Sapiens: The fall from grace

The bell rang, piercing through the gathering darkness. All the people in the camp started queuing up for their evening meals of kanji (rice gruel) and green gram. There would be fish on Tuesdays and sometimes chicken or meat for those who wanted it, on Sundays. After their meals, the children gathered around the fire for the nightly story telling session. They waited in silence as the man they called “teacher” cleared his throat to begin. “I was a boy of 10 when the great flood of 2030 happened. The whole of Cochin City was submerged under the sea. They say that the waves rose as high as the 10th floor of the flats. They used flying vehicles to rescue those marooned on the higher storeys.” “People used to live in buildings with more than 10 storeys?” a boy exclaimed. “Yes. There were lot of people. Not like now. They did not have enough land to build on so they stacked up the houses one on top of the other. They were all very selfish too. They only looked after their own families. They did not live together like we do.” “How did so many people die?” asked a girl with bright coloured ribbons in her hair. “Most coastal cities like Chennai, Mumbai, our own Cochin, were devoured by the waves. No one stood a chance. I was visiting my grandmother in Palakkad, so I survived, but my family - mother, father and brothers, all died in the flood. Some managed to escape in the high ranges but other calamities took their lives; landslides due to the incessant rain and the sea water rushing into the Periyar, flooding its banks. Those who survived the flood felt prey to water borne diseases and fevers. There was no access to health care. Even a mild fever would mean death especially to the elderly and small children.” “Enough with the horror stories, Teacher, the kids won’t sleep tonight,” grumbled Raju’s father. “I am just telling them what happened,” clarified the teacher. “I remember father telling me about big cities, highways and factories” Raju’s father reminisced. “But I thought it was all fantasy!” Men and women gathered around in groups after the children slept. They spoke in hushed voices. Occasionally the silence of the night was broken by eerie howls and hooting of owls. Some sipped fermented rice wine and mused. “In the days before the flood, people travelled at unbelievable speeds on trains and buses. Now look at us, we have to spend days travelling if we want to go anywhere and see new faces,” a woman complained. “Even if we had the vehicles, we would have nothing to run them. They had fuels like oil, petrol and diesel which have all got exhausted long back. We have to find means to run vehicles on electricity or solar energy but no one has the know-how. We have to restart our learning all over again.” “We are actually better off now. The climate has become more predictable. There have been no floods in the last 5 years. Everything is stable now.” Raju’s father brought out the silver lining of the black cloud. “Our ancestors thought they had conquered Nature; they thought they could wantonly destroy other life forms. They forgot in their foolishness that they were part of the very same chain of life,” said the man they called the Philosopher. “Do you remember the days following the flood? You must have been a young man then. How was it then? Do you remember?” asked a woman of the Philosopher. “Entire nations were wiped out in the floods and the pandemics that followed,” he replied. “The ones who survived had no heart to go on living. Many people killed themselves. They just could not deal with all the grief and having to adjust to the new environment. One such incident still haunts me,” he reminisced. “No one was safe, we were constantly in danger of our lives, and we kept moving around in search of safe spots. Every now and then we had to change our camp sites. People were constantly insecure and anxious, and fights were very common. Everyone was tense and edgy. To cope, many would use alcohol, or drugs like cannabis or something made from a kind of mushroom. My uncle had lost his entire family to the diseases following the flood. First his wife and newborn son died, then his older daughter. He was devastated. He too started using alcohol and cannabis because he could not sleep. He tried to kill himself many times. We had to keep watch over him and make sure he did not hurt himself. It was during one of my night vigils that he got up in the middle of the night and started screaming. He started running around like a crazy person saying that someone was going to kill him. He was probably delirious from the drugs. He then ran out into the night with a kitchen knife and stabbed everyone who tried to stop him. I had a stab injury myself. I still have a scar,” said the philosopher pulling up his shirt sleeve. A jagged scar ran down his forearm. “He was finally subdued but he broke free of his restraints and stabbed himself in the neck. He must have nicked an artery. I still remember the blood gushing out from like a fountain. I did not know there was so much blood in a human body.” “Poor uncle! He used to be so gentle with us kids. He was the one who taught me how to ride a horse and play chess.” “Well! That was terrible,” said the woman, “on the bright side, at least the human race is not gone extinct. We are alive now.” Everyone fell silent each one thinking of the past and the uncertain future of mankind. What would happen to their children? Epilogue The great floods and pandemics that affected the earth from 2030 to 2050 wiped out large populations. The survivors lived in small settlements which they called camps which had started off as rescue camps and then became permanent settlements. Each camp had its own leadership which was loosely democratic. People followed rules because no one could afford not to. It was death to be cast out. No one could survive the wilderness on their own. In between were large tracts of forest land where herds of elephants, leopards and bears roamed. It was an uneasy co-existence with Mother Nature. Meanwhile the Earth had recovered magnificently from the ravages wrought upon her. Since there was almost no industrial and other polluting activity, the poisonous alterations were reversed and the weather no longer showed an erratic pattern. The rivers and brooks were pristine again. All was good except for the state of the Homo sapiens. Would they learn their lessons at least this time around? Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.