Allapad (Kerala): For 36-year-old Lall Puthenparambil, life after the tsunami has not been easy. The fisherman from Allapad lost his wife and his two daughters to the killer wave a year ago.

On that ill-fated day, the dead bodies of his family members were found floating in a lake near his house. The waves, which flooded his house, managed to alter the course of Puthenparambil's life too in a matter of just 20 minutes.

However, that very day, he decided that despite the fact that he had lost his own family, there were other families that needed saving.

Unmindful of his own loss, he pressed on to save people he did not know. Puthenparambil set out into the water with his two boats and managed to rescue 32 people.

Today, he has found an inner strength to move ahead in life. His parents are old and need looking after. Since it is the only thing he knows well, he goes out to sea everyday — even with a fractured leg.

"I have been going fishing for two months now. I fractured my leg bringing in some catch the other day but this is the only work I know and I have my parents to think of," he says.

As he stares blankly at the ocean, Puthenparambil knows that this was what took his family away from him. But despite the painful truth, he says he holds no grudge with water.

"Sometimes the reality of the situation strikes me when I go out to sea but the ocean is something that I have loved all my life. I don't allow the thought, that it shattered my life in a matter of minutes, when I am fishing," he says.

Though the tsunami robbed him of his family, Puthenparambil has not let the tragedy dampen his spirits. Today it is sheer courage and determination to face the odds in life, which keeps him going on in life.