“After July 30” may seem an unusual name for a restaurant. To the people of Meppadi town, it stands as a reminder of the terrible tragedy that befell the region a year ago, and of the need to move on.
When the mountains rained mud and stones on the twin villages of Mundakkai and Chooralmala in Wayanad on July 30 last year, they took away 11 family members of the man who runs the eatery, Kalathingal Noufal.
The 42-year-old, who was then in Oman, working as a chef at a restaurant, lost his wife, three young children, parents, siblings and their families.
He was shattered but found the courage to “clear my turbulent mind” and “heal myself”. Not by returning to the Gulf to forget but by staying put and honouring his dead wife Sajna’s dream of opening a restaurant in Wayanad.
The Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen, a Muslim socio-religious organisation, built the restaurant-cum-bakery for ₹7 lakh at Meppadi, about 15km from Mundakkai, Noufal’s hometown.
On Sunday evening, a few customers sipped tea and munched on snacks such as potato bonda and kaai pola (a sweet dish made of bananas) as it drizzled outside.
Noufal had gone to the nearby town of Muttil and in his absence, two of his close friends, K.U. Shafeek and K. Gafoor, were in charge of “After July 30”, which has become famous locally because of its name.
Shafeek and Gafoor, too, lost their immediate families in the landslides, which killed 298 people in a single night. The restaurant now provides a livelihood to them as well, along with the cooks Razeena and Bindu.
Noufal looked wise beyond his age when he walked in.
“I’ve realised that God supports only those who have courage and strength. Else, how could I have managed to clear my turbulent mind, and without psychiatric counselling?” he told
The Telegraph.
“I tried to heal myself. I’m counselling myself. Fortunately, I’ve succeeded in making a comforting gesture to all my friends in Mundakkai. What’s the point in crying over the past? We should instead be thinking of what can be done for a happy future.”
K Naufal at After July 30 in Wayanad on Sunday
Three months ago, Noufal remarried Safna. But old memories are not easily laid to rest.
“Life has not been easy since the landslide. When I feel sad, I go to the grave of my eldest daughter Nafla Nazreen, 16, who was a brilliant student,” Noufal said.
“I derive some sort of energy when I spend some time at my family members’ graves at the public burial ground.”
His other two children, Mohammed Nihal and Isha, were 13 and 8.
“The Kerala Muslim Cultural Society got me a new home at Moopainadu in Wayanad a few weeks ago. I’m yet to move in as it needs a few more touch-ups here and there,” Noufal said.
He hopes tourists will flock to Wayanad and his business will pick up once the rain subsides.