December 25th, Chennai
It was 9:30 pm on a Saturday night. Ashwin had already hit the bed. Usually college students don't go to bed as early as 9:30, and that too on a Saturday night, it seldom happens. Well, the reason was, Ashwin usually plays cricket in the weekends. This week, he along with his friends, decided to play cricket on a Sunday morning in the beach coz it had been a long time since they played cricket there. Since Marina beach was quite far from his home, he had hit the bed early with strategies in his mind to open the batting for his team the next day. He was an all rounder, but lately his batting performance had dropped.So, he wanted to prove a point to his pal Krish who constantly kept criticizing him every now and then!
So, as per plan Ashwin got up at 5:30am, wore his team jersey and took his bat and stumps. His mom got up much earlier to give him a glass of milk and banana so that he doesn't leave without having anything.
After he had the milk, he said to his mom.. "Maa.. Today is gonna be great, we are gonna play in the beach after a long time. I am mentally prepared to bat well so that Krish stops making fun of me!!"
His mom smiled gently and said "Ok, dear.. be careful, don't play near the water.. After the match, bring Krish home... its been long since he came here. Let's have lunch at our place today. Don't be very late coz am gonna ask Appa to wait for you guys to have lunch"
So, Ashwin waved his hands to his mom and set off to his friend's place from where they will head to the beach. Meanwhile, Ashwin called Krish to check if he was awake. (Krish is a guy who is always late.. be it any occasion). To his surprise, Krish was awake and told him that he'll be there in the beach by 6:30am sharp.
Ashwin and his friends arrived at the beach and it was very pleasant out there. It was December and hence mornings were quite cold in Chennai. Chennai has only 3 seasons viz. HOT, HOTTER and HOTTEST. December is an exception where the mercury doesn't rise beyond 25 degree C. On that day, it was around 20 degree C and was a perfect weather to play with the Sun still thinking whether to come out or take a day off!! A lot of people were already present there for their routine activities. Be it the laughter therapy... where old people gather together and laugh at themselves for hours together or be it the kids playing cricket and football or the joggers who were regular visitors!!
All his friends assembled except for Krish. So without waiting further, they started playing. Ashwin, as per his plan opened the batting and played very well. With each boundary he scored, he could hear a distant applause by a Police troop who were doing their daily fitness routine. Each time they made a sound, Ashwin thought it was for his fine batting display (though in actual, the young policemen were encouraging each other after each session of Karate!!)
The thought that Krish wasn't present to see him play was still running at the back of his mind. Yet he didn't let that thought disturb his concentration. They played, played and played till around 8:15am.
Since almost all of them were tired, they took a break for 30 mins after which they decided to play a couple of more matches till 10:30 or 11am. During the break, Ashwin was constantly trying to reach Krish, but he didn't pick up the call. After a few tries, Krish's mom picked up the call and said he left home thirty minutes back but forgot to carry his mobile phone. Ashwin was annoyed... Firstly because Krish was late by almost 2 hours and secondly, Krish missed the match where Ashwin was the star performer.As they were discussing the happenings of the previous match, something weird happened!
The water in the sea receded by a good distance. They didn't know what happened as it was the first time some one ever saw sea water retreating. Not only Ashwin and his team, but all the people present in the beach were astonished!! They went close to the water to check out different types of stones, pebbles and other creatures which they had never seen before. Approximately, the water had gone back by about 800 metres.
Within seconds, a huge... very huge wave struck the coast with a great speed! Though most of the people saw the wave approaching them from quite a distance, they couldn't run to safety since such was the speed of the wave and moreover, everyone were shell shocked to see the happenings and hence they didn't know how to react when they saw the wave coming. Ashwin and his team were no exception. All of them were swept away towards the road.
This entire episode didn't last for more than 15 minutes. Though Ashwin didn't lose his conscience, he was still in a state of shock. He wasn't even able to recollect what had happened. His leg was hurt badly and most of his body parts were bruised. Some how, he managed to get himself in one piece and stood up almost a kilometre away from the shore. Only then did he realise, the wave swept him across for a kilometre!Slowly, he moved towards the water even though he wasn't sure if things were fine.
Gradually, those who survived the bizarre incident started waking up at their respective places and sounds of people crying were getting louder. The Fire department personnel and other Disaster recovery teams had arrived at the spot within 30 minutes of this incident. Ashwin was excited when he saw a couple of his friends. They met, but didn't talk for long as they wanted to help out people who were trapped in between uprooted trees and broken boats. So they departed in different directions and took part in the rescue operations.
Suddenly, something disturbed Ashwin. It was a red coloured T-shirt which was very familiar to him.
