"Wake up" ," Get moving"...Mon's shrill voice pierced through my ears,and i darted out of the bed....looked askance through the window and wondered why on earth was Mon
considering to jog so early...It was still dark outside; then I looked at the alarm clock(the same machine you and I set to buzz ..and still want it never to buzz, and when audaciously does so, slam it on! n then again go back to Zzzzzz..)it was only 2.30.a.m!!
Following her was Maggi, whose words shook the ground beneath my feet..she cried out loud"EARTHQUAKE'S GONNA STRIKE..Run,people!!!".
Well,I got carried away...in the fleeting world of cinema..
The Titanic plot where the sailor sees the iceberg and warns" ICEBERG ,RUN AHOY"..flashed across my inward eye..
Then Day After Tomorrow's climatic catastrophe where the scientist warns people about the snowstorm...and asks them to MIGRATE.
Hmmm..but here were we in BIT where earthquake was being forecast..interesting
I did recollect from the project work i did in geography during school a) earthquakes cannot be predicted 2) usually are nocturnal 3)Ranchi lies in the safe belt region
Nevertheless the 2nd clause was true..it was 2.30 night/morning....whatever..
so some scare was justified.
TAKE 1
So,we got the front gate of our hostel opened..and out were we in the cold..under the stars..(rare for gals at BIT).
Each of our hostel inmates was out..some rubbing eyes, some running to get out asap
Frnds advising each other not to stand near electric poles and how to go about doing this ..that..
The Best part being ppl coming out of the hostel with their prized possessions eg.laptops n mobile,GPA cards!!!(not me please)
Fellow Gujju frnz reciting their harrowing anecdotes about the quake that rocked Bhuj...resulting in great number of casualties..and i was left musing..
What if the same happens here too..
Then i appease myself thinkin "Naaa...My horoscope both in HT and TOI predicted the week was gonna be enjoyable..
I could head for a hotel but definitely not a hospital.."
TAKE 2
Waiting outside people had started to play songs on their laptops.."Kal ho naa ho","Armageddon"..and other eerie songs.
I wish I had a Laptop then...I would have preached some optimissim by playing "I M ALIVE(celine)","Brand New Day(Sting)"..
After an hour the scene became more of a picnic than a pandemonium...with people relaxin,and laughing at the stupidity who-so-ever ignited the scare..
I bet you wouldn't believe they were the same ,who were running helter skelter a while ago.
Alas!!Leave alone quake not even a tremor was felt..
"Hoax it was"..told our hostel supdt.
And then I went back to my room , slammed the door ,set the alarm to buzz at 7.30am.
N.B:-By now you must have realised that 8.0 stands for my hostel no. and definitely not richter intensity.
