india chronicles

spent the best part of the last 3 weeks at home in india. short but nice trip. i promised myself a few things. achieved them
1. kept away from the pc and internet for a whole week and better part of the other two.
2. shied away from arguing with my parents who think me visiting temples is the most important thing to save my soul (-: visited as many as 7 to 8 temples. liked most of them. temples in the south are much more beautiful and larger than the ones in maharashtra.
3. jogged in the morning quite a few times. found some nice spots around my parents home in chennai. RA puram area. did not go to the boat club area. maybe next time.
4. bought a few books from there. Edgar Poe and Terry Pratchet. Terry Pratchet is Douglas Adam reborn. some really witty jokes.

i reached 4 days after the tsunami struck. was apprehensive of what things looked like on the ground. the city of chennai hadnt been terribly struck. the destruction along the ECR (east coast road) which links chennai with cuddalore and beyond is more easily visible. by the time i reached, marina beach in chennai had been cleared, the sand almost relaid. one could see people on the beach. though not as many as before the disaster struck.

If you are like me, this event just reminded me of the inconsequence of humanity and also of its continued vanity. false pride in itself and in its beliefs. the only thing most grown men and women could do was to question how religion and our idea of god could have failed. or state how they have not failed and how the bible (replace with gita koran torah or whatever you fancy) provide answers to why suffering exists. i personally think that rationalizing the destruction caused by any disaster is the worst disservice that we can do to those departed. the best we can do is to listen to the earth and the waves. so that the next time we run and live to run another day.