SILENCE OF THE TREMORS

A 16-year-old girl, my student, asked me, last afternoon: “Sir, did you feel the earthquake, this morning?”

I looked at her with surprise. “At what time?” I asked her.

“Around 8.30 or so…” the young girl told excitedly, “I was sleeping… and, suddenly everything around started shaking… I fell off the bed!!!”

Now, at 8.30, I was in my class, teaching… The epicenter – the young girl’s house – was a mile or two away from my classes… I had not experienced any tremors… my desks and benches were not shaking and none of my young students were thrown off their seats…

So, I smiled when the young one was giving the ‘breaking news’ – with the graphic details…

Just a day ago, I had received such reports from my home town, Mangalore… “There, that building shook… There, that entire colony came out… There, the light house developed cracks… There, ten fishing boats are missing… There, the school has declared a holiday… There…”

So, two days ago, according to these breaking-news stories, Mangalore, my hometown, was trembling, and trembling badly!

And, in the night, my friend, Joe, who lives there – and, who can sleep well even when an atom bomb is dropped - sent me this goodnight message: “The earthquake in Mangalore wasn’t even able to shake my dog’s fluffy tail… So, have a good sleep!”

Yes, reports do say, in today’s news papers (I haven’t watched TV news for ages!), that Mumbai had felt some aftershocks of tremors in some other places… But, certainly, there was no report of my young student falling off her bed!

I smiled again, thinking about it.

“Jahan sab, wahan hum.” 

Many years ago, when Latur and Killari were devastated by one of the worst earthquakes in our history, an elderly lady had reacted like this. Everyone was running like scared rats, running anywhere and everywhere… and, this lady, standing like a mighty rock in the middle of a violent sea, was telling us, “Pointless darlings, just pointless….If you and I have to go, we will!”

Some five years after that, this lady had fought a valiant battle with her two failed kidneys. It was so painful to see her suffering; we couldn’t do much to bring her pain down… She fought it with whatever strength she possessed. She died with grace…!

And, when her frail body was going in flames, 

that night, 

I did cry thinking about what she had said 

when Latur and Killari 

were flattened to the ground:

“Jahan sub, wahan hum!”

As I was reading the ‘tiny’ report in today’s newspaper about yesterday’s ‘deadly earthquake’, I smiled thinking about what my young, excited student had said, last afternoon… And, I also remembered what this brave, elderly lady had said years ago to calm all of us down.

By now, I was smiling with my wet eyes!

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pics.: Roopa Sushil