Earthquake

In front of my office on Camac Street

On the afternoon Kolkata was rocked by a mild tremor, I received numerous calls from friends and family. My brother was the first to call to find out whether I had come out of my office building. The high rise where he works had been vacated completely .He asked me to move to an  open space. Rumours were flying around .One ex-colleague who was travelling by Rajdhani Express to Kolkata that day called to check whether my office building on Camac Street was affected. A co- passenger had got the news on his mobile from a relative  that several buildings on Camac Street had developed cracks. I was at a publishers office that afternoon and phones were ringing wildly everywhere. Good pretext to catch up with friends and well-wishers after long time. People had their individual experiences to share -some real, some imaginary. The office areas witnessed the maximum activity. It was also a good break from the monotony of office life. I was out on work and could see residential areas lying  quiet in the afternoon lull  as usual . I do not think people were scared. A friend who decided to sit and enjoy his meal  amongst rattling pantry chairs during his lunch time, remarked that in Japan such tremors are almost regular affairs. He happens to visit Japan often as part of his various scientific research activities .There was concern generally because citizens felt  Kolkata was not prepared to handle earthquakes of any major dimension or magnitude.

Can any civilization ever be prepared to handle the fury of nature at any time.