The Night The Waters Rose

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THE NIGHT THE WATERS ROSE
Memoir from Barauni, 1976
By S. N. Roy

When floodwaters crept into the heart of a refinery — and my home — duty, fear, and silent courage collided. But what I remember most is not the chaos of machines shutting down, but the quiet strength of my wife carrying our infant son to safety, alone.

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A Duty-bound Dilemma

It was the monsoon of 1976, and the rains showed no signs of relenting. As the shift charge engineer of the captive power plant at Barauni Refinery, I was used to high-pressure situations — but that evening brought something different. Something far more unsettling.

Rainwater, unable to escape to the Ganges due to closed outflow gates, began to accumulate across the township and refinery complex. The Ganges itself was flooded, and opening the gates risked backflow — a technical and geographical Catch-22.

While others may have seen just puddles forming, I stood in the power house, watching the rising waterline inch towards the condensate pump which was in minus level. I had to act. With measured urgency, I initiated the shutdown of the power plant — the beating heart of the refinery — to protect equipment from catastrophic failure.

Even as I went through the motions of industrial protocol, my thoughts were elsewhere.

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Home in Peril

In our modest township bungalow, my wife was alone with our one-year-old son. News came in fast — the township was going under. Water had entered the residential quarters. My mind raced, but duty had shackled me to the control panel. I had to wait for my shift to end.

Meanwhile, my wife, showing a calmness and courage that would later leave me in awe, sprang into action. With the help of our neighbour Ramchandra Ayyer, she lifted the refrigerator onto the dining table, opened the doors to allow water to flow through — not trap inside — and with our child in her arms, waded through rising floodwaters to the first-floor home of my dear friend, Late P. G. Das.

No mobile phones. No updates. Just instinct and trust.

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A Lonely Vigil

By the time I finished my shift and returned after 10 p.m., the house stood eerily quiet. The main door was open, just as she’d left it. Water had risen inside, flowing beneath the bed like an obedient stream. The ceiling fan spun above, but the silence below was deafening.

I didn't know where my family was. I only hoped they had found shelter.

That night, I did not — could not — sleep. I kept vigil in that flooded house, all doors open, determined not to let the water rise higher, not to let the bedroom become a water tank. Every creak, every ripple of water in the moonlight, felt louder than thunder. I was surrounded by soaked walls and uncertainty. But I stayed. Not for material things — but because leaving felt like surrender.

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A Salute to Her Strength

My wife never once panicked. She did not wait for instructions or rescue. She assessed, acted, and moved — carrying our baby through the night, through uncertainty, to safety. She did it all in my absence, while I stood knee-deep in responsibility at the plant.

Even now, that night haunts me. Not for its drama, but for its silence. For the image of an open door, a baby in a mother’s arms, and a man alone in his half-submerged home wondering what mattered more — his machines or his family.

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Legacy of a Night

The Barauni flood of 1976 lasted days. The refinery took weeks to return to full operation. Equipment had to be dried, cleaned, rewound, recalibrated. But machinery can be repaired. That night taught me that love, trust, and courage — especially from those we often underestimate — are what truly power our lives.

My salute is not just to the workers who brought the refinery back to life, but to my wife — who, without fuss or fanfare, kept our family safe, and taught me what real strength looks like.