Thank God it was Tuesday

And there goes the second one of 7.1, when were well immuned to 4 to 5 magnitude of aftershocks.
Thank God it was Tuesday. The Ganapati fasting day for me and Priti. 12:45 it was, when we were basking in the sun, laughing with Spring breeze and enjoying our haluwa lunch at balcony. Karpo, dog at office, yelped. I was annoyed. I yelled back at Karpo.

Again it was Priti who realized the quake before me. She stopped chewing, with mouthful of haluwa shouted, bhuichalo. My immediate reaction, NOPE.

She ran inside, as we had to rush one storey down. The haluwa bowl landed on the hallway chest. I did the same following her un-worded instruction. I recall only two sounds filling in the space then; rattlling of window glasses and Priti screaming, Nikki Dijju aaisyo (Come Nikki). I halted for a while in front of office door, thinking I should take shelter under door. Then I ran behind Priti who was waiting for me on stairway. My next halt was mid-stairway. What was I thinking? Priti grabbed my hand, with all her strength, ushered me outside. My boss, his son and rest of the housekeepers were screaming our names one after the other until we made it out. Earth was still rocking underneath us. Everybody's voices were shaking. Trees were swaying to whichever direction they pleased.

Both of our mobile phones were left upstairs. I borrowed somebody else's phone and dialed family numbers insanely to reach them. I later figured out they did the same. There followed several aftershocks. Finally I could connect to my dad and brother and found out they were unharmed. I mustered sufficient courage to back into the office building and bring my stuff out so that I could go home, becuase Priti insisted that we head out to home ASAP. But somehow my boss managed to convince her that we wait for at least an hour and take office vehicle to home. That is what we did.

Every Nepalese are more terrified after the second one, than the first hit, because we were convinced that cataclysmic of such magnitude would not re-occur but however had presaged and were prepared for month long aftershocks.

The Good, The Bad and The Weird

I looked at Priti, she was removing her nail paint rubbing the cotton on her toe nail. Priti glanced a shocked look at me. Screamed “vuichalo aayo” (Earthquake). We both jumped off the bed and ran to living room. My uncle and dad were about to run outside, but failed. Severe tremor rocked us. I yelped at everyone not to run out. Uncle grabbed the main door, dad grabbed him, I hold onto my dad. Priti jumped cover grand pa still lying on bed. She was terrified that window might fall on him. I don’t remember if my mom who was carrying 3 month old neice grabbed me or my dad from behind. She doesn’t remember either. I could hear terrible cracking sound of termor. I saw turtle aquarium water splashing out as if it had hit tide. I closed my eyes. Chanted Gayatri Mantra along with my mom and dad. May be my grandma was chanting it too who was still holding to the door of her bedroom. Priti might have been chanting the same as she protected shievering grandpa. My uncle and aunty who was still upstairs with two of the three children might have frantically chanted the mantra too. With every chant I wish earth stopped rocking. But it just continued until 1 minute may be. I imagined it lasted hour. And it was the longest 1 minute of my life. And it will always be. Not just for me but for every people who beared it.
Priti and I were watching The Good, The Bad and The Weird, the Korean adaptation of Clint Eastwood’s famous The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Hence the title.
We were half an hour through movie and was started to getting excited, but the tremor took it all. I don’t think I will ever complete that movie.