A Night with Earthquake

With the beginning of 21st century the world had witnessed so many of natural calamities like volcanic eruptions, major cyclones, tsunamis, and on the top of the list EARTHQUAKES....

 India itself witnessed an Earthquake in Bhuj, Gujarat with the starting of new millennium....which devastated the life of so many people that they are still trying to recover from it....

The human race wasn't have recovered from it yet and another Earthquake stroked in the last month of 2004.... The epicentre was in Sumatra, Indonesia....It was so high on Richter scale that due to the strong tremors inside the earth, it gave rise to Tsunami in Indian ocean which swept millions of lives across southern India and neighbouring countries.....everything was scattered......so many died, so many lost....

Life as we knew it ended for many....

7 years down the memory lane, when I remember those deadly waves of Tsunami, I get horrified all over again and the fear of losing my near ones grips me....but what has to happen has to happen.... no one has any control over it..... one can just pray to the almighty for the well being of everyone....but it doesn't ends here....Mother nature can have other plans..... The plans with which no one will be aware of ever..... One can only regret after the consequences.....

ANOTHER DAY OF LIFE.....

 It was a beautiful morning....It seemed the sun was embracing the clouds with its sunbeams reaching to every corner of the world.... The chirruping of the birds was so melodious that the heart was constantly humming songs with them.... The mighty winds were touching the hair as if they were flowing with a joy, a joy which they needed to share..... After realising the beauty of everything, I realised one more thing.....I was getting late for the office.....and one more thing echoed in my head, the heavy and cruel voice of my boss....."again got late"......however he is not so cruel but still a boss is your senior, you mostly have to agree to him....but then if you are good to someone, that someone will only reflect goodness......without wasting much of my time I left for office.....

I reached....There was something special in the air today, everyone was glowing as if there was nothing but happiness all across their lives....and as we say if the environment is good, your heart never distracts..... With this thought I went up to my desk and indulged in the work....and I got so busy that when the hands of clock hit 1pm, I didn't notice..... One of my friends asked me are you fine??

"I am absolutely fine, what happened?” said I....

Friend: no you seem to be pretty busy with work...

(Till the moment he came, I was done with the work)

Me: yeah....I had been asked by Boss to complete this project for him and he will add me in board of directors of the organisation....

Friend: oh really!!! Congrats brother.... or let me put it this way, congrats sir....

Me: thanks brother...no need to be formal....I am always your mate....

Friend: hmmm....so have you noticed the time??

Me: no...It is 1pm...Oh....I didn't notice....Its lunch time...let's go....

Friend: yeah sure, today is a treat from your side....

Me: treat (smiled)....hmmm....okay....

and we left for the canteen....when we came back, we got surprised.....Boss was standing there as if he was waiting to tell something....we got there, and wished him hello sir, how are you?

Boss: yeah, I am fine....Hope u people are done with your lunch....

Me: yes, definitely sir....

Friend: what happened sir? Is everything fine?

Boss: No (a bit louder).....I am here to tell all of you something....

Everyone got frightened initially, and so were we as what was the thing that he is going to say, we really didn’t have any clue of that; he continued........but once he finished there were smiles on the faces of everyone....he granted us holiday for the rest half of the day and it was the last working day of the week....It really feels great pleasure to be granted a holiday by your Boss itself.....It was such a memorable day.....we all left from the office very happily in a mood to enjoy the extended weekend....

Was reaching nearer to home and there in a deserted ground I saw a young girl who was playing with her doll in the shed of the sun.... By looking at her I remembered the childhood of my sister....and stopped right there to relive it again for a while.....with a smile on her face she was telling her doll, “You are my closest friend, I will miss you so much when you will go away with your husband.... you know, I m getting yourself married to the king of dreams....he will come on a white royal horse, and will take you to the dreamland where there will be no one other than you, him and fairies to take care of you both..... I will really miss you”.... there were tears in her eyes and it seemed as if  she was waiting to let her speak.....though I wanted to condole her, I stopped myself again to see her next perspective.... after a while, when she gathered herself she again spoke, “I know you will not speak.... I know you too are crying....” it was so touching and the moment was really emotional....there were tears in my eyes to see such innocence.....

 After witnessing this, I departed for home and reached there.....

My mother was sitting on the sofa and as usual was indulged in surfing T.V channels.....sometimes I got irritated with this habit of hers but as it was such beautiful day, my perspective changed regarding her....she was looking as cute as that girl who was playing with her doll.....it is rightly said, kids and aged people are all alike....I went up to her and pulled her cheeks.....as usual she again got angry, yelled at me, and yet again I was smiling....sometimes she behave with such cuteness that your heart craves to do crazy stuff and irritate her...not just to harass her, but to see  lively emotions on her face....she looks so satisfied when she shower her love in form of anger on me....and I am satisfied to see her this way........I sat down next to her.....

She: how you are here so early? Resigned from the job....

Me: didn’t resign (something was running in my mind to irritate her again)....

She: so what happened exactly?

Me: something serious....

She: (getting louder) so will you please tell me what has happened if you consider me your mother.....

Me: (smiling inside the heart) hmmm....yes, I consider you my mother....

She: oh! How obliged I am after hearing this....thank you for considering me your mother

(Sarcastically)...now will you please shower your kindness upon me to tell how you are here so early?

