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Thursday, February 01, 2001

400 dead at Rattnal, 900 at Tappovar, but the figures stopped shocking hours ago

"You can't smell death at 3,000 feet up in the air. Nor can you see death at that height. You can only spot pockets of destruction. Patches of desolation. Yes, you start realising something is amiss. Three helicopters and yet no villagers waving frantically at the flying machines. Something terribly wrong. Dead towns, you see, do not wave, even if the helicopter happens to be ferrying the Prime Minister of the country."

—The Hindu. Harish Khare narrates what is clearly not a political photo opportunity at the scene of massive destruction caused by India's earthquake. "Our driver, we discover, is one Vittalbhai Anam... Vittalbhai is loquacious. Animated. He starts talking, sixteen to a dozen, about the tragedy that had befallen his native town, Anjar. Only after a few minutes does the realisation dawn on us that Vittalbhai is totally traumatised, and talking to complete strangers is probably working as a spot of catharsis."'

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