It is so easy to say to contribute to the Relief fund for the people who were hit by the Tsunami's. Well I don’t think anyone tired imagining it how it would be if we were there.

I have had an experience which i would like to share with all. I hope after this everyone would know how it is to be there.

January 26, 2001
Ahmedabad.

It was early morning 7:00, and I was really excited about that particular day. The simple reason being I had just recovered from my fractured leg and was allowed to play cricket after 6 months. And 26th January being India’s republic day, we had a holiday in college and we had arranged a cricket match in one of the maidans (as we call it there). I was pretty excited and woke up, got fresh and rushed to the grounds and was there sharp at 7:00. I just could not wait for the match to start and take the bat in my hands. Yes I was a bit nervous because I was not playing from the last 6 months and I really didn’t know how I would play the first ball I faced. We won the toss, elected to bat and then I went to the middle of the pitch to bat and to face the first ball. This not being a very huge match, the umpires are from the respective teams itself so my friend was on the watching me perform. I could feel the adrenalin rushing from my stomach till my throat as the ball came nearer to me. I played, and missed. Man I never was so nervous in life. I played a couple of balls and than got into my normal mood of scoring runs. After a few overs, I was feeling tired and exhausted, just because I was out of match practice. I was at the other end of the batting side, talking to my friend (he was umpiring), and than suddenly I felt so uneasy. I felt giddy and shivers running from my feet till my head. I immediately turned to my friend and said, “Jigar I am not feeling well, I don’t think I will be able to continue”. He replied, “Vandan me too”. And I just gave him a smile thinking he is just kidding and pulling my leg as usual. However back of minds we were thinking what was happening to me. We could not even think or imagine what was coming and what we were going to experience. All this happened in I would say fraction of seconds and than I cold hear a huge roar coming beneath the ground. It was as if 1000 army tanks marching towards a war. I felt as if the earth is just going to tear apart and something that is trapped within it is just going to come out whizzing. With all the ground shaking I was struggling even to stand on my own feet and when I saw up, I could see the building swinging likes swinging towers, and the vehicles parked moving up and down as if you are sitting in a roller coaster. After about 2 minutes it all settled down. And all of us who were running here and there got together. No one of us there could even utter a word; we just didn’t know how to react to the situation. And than after a long silence I spoke, “it’s just a small earthquake I think, lets get on with game, we will see this news tomorrow in the newspaper. And I think we all are the lucky ones to experience it this way”.

But I was absolutely wrong. I was at the safest place to be during an earthquake. We all happily finished the match, we won it comfortably and were getting ready to go home, and no one among us was unaware of what we are going to experience.

I went with my friend to drop him to his house. And on the way home we saw each and every person in the city on the roads. And seeing this we both thought “all these people have no work or what, one small earthquake and they are making such a big fuss about it”. It was an earthquake of 7.9 on the Richter Scale. As soon as we reached home, his mother saw my friend and just hugged him and started crying as if he is returned from the war front after many years. We both were quite amazed at it. And than my mobile kept ringing. I received the call and it was my friend who stays very near to my house. As soon as I received she just asked me one thing, “Are you alright?” I said “I am fine and what wrong why you people are making such a big fuss about it”. Listening to this she started crying and just told me to go home as my mom was getting nervous and was trying to contact me. I later realized that due to the earth quake many communication lines had broken down, and I was really luck to get a call at that time.

So now I just left for my house, thinking what would have happened, why are people reacting like this, what is so serious? And it was Serious. The moment I thought this, I saw a 10 storied building, right on the road, collapsed. Seeing this I got my shivers back, and this was not due to the earthquake, this was my blood running from top to bottom. The moment I saw this, I came to know the seriousness about the earthquake and I just accelerated towards my house. Because I know the construction of my house was really bad and I just could not think about anything but reaching there as soon as my bike could take me there.

I was relieved when I reach home, Home Sweet Home… it was standing right there. As soon as I reached, my mom just saw me and started crying. She was overjoyed after looking at me. I could not have imagined at that moment that it was so serious. After I settled down there, mom wanted to go to the next lane. There is where one of our relatives stayed; they were in the USA, when this happened. I went with mom, and as soon as we went there, the only thing what we could see there was the terrace of the building. The whole 3 floor building was inside the ground. My mom got a shock, and was just taken aback, not because my relatives lost their house, but there were 4 other families staying there. The worst part, 3 children staying there were at school celebrating India’s republic day, have no idea what has happened. On my way we went to my friend’s house, who had called me. There exactly opposite to her house, say it would be 25 Feet from her house, another 4 floor building had collapse from front bottom. So the building was standing, however at 450 angle. Luckily everyone was able to come out of the building, but an old lady could not make her way out when the building collapsed.

