In New Orleans there was shooting and looting when the floods came last month. When a similar situation struck India's financial capital Bombay a month earlier, there was no violence, just free wada-pav bread.

Residents say street vendors passed out the 'wada-pav' or 'pav-wada', potato-filled bread, to their fellow citizens wading through waist-high water in a sign that the disaster, which killed more than 400, brought the city together rather than tearing it apart as appeared to happen in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina struck the US southern Gulf coast at the end of August.

The street vendors' response seems to symbolise what South Asians say is the region's familiarity with, and resilience in the face of, numerous natural calamities. "What we are seeing in USA is complete chaos," said Farida Lambe, vice-president of the Nirmala Niketan College which helped in relief and rehabilitation work during the Bombay floods. "My assessment is that many of the problems arose as the people are not used to facing calamities. They expect complete efficiency and find it difficult to cope if it does not come about."

More than 1,000 people died in late July and early August across India, when days of heavy rain turned the streets of major Indian cities into rivers. Bombay police commissioner A.N. Roy confirmed there were no cases of looting, arson or violence when the floods hit. "Even stray cases of robbery were not heard or reported," he said.

Bombay has nearly 20 million residents. New Orleans had about 500,000. In the Indian city, political parties provided guards at relief camps to help keep valuables and money safe. But in New Orleans, looting and other crimes prompted authorities to eventually send in thousands of US troops. "Bombay and the country as a whole are more resilient and hands-on. Though we had trouble initially, considering the number of people staying in Bombay, we did a fair job," Lambe said.

Courtesy: AFP