It is God's will

SUKHPUR (meaning the place of comfort), about seven km from Bhuj, is in deceptively good shape. All buildings on both sides of the State Highway remain erect, but for some cracks here and there. But once you enter the Old Town, you will find devastation at no less a scale than in Bhuj or Anjar. At least 100 people are said to have perished in the temblor.

Babulal Sundarji Jangan is the pujari of Mankeswar Mahadev aur Kashtbanjan (meaning One Who Relieves Pain) Hanuman temple. At 8 a.m. in the morning, he was cleaning the temple premises and refused to talk till he finished his work. "I was cleaning the temple as usual on January 26 when it struck," Babulalji said in chaste English. "The ground shook laterally and violently and the main temple disappeared in front of my eyes. Some blocks from this small temple too crashed."

"I did not move out. If God had willed me to die, there was no way I could escape, no matter where I ran. After the shaking stopped, I left the temple and went into the by-lanes and helped pull out some people from the rubble. Unfortunately many are still trapped within," he said.

"The problem is, as you can see for yourself, immediate relief did not reach here though Sukhpur is just seven km from Bhuj. No one has come to give us food or water so far. We make our own arrangements." When I stretched out my hand for a handshake, he recoiled in fear, "No, no! don't touch me now. I have my pujas to do." During the walk through this small town, a makeshift relief camp was found on its western border.

* * *

In Bhuj, Mahesh Pujara, a professional photographer who had his studio on the ground floor of his house and residence on the first floor, was brushing his teeth when the quake struck.

"The sound was a deep roar, as if a plane was taking off just a few metres from where I was standing."

"The children and I ran to him and held him tight. We crawled to the balcony and sat there silently, watching the buildings crash one after another. The cries of people for help could not drown the sound of the earthquake's roar," said Mrs. Pujara.

Asked why they had to take the risk of standing on their balcony, they said, "We could not think straight. It was an experience we would not like live through again ..."

The Pujaras, and hundreds of other survivors like them, are terrified each time a plane takes off from or lands at the Indian Air Force base, a part of which also serves as the airport for civilian flight operations.

Goutam Ghosh

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