received two giant sized seer (surmai) fish. Sometimes I wonder whether the baby boy delivered under such trying conditions during turbulent rains was the same man who single-handedly crossed the Arabian Sea some three decades later, landing on the Kathiawar peninsula.
Dr V. M. MEHER HOMJI
vispimeherhomji@gmail.com