He inched closer to the person who was lying on the ground wearing this T-shirt. WTH!!!! Ashwin had his heart in his mouth when he found that it was Krish who was lying. His body started shivering and eyes full of tears. Other people who saw Ashwin crying, came to help him and they carried Krish away from the spot. Ashwin followed the rescue team till the ambulance where the doctor's were giving first aid to the affected people. On his way, he saw the bodies of three young policemen who were practising karate just a few minutes before!! Ashwin started choking... he started feeling giddy.. but still he held himself strong and kept following the people carrying Krish.
Upon reaching the doctor's camp, Krish was taken inside the ambulance for check-up. Ashwin prayed to the almighty like he had never done before. All he wanted was Krish... This was the only thought running in his mind. After ten minutes, doctors came out of the ambulance with a tired look. Ashwin upon seeing this got more tensed... Even before he could ask the doctors, he saw Krish's body being unloaded off the ambulance, clad in a white cloth..... That was the last thing Ashwin could remember. He immediately fainted and was admitted to a nearby hospital.
The entire city was in bits and pieces.... A lot of sad faces here and there, it was only then that many came to know of the word TSUNAMI... Ashwin regained his conscious after 7 hours. He saw his mom and dad beside him. The first question that came out of his mouth was "What happened to Krish?" His mom started weeping... his dad asked him to take rest and not strain too much. His friends who were around him couldn't hide the matter anymore. One of them said "Krish is no more"
Ashwin was shattered.. he was lost in thoughts... didn't say a word for the next one hour. His parents were by his side, but they knew Ashwin's state of mind.. they respected his silence, and didn't speak.
The next 3-4 days were the most hardest days of Ashwin's life. He was bed-ridden, had nothing to do. His mind was wandering around Krish. He counted each and every second they spent together. He regretted the small fights which they often had. Ashwin's mom was equally sad coz she knew the level of bonding these two had. Moreover she considered Krish as her own family member.
A week passed by, Ashwin was discharged. He went to the beach straight along with his mom and dad. He recollected each and every frame of that horrible day. He walked passed the area where he saw Krish lying.
His heart was filled with nostalgia. As people say, Friendship touches a new level during college life. Ashwin and Krish were friends since their school days and hence their relationship was all the more strong. But no one can beat destiny. This is one thing which he learnt the harder way.
From then on, Ashwin was a different person all together. He respected each and every friend he had, helped everyone whenever needed. He realised that ego, anger and other traits that one shows is not gonna last long. Life is too short to spend time on unwanted things. He got transformed to a very calm, and easy go person!
Even today, Ashwin visits the beach without fail every year on the 26th of December. He is one among the thousands of others who lost their loved ones on that day! He visited Krish's house regularly and helped his parents whenever time premitted. He took them out for dinner and invited them to his house on a regular basis. Afterall, Ashwin is now the only son for Krish's parents........
Bye for now,
Kailash
It was 9:30 pm on a Saturday night. Ashwin had already hit the bed. Usually college students don't go to bed as early as 9:30, and that too on a Saturday night, it seldom happens. Well, the reason was, Ashwin usually plays cricket in the weekends. This week, he along with his friends, decided to play cricket on a Sunday morning in the beach coz it had been a long time since they played cricket there. Since Marina beach was quite far from his home, he had hit the bed early with strategies in his mind to open the batting for his team the next day. He was an all rounder, but lately his batting performance had dropped.So, he wanted to prove a point to his pal Krish who constantly kept criticizing him every now and then!
So, as per plan Ashwin got up at 5:30am, wore his team jersey and took his bat and stumps. His mom got up much earlier to give him a glass of milk and banana so that he doesn't leave without having anything.
After he had the milk, he said to his mom.. "Maa.. Today is gonna be great, we are gonna play in the beach after a long time. I am mentally prepared to bat well so that Krish stops making fun of me!!"
His mom smiled gently and said "Ok, dear.. be careful, don't play near the water.. After the match, bring Krish home... its been long since he came here. Let's have lunch at our place today. Don't be very late coz am gonna ask Appa to wait for you guys to have lunch"
So, Ashwin waved his hands to his mom and set off to his friend's place from where they will head to the beach. Meanwhile, Ashwin called Krish to check if he was awake. (Krish is a guy who is always late.. be it any occasion). To his surprise, Krish was awake and told him that he'll be there in the beach by 6:30am sharp.
Ashwin and his friends arrived at the beach and it was very pleasant out there. It was December and hence mornings were quite cold in Chennai. Chennai has only 3 seasons viz. HOT, HOTTER and HOTTEST. December is an exception where the mercury doesn't rise beyond 25 degree C. On that day, it was around 20 degree C and was a perfect weather to play with the Sun still thinking whether to come out or take a day off!! A lot of people were already present there for their routine activities. Be it the laughter therapy... where old people gather together and laugh at themselves for hours together or be it the kids playing cricket and football or the joggers who were regular visitors!!
