I am convinced. I am convinced that, all it takes is a blink of an eye for the course of things to change.
It all started when the phone rang…infact it all started when the phone and my doorbell rang together…let me rephrase it: It actually started a few minutes before my phone and doorbell rang.
There were screams…people were panicking…there was a complete chaos on the stairway. It took me less than a few seconds to realize that the floor above mine was on fire. Some of us were trying to get in touch with the fire brigade but in vain. I heard someone say, that they were on their way.
And there it was, right it front of me, I could see the stairway wall lit up in bright orange. Tentacles of the fire had started leaping out of the flat where it started, on to the staircase. My parents were panicking, neighbours were running helter-skelter. I then saw my grand-mother, sitting there on her armchair, unaware of what was happening. She could not fathom the cause of the chaos. She wanted answers to her questions. I looked back at the wall which was now brighter than before and I knew it. We had to leave…taking my grandma along. My father echoed my thought. My grandma wasn’t sure of what were doing, especially since we hadn’t answered her questions. But there was no time for answers.
My mind was going numb. I wasn’t sure if it was due to the sound of screams all around or the fire that was consuming the brick and mortar a few feet away from us. All my senses were focused on one goal. Getting my grandma out of the building before the fire could catch up with us.
It was going to be a battle for life.
She had never stepped out after recovering from her illness. And now she had to climb down 2 dozen steps to reach down. Electricity was shut. It was pitch dark except for the torch lights and the fire. Grandma was sure that she would fall, but she didn’t have a choice anyway but to climb down. And she did…taking small baby steps. I have no clue how she did it…I guess even she had had an adrenaline rush. We were finally out, but that wasn’t enough. We had to clear the premises and the older people were shifted to flats in the adjoining buildings. One of my old neighbours got a small taste of the flames during the rescue operation.
It was a small relief that all the people were out. There was no threat to life now. I made my way through the crowd to the other side of the building to get an exterior view of the fire. I was aghast! It wasn’t just a fire. It was an inferno. It was consuming the floor. Flames were leaping out of the windows like tongues wanting to lick more, consume more. The fire brigade was supposedly on its way.
I looked around to absorb more of what was happening around me. People were wailing…some of them staring at the inferno unable to do anything. The building where we were born and brought up was under threat…our houses…our nests…were under threat. No amount of words can describe the pain of watching your own houses turning into ashes. Irrespective of who we were, irrespective of our age, caste, intellect… we were gripped with one common feeling… FEAR.
Fear united the people. Every individual was helping the other… some consoling those crying, some taking the weak and older people home, some preparing food for others. People had forgotten their differences. Those to whom you never spoke were now dear. Those at whom you never looked were now holding your hand and taking you to safety. Those houses you never entered had become shelters.
I kept praying silently.
The fire brigade came and started fighting the fire that now seemed invincible to most of us. After almost an hour that seemed like eternity, they succeeded. It was a relief. The house that held the inferno was now a heap of ashes. There was little but visible damages to the neighbouring houses. We knew that there would be subsequent problems…no electricity…no gas supply…the building was in a mess. But we didn’t mind putting up with any of these… We didn’t mind spending a night out… afterall our houses were now safe.
Catastrophes are interesting to watch on the TV sets…but the first hand experience of facing it, of being a part of it, of battling for life, of watching your house on threat, is different. But it did come along with some lessons…
I realized that no matter what you possess and what you are fond of…when catastrophe strikes, all you can think of is … your life…and that of your family.
And no matter how great your pride is, in building your empires, it can turn into ashes before you know it.
Hence it is best to live your life to the fullest and fill it with love, gratitude and harmony… afterall it takes just a Blink of an Eye…
