Restaurant named July 30, new house: Wayanad man who lost 11 of family in landslide rebuilds life

Noufal lived at Mundakkai, the village in Kerala’s Wayanad district that was totally wiped out in the landslides that claimed 298 lives, washed away houses and buildings, and buried whole families.

On the day of the tragedy, Noufal was in Oman, where he worked as a chef. The next day, he flew back home, only to find just rubble where his house once stood. He soon learnt that his wife, parents and other close relatives were among 11 of his family to have died in the landslides.

“I had to go through the trauma of seeing their bodies. Of the 11, I could only identify five. The rest were identified through DNA tests,” he said.

A few days after the tragedy, he said, “I made the decision that I should look forward. I realised that my lost life, my family and belongings will never come back. While lodged in a temporary building, I decided not to dwell on the tragedy and the loss.”

While counsellors had been deputed to help survivors deal with the trauma, Noufal said he told them not to visit him. “Because every such session will only bring back those haunting memories. I tried to heal myself.”

Not just his family, a large number of residents of his village died in the landslides. He said all this made him feel like going back to Oman, but he decided to stay back until the results of all the DNA tests were released.

Then, the Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen — a Muslim  socio-religious organisation — came forward with help. “The KNM offered me Rs 7 lakh to find a livelihood. It was my wife Sajna’s  dream that I should come back to Kerala and settle here by starting a restaurant,” he said.

Deciding to carry forward the wife’s dream, he started a restaurant-cum-bakery, which he named ‘July 30’ in memory of the day that upended his life, in Wayanad’s Meppadi town on the road leading to the tragedy-hit villages.

“When I named the restaurant ‘July 30’, many people criticised me. But everyone who goes to the affected areas should recall that day, the tragedy and the loss. That will make people humble and bring them closer to God,” he said.

Months after the tragedy, the Oman chapter of the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC), an expatriate charity organisation founded by the Indian Union Muslim League, bought land and started constructing a new house for Noufal at Moopainadu village in Wayanad. Last month, the KMCC handed over the key of the new house to Noufal.

Last month, Noufal ushered in another new beginning by getting married to Safna.

He said, “A lot of people I did not know have helped me get my life back on track. I have never seen most of those benefactors. This happens only in Kerala. Now, people say that my life, the way I put behind those traumatic days, is a lesson for those who lost everything in the tragedy.”