The deep shock on hearing of the earthquake and the following tsunami still lingers. Just seeing the steady inflow of sea water into the land and the helplessness of the "highest creation" of god on earth... how can words convey what one feels. And to think of those caught in the tragedy...!
It is ironical that water, the source of life, can be so unforgiving as a cause for death and loss too.
Always wary of the sea, the 2004 tsunami had been a shock for me. And yet, we have grown up on stories of the submerging of Poompuhar in ancient times and Dhanushkodi in Rameswaram in more recent times - as latest as pre-independence India. Atlantis probably met the same fate, if it was indeed a reality.
But not just the sea. Last year, I got a message from a friend in the middle of the night - at 2 am - saying: Please pray for us.
Shocked and disoriented, I messaged back but got no response. I called first thing in the morning and her mother picked up. In the persistent rains on the preceding few days, a water reservoir had been opened and the water flooded the city. My friend lives in a low-lying area and water flowed into their streets - into their homes, through the windows.
Just hearing this sent shock waves through me. Imagine water flowing in at 2 in the night at window level and no signs of stopping.
Except for loss to property, there were no loss to lives, thankfully. But the moment must have been as scary as a tsunami.
That's an aside.
For those caught in the tsunami, was this the moment of reckoning, the end of world, the Pralaya, the great flood? Words, emotions - they are too small to be coherent to express what one feels.
It is ironical that water, the source of life, can be so unforgiving as a cause for death and loss too.
Always wary of the sea, the 2004 tsunami had been a shock for me. And yet, we have grown up on stories of the submerging of Poompuhar in ancient times and Dhanushkodi in Rameswaram in more recent times - as latest as pre-independence India. Atlantis probably met the same fate, if it was indeed a reality.
But not just the sea. Last year, I got a message from a friend in the middle of the night - at 2 am - saying: Please pray for us.
Shocked and disoriented, I messaged back but got no response. I called first thing in the morning and her mother picked up. In the persistent rains on the preceding few days, a water reservoir had been opened and the water flooded the city. My friend lives in a low-lying area and water flowed into their streets - into their homes, through the windows.
Just hearing this sent shock waves through me. Imagine water flowing in at 2 in the night at window level and no signs of stopping.
Except for loss to property, there were no loss to lives, thankfully. But the moment must have been as scary as a tsunami.
That's an aside.
For those caught in the tsunami, was this the moment of reckoning, the end of world, the Pralaya, the great flood? Words, emotions - they are too small to be coherent to express what one feels.
My prayers are with the victims and the people of Japan - and btw, your into to yourself is more than somewhat like mine on my FB page ;)
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