"Oh, we have been living in India for the last two years. I study in Chennai and my father works for a bank there. My mother runs a Japanese restaurant. You must come and eat tempura - our version of your bajji - you will love it," chattered away the little girl.
Muthu was taken aback that he knew so little of Japanese culture but this little girl knew about our bajji!! He must read up on Japanese culture and food, he decided.
"My grandmother and grandpa live in Japan though. I have so much fun going there during vacation. But this year we did not go," saying this, the child shot a reproachful look to her parents.
"Was it due to the tsunami and the radiation scare?" asked Muthu wisely.
The father spoke, "Yes, indeed. You are a perceptive boy! When the tsunami hit Japan, we could not get any news from my parents for days. They were luckily discovered well and alive in the rubble of their house after a day. The temperature was sub zero then! But they were unhurt. It was a miracle. "
"Of course the furniture/ cutlery all was broken and the house was in a complete mess. Phone lines had gone dead and so it was another couple of days before we established contact with them. They told us not to visit this time for the summer holidays. They love Aiko so much, they did not want her in danger."
"But I miss seeing them, mummy," said Aiko.
"We will meet them in October I promise," said her mother.
"Some of our friends were not so lucky. This was the fifth most powerful earthquake to hit the world in the last century. It had caused a lot of loss of life and property," continued the father.
"In Chennai, while a lot of people tried to help through charity there were some silly rumours which created panic about the *radiation coming here to India and so on. I received it as a forward on my email."
Muthu spoke up "But experts clarified that given how far away from Japan India is, India is not at risk due to the nuclear explosions in Japan. After all India was not even among the countries which had been issued earthquake or tsunami warnings after the earthquake in Japan."
The uncle looked approvingly at Muthu. "I think this boy will be another real superstar!" he proclaimed to his wife and daughter. They shook hands and parted ways a bit later. Muthu realized that people and families were the same everywhere irrespective of race, religion or country - full of love, concern and warmth.
If under nature’s care, they thrived, and if under her curse, they still tried hard to survive.
