Days hard to forget…..

What is CYCLONE for anyone? Just a basic geographical phenomenon that occurs every year. And it can be said that it is formed due to temperature, pressure, earth’s rotation or coriolis force and so on. But these are bookish knowledge. Have you ever faced it? The wrath it has on everything?

I have faced two such cyclones while staying in Kolkata. One was recently AMPHAN and the other one in the year 2018 ie. TITLI. I have different type of experiences in both the Cyclones. So I want to share a brief experience of both the situations.

In 2018 I was a college student. Being a college student and left alone at home,  I didn’t want to check the news then as I felt it to be useless. My bad luck  I didn’t come across the news of TITLI approaching that day. I had gone to my friend’s place to complete the project work. I got down from the bus and it started raining. So, I thought to take shelter under the newly made overhead Metro flyover. There were many like me who took this decision. I have a habit of carrying an umbrella always in my bag. So, I thought I would protect myself from the rain. But no. It was of no use. I felt at that time nature had gone out of control. And yes it had, rain was pouring from all sides with no direction and the wind, ”Oh my god” it was pushing me and the people there away. There was a road divider which was made of metal. Few tried to get hold of it for support but they felt the electric shock and aborted the thought. It was not only rain and wind. They were accompanied by heavy thunder and lightning. In between this heavy wind my umbrella couldn’t take up the force of nature anymore and it broke. We all waited patiently and frightened for the rain to stop. There were people of all ages from teens to adults we all were trying to help each other feel safe. But do you think that’s possible? Everyone standing there had a frightened face and heart thinking if they could reach back home? Thankfully after nearly half an hour the nature got itself calmed. But the roads were full of water and broken trees. That was the day when I decided to check the weather report daily even before leaving home even for a short distance. That experience of facing a cyclone head-on and alone made me realise I can face tough situations. But no, I was wrong. I caught a high fever as I got wet in that rain and had to walk back to home in that situation and for an hour. 

Now, comes my recent experience with the most dangerous cyclone of my life till date, AMPHAN. Yes we all know the devastation it has caused. The experience of 2018 taught me to be calm. But in a situation when you hear of a super cyclone approaching, do you think anyone can stay so calm? So yes, I was presenting myself as a calm kid to my mother to keep her calm but internally I was not. The signs of bad weather were being shown from a day prior to the cyclone. I was frightened every inch of my body. On 20th May,2020 I woke up early with the tension of Cyclone. To divert my mind I was taking the online classes but they were of no use. At around 4:15pm the winds started to get in to pace higher than what it generally has and also it started raining. Before it reached Kolkata it had made its landfall long ago. The news showed the speed and devastation it has caused to the place it has already been. The approaching winds made me think over all the good and bad deeds I had ever done. I was seriously feeling it was the last day of my life. To divert my mind I tried to sketch but those gusting winds making roaring noises made me think of them. The crackling sounds made by the doors and windows were far more dangerous visually. It felt like they will break by those winds. I was sitting in one place when I noticed rain water entering the rooms and flooding them. Now this was another battle against the nature. My mom and me, we both had no other choice but to collect the water accumulating there. It rained heavily for nearly 4-5 hours and for 2-3 hours we had been collecting the water and throwing to protect the valuables. The cyclonic wind stopped nearly at 7:30pm but it was still raining like cats and dogs. Due to this the water inflow through the closed windows and doors stopped and we could collect the water now to save our belongings. After all this ended we were left with no electricity, no network, no internet services. Since my area has underground electric supply lines we got back electricity in a day. But network issues are still there and so the internet issues. Tress, plants, birds, human, animal everyone faced this wrath of nature fiercely but many got killed due to this too. The roads were full of water. Many homes were also flooded with water. I personally had a bad after-effect of the cyclone. I could only dream about the winds causing sleepless nights, couldn’t think properly nor could I eat. But yes as it says time heals us all. It did heal me but took a bit of time.
As a whole my experience is to be said too bad. Sorry, if I have hurt anyone during this period and also forgive me for this boring explanation of my experience. But now I can say I have become strong and I know how I have to react and what can be done to face the future situations.

–NB