IN THE grim aftermath of the horrific destruction of the World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon, thousands of followers of Nostradamus are reacting to his famous predictions. No doubt, one gets wise after an event has taken place but Nostradamus did not make it easy for us to comprehend his prediction as he composed his verse in an ambiguous mixture of French, Greek and Latin.

One of the many translations of Quatrain 97 made on September 12 reads — ``In the city of York there will be a great collapse... twin brothers torn apart by chaos ... and while the fortress falls a great leader will succumb...a third big war will begin when the big city is burning.''Another translation states: ``In the year of the new century and nine months, from the sky will come a great king of terror... the sky will burn at 45 degrees... fire approaches the new city.''Yet another prediction says: ``The big war will begin when the big city is burning... On the 11th day of the 9th month two metal birds will crash into two tall statues and the world will end soon after..."

The allusions are unmistakeable. Millions of people the world over, had discussed the doomsday prediction of Nostradamus for years. And when it did come true there was a fatalistic feeling that what is destined is unavoidable.

Several prominent personalities in the city reacted to Nostradamus' predictions...

Says S. R. Lakshminarayanan, astrologer:``I had conveyed my belief to a Mumbai astrologer that the position of Rahu, the eighth planet, boded ill for America. Even now it is my conviction that a catastrophe of even greater dimensions will strike America in November or December this year. I am certain that Nostradamus' prediction is accurate."

Sounds scary? Well, let's hear Philip Eapen, Marketing Director, MRF Ltd.``Though I am not familiar with Nostradamus, there is something to be said for his prediction, going by all that I hear."

Jerusalem-born Dr. George John, Professor of Nephrology, CMC Hospital, Vellore, warns,``Nostradamus has been so interpreted that one can expect Apocalypse at the start of this Century. Though it is difficult to make such interpretations, it would be wise to be careful."

Malini Shankar, IAS, who is at present Joint Development Commissioner of the Chennai Export Promotion Zone agrees — ``There have been several triggers in the last 15 years for a Third World War to start. Especially, in the light of Nostradamus' predictions, world leaders today should not precipitate matters and treat the September 11 tragic attacks as a cause of World War III. On a personal level, I do not set too much store by the interpretations of Nostradamus because, too often, interpretations are tailormade to suit an event after it has happened.'' Still, the need of the hour is to avoid a Third World War."

Television personality and compere, Swarnamalya Ganesh is quite upset — ``I was shattered to see the terrible attacks on television. And, we, as Indians have not done anything symbolic to console the affected like lighting candles in front of the U.S. Embassy.

As regards Nostradamus, I must confess that I am startled to see so many of his predictions have come true. But, why doesn't anyone report any pleasant prediction that he has made?"

The opinions of Mylandla Nagaraj (CEO of the Tidel-Park based FSS Ltd.) and his wife, Sharda (FSS Director and Creative Advertising professional) were interesting. Nagaraj dismissed Nostradamus' prediction as ``being blown out of proportion. We should not worry about all this but just continue to lead our life in the best way possible,''he said. His wife, Sharda added, ``I think we should only have positive expectations and do whatever we can to make them happen for our near and dear ones."

To put things in perspective, it is mandatory to record the many instances of Nostradamus foreseeing and chronicling the 942 Quatrains that have seen varied interpretations. While the prediction might not be quite accurate in terms of the exact year of the event occurring, it could perhaps be due to the fact that Nostradamus lived in the age of the Julian calendar and not the Gregorian calendar. However, there have been several significant events that have been considered as having been correctly predicted by him such as the assassinations of the Kennedys and Gandhiji, the Hitlerian regime, the Fire of London, the French Revolution and the like.

Though stranger things than those predicted by Nostradamus do take place, it is perhaps best to hope for the best and adopt a positive outlook to life.

M. SRINATH NARAYAN