Suresh

Cuddalore (Tamil Nadu), Jan. 4: His name is on everybody?s lips. But if Vivek Oberoi brought the smile back on the face of villagers of tsunami-ravaged Thevanampattinam, the Bollywood actor?s family is making sure their rebuilding efforts don?t go waste.

While the actor made a flying visit and left after a prayer meeting, his father Suresh Oberoi, mother Yashoda and other relatives are camping in the village along with their spiritual guru Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, who runs an ashram in Rishikesh.

?Vivek and his father came to my ashram for the new year and when we heard about this tragedy in Tamil Nadu, we immediately decided to come down,? Chidanand said.

The family wanted to go to Nagapattinam first but with no access then, the Oberois reached Cuddalore. ?The district collector told us that Thevanampattinam was the worst affected and needs maximum help,? said Oberoi senior, in between answering and giving instructions over his cellphone.

For the tsunami-swamped residents of Thevanampattinam, one of the worst-hit fishing settlements in this district, Vivek?s assurance to ?adopt? the village was like a ray of hope. Ask anyone who got them food and blankets in the last three days, and their eyes would light up.

?Hindi (film) actor Vivek Oberoi is providing us food at the local Draupadi Amman temple,? said 10-year-old Mukesh Kumar, a smile on his lips. Moments ago, he had sat with a vacant look in his eyes in his empty house.

Chidanand, who held an impromptu meeting amid the ruins, said their first priority was to meet ?all the immediate requirements? of the villagers.

?Start working now,? he told the volunteers, among them Akancha, a woman from Join Together Society, a South Korea-based NGO, and M. Sundaresan, from Sarvadhana, an NGO in Tiruvannamalai district.