I didn’t have words to express and feeling to show how I was feeling at that time. In fact no one was in a state to think what to do next. After a few hours, we had announcements made all around the city; not to enter the high rise houses unless they were inspected. Every person, in the city, having a house, could not go in, just because of the fear of another jolt. I never got to experience the earthquake sitting at home, because till now what I heard, I could figure out that it was quite frightening. Till evening no one went up home, we all were sitting down; and I was getting restless, because I could not see my mom and dad sitting down, thinking what to do and shivering in the cold. I made up my mind and went up home to get some warm clothes for them. I stay at the 3rd floor and every floor I cleared I saw the extensive damage done to the whole building. I would rather say my parents were very lucky to survive. I went up home, took some clothes bed sheets and went down.

I than went out for a walk to see how everything, the only thing I could see was, all people sitting down and starring with their eyes right to the house they built with so much of emotions and dreams. It indeed is one of the prized possessions for anyone. It was really disturbing at that moment. I went straight home and just said to my mom, “I am going up, you want to come?”. Mom didn’t speak a word. Because she know what I can’t stay for a long time in some fear and I would break out any moment, and that’s what I did. Mom and dad, both came and seeing us, all of us in our flat went home, and switched on the TV just to see, debris of famous building’s collapsed and thousands inside them. After about few hours, when everyone settled down at home, it was time for one more jolt. At around 11:30 PM, I could hear that roar and everything at home moving. It was as if you are sitting on a chair which is on the mountain tip and some one is shaking it. Though it was just a tremor which lasted for few seconds, but it was more frightening than the one I experienced in the open grounds. I realized at that moment, what my mom and dad had experienced, what people would have experienced sitting at home at that time. Within minutes the whole city was back on the streets.

Days went by and than the reconstruction for our building started. We were allowed to move back to our house and I could see relived faces around me. However my and my friends were not yet relieved. We were thinking of those who were trapped, now for 7 days and there were not many people to help them. I started to go to all the places, and tried to help how much ever I could but they would not allow us to enter the area also. I met a person who had 3 houses in the city, and every building where he had a house had collapsed. I could see it in his eyes, how he felt, he was absolutely speechless. I and my friend, after a lot of trying got a chance to help at a place. We were trying to figure out how to remove the debris, when my friend shouted from the other side that he could see some one’s hand and he tried to pull it out. To his grief and all our grief, what he pulled out was just a hand. He just could not believe what he had seen and touched. He came to me and told he wanted to go home, and I dropped him home. I didn’t know what to do at that moment; I could not even console him at that time. The only thing I can say is “it was Bad”.

Situation was getting worse. People staying in relief camps and tents didn’t have enough food, and warm clothes with which they could cover themselves. It gets bitter cold at nights, temperatures dropped to 40 at times. I still remember reading the newspaper saying a 4 year child died because of cold. Everyone was trying to help in whatever manner they could. We had enough help coming in terms of food and fruits, but not many people to manage them. We needed more people who could help remove the debris.

Time went by and people got used to the aftershocks and tremors, and than it was just a matter of time, when everything was normal once again. People of Ahmedabad had experienced the unexpected.

“Man with all his dreams, emotions, hopes and love gathers or rather earns his prized possession, working hard for years… however it just took Mother Nature a minute and a half to destroy it.”

This was a small experience which i shared with you. It was an earthquake and we got enough time to settle and get to safe positions. However if you have the power of imagination, than just imagine Waves of 100 Feet high coming towards you at 700 Km/Hr. You just cant think at that moment what to do. They just come and all is over.

It was heartening to see how much India has achieved in such a short period of time. But the test for everyone will be the next stage - the rehabilitation and rebuilding of hundreds of thousands of homes, schools and hospitals. It will take at least four to five years. And it is not just the bricks and mortar that need to be fixed. We need to implement a programme offering emotional support and crisis counselling for people struggling to cope with the psychological impact of the disaster.

Everybody thought about the people of Gujarat, their recovery and an end to this gloom that prevailed for at lest 2 to 3 months. But in Gujarat there was no such collective mood of despair. I didn't meet anyone who thought of themselves as a victim. Maybe it's cultural, maybe it's religious, maybe it's just the way it is, the people have no choice but to get on with things as best they can. But whatever it is that's inside them, fatalism or the belief that their lives are in the hands of a higher spirit, it seems that even if you take everything away, there's still something left: their belief in themselves.