Me: nothing mom, boss gave us all a half day leave....that’s why I am here so early....

She: (suspicious) are you telling me the truth?

Me: yes mamma....you know something, I love you so much (never said this to my parents but deep down in my heart I have always craved to see them happy, to make them proud, but this time couldn’t stop myself by saying this to her)

She: (confused) what have you said??

Me: I said, I love you mamma....

She: so finally you realised.....

Me: aaaaarghhhh.... (Mixed emotions) yes I have realised....

 Still she was looking so cute by constantly looking at me....

Me: now what happened to you? Why are you staring me?

She: you know something, I too love you so much son....

I felt so happy that I hugged her so tightly and brought her favourite snacks from the market....she was having it with so much appreciation, my eyes again got filled with tears.....

The day was such a beautiful day but still gave me so many reasons to have tears, but tears of happiness....

But something which begun with beauty need not necessarily end with it....and this was proven that night.....

So many of my friends called me up to tell how amazing their day passed and I told them the same....everyone was indeed happy today.....but we didn’t know till what time does it going to remain.....

Meanwhile,

My mother, sister and I were talking to each other about our past and was having such a decent interaction that we don’t have often....because of our busy schedules we are generally unable to give each other proper time.... I remain busy with office, sister with her studies and mum with T.V and her tensions......

While we were interacting, I heard someone screaming....before I could analyse it I myself got the shock when I realised that the surface below us was shivering...It was an EARTHQUAKE....I told my mom and sister to rush down the ladders and exit from home....and hopefully this time, they did the same without arguing.... I picked a water bottle with me, rushed down the ladders and exited from home....I found my family waiting for me....rest of the colony members came down too....we all rushed to an open area....to the same deserted ground where that girl was playing......

Till this day we all used to think about the victims who have faced this horrifying situation when you have to leave your house on God’s faith which took years to convert in home....and about those people whose family members die after getting stuck in their respective homes....

It was such hard situation to have been dealt of....but when you will disturb Mother Nature, you will have to be ready for the changes....the speed with which the growth is taking place throughout the world, it is taking place in compensation of destruction of the environment.....

It is a fact of science that each and everything needs to be in equilibrium, and if it doesn’t it will automatically find ways to be in it....and when Nature itself find its ways, nothing remain in our hands....

All we were doing is doing is to pray to the almighty to let everyone live happily without any sorrow.....all of a sudden, a sound made us nearly deaf....when we observed, it was an old building near the colony which fell down due to the tremors.....we were shouting, screaming and was totally fearful....and I again got shocked when I saw that little girl near me holding her doll close to her....she asked me, “why are you getting afraid?”

Me: I am not getting afraid (didn’t want her to feel unsafe)....

She: I am really frightened because last time something like this happened I lost my parents and since then I am living in this ground but after seeing so many people here, I am really worried will they allow me to live in this place?

I was totally in a state of shock as then I thought that she was just another girl who was playing with her doll....didn’t realise the reason of hers to play in the shed of sun...

Me: Are u staying alone here?

She: yes...!!

Me: don’t you fear from these things?

She: no, my parents used to tell me whatever has to happen have to happen....just pray to God for best and be prepared for worst....

I was touched with her childish yet mature behaviour.....

Me: your parents are right.... They (all colony members) are here to pray to God with you as you are a child, and God loves children....so God listens to the voice of children sooner than he listens to the voice of anyone else....that’s why they are here....

She: oh! Then I will really pray to God that whatever is happening should stop so that everyone can live happily....and so does my best friend will pray.....

It is rightly said children have honest hearts, so the almighty listens to them sooner than he listens to any other person....

And finally the tremors stopped.....!!!

All our prayers showed results....but now we feared to go into our homes.... we were not having any more power to fight anything of that sort again......but where there is a will, there is a way....people again disturbed God, remembered him again and then enter their homes....

I told my family to go to our home and check if everything is fine.....and told them I will be coming in a minute....they too left the ground.....now the girl and I were alone in the ground....I thanked her for praying to God....

She: I too want to thank you for saving me and allowed me to live here....

Again I left teary eyed....

Me: It would have been a big problem living in an open ground....

She: It is but I don’t have any option....

Me: you do have... I will be giving you a home and a school....

She: I don’t want any favours....My parents always used to teach me, don’t take help from strangers....

I was again smiling at her innocence....

Me: Its neither a favour nor I am a stranger....You have helped me so much in saving so many lives by praying to God....so if you would have been a stranger I myself wouldn’t have taken help from you....Moreover, I am not giving you any favour.... like you have helped me, I too want to help you a bit...Am I correct?

She: hmmm.... (Don’t wanted to admit it but was confused whether she helped me or not)

Me: Don’t think so much.... In return I will be seeing the wedding of your best friend and you will have to give me a treat...

She happily agreed and I after wishing her a good night, came back home.....my family was there to welcome me again....I asked them to sleep...its too late, said I....

I too went on to bed and remembered each and everything which happened that day....the tears of happiness and sadness I had that day....the fear of losing my close ones which gripped me....this day will always be memorable...... to everyone not because we undergone various emotions of life but because we all survived “A NIGHT WITH EARTHQUAKE”