Disasters..

Nature has its own catastrophic way of getting back at mankind. The Tsunami disaster that more than just shook South-East Asia earlier this year; and now the Hurricane Katrina. I must admit, the author had only vaguely heard of the tsunami (was an important quiz trivia in those geography talent quizzes) and didn't really know the modus operandi of the hurricane/other cyclonic storms. Both these events have been devastating for sure. Lives and property have been lost. All this would be a not-so-gentle reminder, that, despite what all that mankind can do, nature still holds the upper hand. Irrespective of the sophisticated weather-monitoring systems in vogue today, such disasters continue to happen.

One gratifying thing that I noticed during both these difficult times, was the spirit of humanity in action. Sadly, the same spirit lies pregnant inside the womb of "My life, my blues, my family, my work, ...etc" most of the times. Sometimes, I do wonder if human beings have lost that vital sense to think beyond just their lives. No, no, I am not advocating any of anti-Roark sentiments out here. But then, do we do anything at all towards Mother Nature - to whom we must be more than just grateful. Do we acknowledge and count our blessings. Definitely not, in most cases. It's always the life of a cribber. Nothing could possibly satisfy us. There is always a yearning and a craving for something beyond the present. I guess I am digressing out here. I will address this in a separate post.

Coming back to disasters!! The world has come together in providing relief efforts, and thankfully, most differences are forgotten. Is'nt it ironical. The world needs disasters to stop fighting and come together. The affected regions receive attention and finances too. There is an unprecedented spurt of development in those regions. This is in a way good. But again, one of the ironies of life. If no disaster were to happen at that place, that place would have been rusting its way to under-development. This was coming straight from one of the relief camps of Tamil Nadu, after the Tsunami disaster. Villagers living just outside the affected regions, were wondering, as to how unfortunate they were because the Tsunami didn't affect their lives. They felt that the relief efforts post-Tsunami would really benefit their "fortunate" neighbours. Strange are the ways of the world.

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Hurricanes are beneficial too. They provide rain to those regions in the world which would otherwise have been very arid. Nature's feedback mechanism of driving the heat from the hot equatorial regions to the tropics helps in maintaining the heat balance in the earth.

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This blog is dedicated to the people affected in these two disasters. Sadly, nothing can be done about the lives and property lost. The survivors need great fortitude in beginning a new phase of life. Here's wishing them "All the very best".