[This
post was written when Chennai was in the grip of fear on 1st
November, 2012. When Cyclonic storm Nilam was all set to strike the metro,
weather bloggers predicted unprecedented disaster and devastation to the metro.]
Cyclone
Nilam that hit Chennai last week was expected to be a grandiose affair having
had all potentials to devastate the metro. But then, a cyclone is not a messiah
and it never leaves a spot without getting it lambasted through tornadoes or
hurricanes or constant, aggressive pouring, that scare even a Noah.
Fortunately, Nilam got dissipated, became tame when it crossed the shores of
Mahaballipuram, a heritage treasure-trove, about 60 km south of Chennai
.
For
those who were indoors, the only effect they thought that Nilam left on its
trail was the abrupt shut down of power supply from midday to midnight. They
felt isolated from the outer world since TVs’ became mute, not able to flicker.
They were groping in the dark like the people living before the advent of
electricity. Through the dim light of melting candles they felt they still
existed.
I
love cyclones. For, with its many upheavals and being beyond the reach of man,
it shows its unbeatable, supreme prowess over man and his pet dogs -- science
and technology. I too hate cyclones since they bring in its train only
holocaust and devastation to humanity. How can a person love and hate a thing?
I must be a crank.
Fear
of cyclone starts the moment weather bulletins flash on TVs. When a forecast
announces a trough disturbance, rapidly increasing its size and strength and
moving north/west, we begin to shudder thinking that the would-be storm is
going to decimate the world.
So
it begins in our minds. A storm with gusts of over 120mph, still growing in
size and speed, as it moves toward a decrepit city or a cosmopolitan metro.
This time we were privileged to get the Nilam. Giving it a name at some point
did little to diminish the mysterious excitement of the whole thing.
A
Restaurant owner became taciturn and timid. Giving me a glass of Chennai filter
coffee, he asked me suddenly with fear-ridden eyes. ‘Sir, will Nilam strike at
his area?’ I startled, looking at him quizzically and said: ‘Why on earth, do
you ask such a bloody question?’ ‘Because’, he was a bit hesitant and replied,
‘I have opened this eatery very recently investing a huge fortune. I fear the
cyclone will make it all go at one stroke’. I didn’t know how to dispel his
fear. I had only pity on him. Everywhere, people are like the restaurant owner
only self-centered no matter it is storming or not.
The
cyclones themselves are always astounding and thrilling. We have some wild
bunch of people who would venture into sea-shore whether it is raining
furiously and sideways, hoping for a gust powerful enough to lift them up off
the ground.
When
we got our ears glued to FM radios [the only communication channel we could be
linked with] that’s updating the movement of the Nilam and the catastrophe it’s
causing around the city, I was surprised to hear the RJ announce that there
were bunches of adventurous youth parking themselves in the forbidden seashore,
snapping the furious waves, the turbulent sea and the darkened sky just to
upload them on their social sites. The awesome power of nature, the freedom of
the unknown, of innocence, of playfulness- all of it was so alive and
fascinating. Everything was rich and wild and sweet and amazing, even
difficulty and danger.
I
wait for another cyclone.
Rewinding
myself to my childhood days, I could still remember how we, the children, at
the time of a gathering storm, would huddle in a corner of the house, scary of
the howling winds or thunderclaps. As always, mother was our rallying point.
Seeing our fear-ridden faces and trembling bodies, she would make us sit around
her. Giving each one of us a rice-ball mixed with some curry, she would say:
‘Storms are nothing but gods coming over to the earth. They come in the form of
swirling winds and bolts of lightening only to destroy the baddies. They would
be benignant to those who are good and innocent. You children, you are always
good. So, you needn’t worry about storms’. Getting convinced of what mother had
said we would retire to our beds with new-find courage.
However,
times have changed. I could never say such things to the children of today or
justify the arrival of storms. When told that a cyclone is in the offing, one
of my neighborhood children retort saying: ‘Why, uncle? Why worry? If need be,
we can buy some windbreakers to deal with the storm.’ I could only laugh at his
childish ingenuity.
New-age
children with their knowledge and understanding about the Nature and its course
are better placed than us in taking the calamities of nature in their stride.
Image
courtesy: Google
Quotes
courtesy: ‘There is only Now’, by Scott Morrison]
