Desperate to escape the warzone in Sri Lanka, a group of 21 people set out from Mulaitivu on April 21. Among them was eight-month-old Kuberan who was feeding on his mother's milk when she died. His family was on a boat with 20 others.

Each one was hoping for safety and the chance of a better life in Rameshwaram, nine hours away. But they got lost and soon they ran out of food and water. One by one 10 people died of hunger and dehydration and their bodies were thrown into the sea.
 
Lost at sea they finally landed on the Kakinada cost of Andhra Pradesh, but only 11 reached alive.

Kuberan in Hindu mythology means the 'Lord of Wealth'. But this eight-month-old is anything but that. He is the face of the tragic conflict in north Sri Lanka, symbolic of a future and a paradise lost.
 
"When we were in Sri Lanka, my father died, then my younger sister died, and then my wife. We were trying to escape to save our lives," said S Jagadeeswaran, one of the refugees.

In the last three months, at least 50 boats with Tamil civilians have left Mullaiteevu for Rameshwaram. But no one knows how many of them survived.

"My daughter was in my arms, my lap and she died right there," said Niranjana, a refugee.

Thus, the Sri Lankan civilians who tried to escape the violence, were washed up on India's shores.