Quake: We Will Rise again.

During my high school senior, I lived with an old couple whose children were settled abroad. I got to Skype calls for them on several occasions. They were delighted to watch their kids on the computer screen. I felt the connectedness and bliss in their eyes. Never at the front, had I felt the power of technology to unite people with their sentiments. And for my efforts, I was treated with mouthwatering delicacies.

I am pursuing my engineering study in India. It has been said, you miss your loved ones more when you are away from them. Believe me, it's certainly true. While having food in hostel mess, when I am sick and on the festivities when I see #family on social networks, I realize the same.

Distance has made us apart, but technology has changed the scale. Nowadays, one can chat with loved ones through messages, voicemail and video chat. On 24^th of April, I did my first Skype call with family. They were in Kathmandu. When you see your loved ones talking to you even on virtual platforms, it appears existent. Your emotions develop a genuine touch. The feeling is ineffable. My mom could easily infer whether I am eating well or not or whether I am in good health or not. I could feel the love and concern. The other day were my practical exams and I was superfluous with motivation.

25th of April was a bright cheery daylight. I was raised with confidence for my practical exam of Engineering Drawing. I loved drawing and thus I did afford it an extra concern. At about 11:30am, I was in my room, which is on the fourth level of the hostel building. I was exercising with some problems which had the highest probability of coming out on the paper. My hands resolutely drawing on the sheet started agitating, the management of my pencil changed abruptly and thus the firm line which I was drawing turned zigzag. It was 11:41am in Allahabad. And in a matter of seconds, everyone realized that it was an earthquake. We hurried to the ground immediately. The sensation of danger was felt by each one of us.

It wasn’t my first experience with an earthquake. I had few minor experiences in Kathmandu, which is an earthquake prone area and ranks among top in the world list. It was a petty shake in Allahabad. Besides, there was no mark of destruction nearby. Life and property were secure.

We resumed our activities, merely in a span of minutes, it came again. The routine of running to the ground, followed a number of times. Many of my friends had already updated their social networking accounts. So, I got to know that the earthquake had also hit Kathmandu. And with some more research, it was affirmed that the epicenter was in Lamgunj, which is at a distance of 180km form Kathmandu.

Facebook and Twitter acted as the quickest way of communication with the mass. Nepal Earthquake reached the world with a lightning speed through these platforms. There were pictures of Dharahara Tower, temples and homes turned into debris, roads cracked and corpses lying all over. The beautiful city, Kathmandu, known for its history of over 2000 years turned into rubble. The 7.5 magnitude of earthquake thrashed the city.
 

Those pictures make me shiver. My hands were trembling while I was making calls to my family. All I wanted to know was about their wellbeing. Since, social media had spread the word of Nepal earthquake in the world, everyone was making calls to their near and dear ones. The phone network was overloaded. Some of my friends made internet calls through viber, watsapp and wechat. But for me, none could connect.

I was in utmost dejection. My heartbeats accelerated and my thoughts made assumptions. My fears expressed grief and my body turned feeble. I couldn’t stay at a place. I was moving and straining to make calls. A friend of mine stopped me to inquire whether his Facebook status will get people’s attention. The status was a nasty joke on the quake. We had shared tons of jokes and laughed like a drain in the yesteryear. At that moment, my expression was stern, not even a single facial muscle exhibited movement.

It was time for the test. My batch mates were rushing to the exam hall. I wasn’t in a state to appear for the examination, but I didn’t have a choice. I reached the examination hall and all I saw was fearful faces. Question paper reached my seat, I wasn’t able to decode any of the questions correctly. My concentration was divergent and my focus dispersed. However, I scribbled what possible. I came out of the examination hall and tried calling home. I heard my brother saying we are all right here. Tears rolled down from my eyes. Tears of pure delight.

My family was safe, but I possessed no thought about my acquaintances and relatives. Social media platforms took initiative to help the victims of the cataclysm in their own ways. Facebook updated safety status while Google helped find missing people. During such a tough time, it’s not practical to contact everyone we know. These initiatives from the social media was the demand of time. A bunch of my acquaintances and dear ones had already marked themselves safe thus I was eased of their wellbeing. Also, smartphone apps were launched to notify aftershocks. Technology played its role very efficiently.
  

Aftershocks followed from time to time. Residents of Kathmandu were in fear and none risked life by abiding in the home. The only option they had was to build tents on open grounds. Tudikhel, which is the largest open ground in the valley served the role very well. Many government offices like Singha Durbar which had open areas were open for public. Residents were outflowing from the valley to safer parts of Nepal. Transportation was again a major problem in such a hard time and terrain for the large volume of people.

Kathmandu imports most of its basic necessities for everyday support. Due to transportation issues, shortage of food and drinking water too prevailed. Even buying food became a difficult job as most of the stores were shut. Finally, beaten rice, biscuits and instant snacks such as Wai-Wai (a popular noodle in Nepal) became the food of people for days.
 

When the land seemed settled, a major earthquake hit Kathmandu again in a couplet of a month. People were more aware this time, just the fear instilled in them once more. The tents came into existence for one more time.

People from all roughly the world sent donations and necessary goods. Neighboring countries, India and Chine also helped by transporting troops to shed light on the debris and health assistants for medical aid. Besides, masses from all around the world came to Nepal for volunteering.  Moreover, every human who came to know about Nepal Earthquake was willing to assist the victims.

Nepal lost its human resource, capital, infrastructure and heritage in the quake. It’s in a state of upheaval till now. People feel quakes even when it is not. The process of rebuilding with the motto “We will rise again” is on the go.