All his friends assembled except for Krish. So without waiting further, they started playing. Ashwin, as per his plan opened the batting and played very well. With each boundary he scored, he could hear a distant applause by a Police troop who were doing their daily fitness routine. Each time they made a sound, Ashwin thought it was for his fine batting display (though in actual, the young policemen were encouraging each other after each session of Karate!!)
The thought that Krish wasn't present to see him play was still running at the back of his mind. Yet he didn't let that thought disturb his concentration. They played, played and played till around 8:15am.
Since almost all of them were tired, they took a break for 30 mins after which they decided to play a couple of more matches till 10:30 or 11am. During the break, Ashwin was constantly trying to reach Krish, but he didn't pick up the call. After a few tries, Krish's mom picked up the call and said he left home thirty minutes back but forgot to carry his mobile phone. Ashwin was annoyed... Firstly because Krish was late by almost 2 hours and secondly, Krish missed the match where Ashwin was the star performer.As they were discussing the happenings of the previous match, something weird happened!
The water in the sea receded by a good distance. They didn't know what happened as it was the first time some one ever saw sea water retreating. Not only Ashwin and his team, but all the people present in the beach were astonished!! They went close to the water to check out different types of stones, pebbles and other creatures which they had never seen before. Approximately, the water had gone back by about 800 metres.
Within seconds, a huge... very huge wave struck the coast with a great speed! Though most of the people saw the wave approaching them from quite a distance, they couldn't run to safety since such was the speed of the wave and moreover, everyone were shell shocked to see the happenings and hence they didn't know how to react when they saw the wave coming. Ashwin and his team were no exception. All of them were swept away towards the road.
This entire episode didn't last for more than 15 minutes. Though Ashwin didn't lose his conscience, he was still in a state of shock. He wasn't even able to recollect what had happened. His leg was hurt badly and most of his body parts were bruised. Some how, he managed to get himself in one piece and stood up almost a kilometre away from the shore. Only then did he realise, the wave swept him across for a kilometre!Slowly, he moved towards the water even though he wasn't sure if things were fine.
Suddenly, something disturbed Ashwin. It was a red coloured T-shirt which was very familiar to him.
He inched closer to the person who was lying on the ground wearing this T-shirt. WTH!!!! Ashwin had his heart in his mouth when he found that it was Krish who was lying. His body started shivering and eyes full of tears. Other people who saw Ashwin crying, came to help him and they carried Krish away from the spot. Ashwin followed the rescue team till the ambulance where the doctor's were giving first aid to the affected people. On his way, he saw the bodies of three young policemen who were practising karate just a few minutes before!! Ashwin started choking... he started feeling giddy.. but still he held himself strong and kept following the people carrying Krish.
Upon reaching the doctor's camp, Krish was taken inside the ambulance for check-up. Ashwin prayed to the almighty like he had never done before. All he wanted was Krish... This was the only thought running in his mind. After ten minutes, doctors came out of the ambulance with a tired look. Ashwin upon seeing this got more tensed... Even before he could ask the doctors, he saw Krish's body being unloaded off the ambulance, clad in a white cloth..... That was the last thing Ashwin could remember. He immediately fainted and was admitted to a nearby hospital.
The entire city was in bits and pieces.... A lot of sad faces here and there, it was only then that many came to know of the word TSUNAMI... Ashwin regained his conscious after 7 hours. He saw his mom and dad beside him. The first question that came out of his mouth was "What happened to Krish?" His mom started weeping... his dad asked him to take rest and not strain too much. His friends who were around him couldn't hide the matter anymore. One of them said "Krish is no more"
Ashwin was shattered.. he was lost in thoughts... didn't say a word for the next one hour. His parents were by his side, but they knew Ashwin's state of mind.. they respected his silence, and didn't speak.
The next 3-4 days were the most hardest days of Ashwin's life. He was bed-ridden, had nothing to do. His mind was wandering around Krish. He counted each and every second they spent together. He regretted the small fights which they often had. Ashwin's mom was equally sad coz she knew the level of bonding these two had. Moreover she considered Krish as her own family member.
A week passed by, Ashwin was discharged. He went to the beach straight along with his mom and dad. He recollected each and every frame of that horrible day. He walked passed the area where he saw Krish lying.
His heart was filled with nostalgia. As people say, Friendship touches a new level during college life. Ashwin and Krish were friends since their school days and hence their relationship was all the more strong. But no one can beat destiny. This is one thing which he learnt the harder way.
From then on, Ashwin was a different person all together. He respected each and every friend he had, helped everyone whenever needed. He realised that ego, anger and other traits that one shows is not gonna last long. Life is too short to spend time on unwanted things. He got transformed to a very calm, and easy go person!
Even today, Ashwin visits the beach without fail every year on the 26th of December. He is one among the thousands of others who lost their loved ones on that day! He visited Krish's house regularly and helped his parents whenever time premitted. He took them out for dinner and invited them to his house on a regular basis. Afterall, Ashwin is now the only son for Krish's parents........
Bye for now,
Kailash
