On January 26, 2001, India’s republic day, an earthquake struck Gujarat. The earthquake, which measured more than 7 on the Richter scale, happened at 8:46 a.m. and lasted roughly two minutes. An estimated 20,000 persons were killed and 160,000 were injured because of the earthquake. Over 3,000,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed across the state. I was in Nagpur at the time, and Alka had arrived in Nagpur early in the morning on the same day. Dumpy, who was in class 11 at the time, was home alone for the first time with Tito.
We went into a frenzy when we learned about the earthquake. We couldn’t reach Dumpy because the lines were jammed, and communication with Gujarat had become nearly impossible. We finally got a call from Dumpy, who informed us he was safe and at home. The next day was the earliest we could reach Ahmedabad. It might look silly, but the fact that Tito was with Dumpy was strangely comforting.
The greater danger from earthquakes is frequently posed by the aftershocks, which occur over the next several days following the earthquake. Despite the devastations in the rest of the city, the campus had been miraculously spared. The campus buildings weathered the earthquake, with minor damage to arches, beams, and unsupported walls. Even though several buildings on campus developed cracks, none of them collapsed. A few students were injured by falling bricks as they descended the spiral staircases of the dormitories in hordes. Except for some cracks that formed in the walls and parapets, nothing happened to our house.
When we got home, Dumpy recounted the events of the previous twenty-four hours. Tito had been unusually restless since Alka’s early morning departure from home for Nagpur the previous morning. Dumpy paid no heed as he assumed Tito’s agitation was caused by our absence. Dumpy left home at 9 a.m. to reach school in time for the flag-hoisting ceremony. The kids had gathered on the playground of the school. Dumpy described how, while talking to a classmate, he became aware that his friend was pulling away from him, as if drawn by an invisible force. When the school officials learned that a big earthquake had struck the city, they ordered the students to return home. Because Republic Day is a holiday, several classmates of Dumpy had planned to accompany him to spend the day on campus, playing cricket on the lawns. Their plans were altered because of the earthquake. Except for Ankit, who lived with his grandparents in Ahmedabad, all other classmates, who were to accompany Dumpy, were instructed by their parents to return home immediately from the school.
Tito was barking his head off from inside the house when Ankit and Dumpy reached home in an autorickshaw. Tito ran out as soon as the door was opened and literally hugged Dumpy before running to the front yard and standing there agitatedly barking at Dumpy. Tito appeared to be asking, “Didn’t I warn you about the imminent earthquake this morning?”
The boys put Dumpy’s blue tent in the backyard, away from the house, and spent the night in the tent with Tito. They only entered the house to collect necessities such as food and water. The rest of the campus was also camping out to be in the open to safeguard themselves against the aftershocks.
Tito’s agitation on the morning of January 26 was perhaps caused by the sixth sense animals possess about imminent natural disasters. Tito, according to Dumpy, was especially subdued and cautious that night. He provided the boys with moral support as they spent the night in the open. They knew that Tito would sound the alarm and warn them if there was an oncoming aftershock or an intruder.