My wife told me that an astrologer had predicted the earthquake. I told her that our grandfathers had been telling us that the big one would strike in eighty years and this frightening ordeal was long overdue. Then we got into a small argument even though we were holding each other amidst the constant shaking of our vehicle. I told her to inquire about our Nepali Nostradamus and find out his address so I could beat him black and blue. If this guy knew that the Big One was coming then he should have published an advertisement in our major dailies so that we could be more prepared.I requested my wife not to believe all the fake news posted on Facebook whereas she told me to shut up and hold her tightly. And then she made fun of me for always trying to be Mr. Right. After a few shakes, we got out of the vehicle to make sure that everything was fine around us. Except for a few crumbled walls, Thapthali was fine. Hundreds of college students in the surrounding campuses were out on the streets. I don't know if it they had classes or it was the entrance exams. Everybody was scared while my wife suddenly developed a craving for mitha paan. I wanted to get a quick smoke even though I had promised her that I would quit smoking from Saturday and I was fine until the earthquake.
After finding out that our immediate family members were safe, we drove back home to check our dogs and our water tank. The dogs were fine but the water tank had cracks and the water filled the night before by our local water tanker had drained away. Our neighbors were all outside and they were all talking about how another big one was coming soon. Nobody knew the exact time but some Swami had predicted it a few months earlier. I guess the Swami just didn't want to take the credit so he never came out in the open to brag about his prediction.
The next day, when we experienced the big aftershock, I was chasing my dog outside my house. I wanted to give him a bath because he had been dozing off on top of fresh cow dung. We are used to seeing our holy cows as volunteer traffic cops during non-earthquake days but after the big one, it seemed as if every neighborhood had a few cows roaming around. I guess the owners of these cows were busy camping outside while they forgot about the milk producers.
There were many aftershocks after that. On Sunday night, I was in the restroom when there was another big aftershock. I was camping outside my sister's house. I bolted outside and reached the camping site in less than two seconds. I think if Usain Bolt had competed with me that night, I would probably have beaten him and broken the world record in 100m.
After getting hold of the local mistri, the water tank was plastered and some water-proof thing was done in it. The water tanker came and filled the water. We were happy. After two weeks of minor aftershocks, another Big One shook us all. I was in my house on the first floor. My wife was in the kitchen on the third floor. I just stood under a door and asked my wife to do the same upstairs. After being shaken and stirred for what it felt like more than fifteen seconds, we both managed to walk out of the house calmly.
Then I went right back in to check the water tank. It was slowly leaking. I wanted to turn on the machine and pull the water up in the other tank but there was no electricity. Well, I can't blame the NEA for shutting down the grid. We all have to take precautions. If only one of our great astrologers had warned us all that another Big One was coming in two weeks then I wouldn't have fixed the water tank. Now, I am thinking of getting one of those big plastic tanks instead of plastering or water-proofing the old concrete tank.
And I hope our astrologers or whoever seem to think that they can predict earthquakes should start an SMS service where we can pay them a monthly fee. If they are right then we can all pitch in and give him a cash prize. But no one can predict such catastrophe and those who predict such events should be tied around a rocket and fired all the way to Mars. And for those who like to share such fake predictions and news to scare us all should be barred from using Facebook for a year and that includes my wife as well.
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