Mahabalipuram Prophecy (1)
Five Asian Countries Hit by the Worst Disaster in 40 Years, Over 3,000 Dead
According to the latest news from the Associated Press, Indonesia experienced the strongest earthquake in nearly 40 years on December 26th. The tsunami triggered by the earthquake swept across five Asian countries, resulting in at least 3,000 deaths, including 1,500 in Sri Lanka, 1,000 in India, 400 in Indonesia, 120 in Thailand, and 15 in Malaysia. Additionally, there are hundreds missing, and the death toll may rise further.
Ancient City Revealed Underwater After Tsunami
The South Asian tsunami not only brought disaster but also some unexpected discoveries—an ancient underwater city. Mahabalipuram, located on the Indian coast, was one of the tsunami-affected areas. After the tsunami, three stone structures near the town emerged, each adorned with finely carved animal figures. This was because the sand layer covering these structures was washed away by the tsunami. Sathyamurthy, a senior archaeologist from the Indian Archaeological Institute, stated that these structures might belong to the port city built in the 7th century.
Mahabalipuram is already famous for its ancient, intricately carved shore temples. These ruins are designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, attracting thousands of Hindu pilgrims and tourists each year for worship and sightseeing. Early British travel writers noted that the area once had seven pagodas, six of which had sunk into the sea. Speaking to the Associated Press via telephone from Madras, Sathyamurthy said, “After the tsunami, a bas-relief has been exposed, which seems to be part of a temple’s outer wall, or part of that ancient port city. Our excavation work will uncover more mysteries.”
China News Service, February 19, 2005
At the beginning of each of my notes, I place the news at the forefront. As a reporter for the “Morning Star Daily” in Shanghai, I’ve come into contact with events hidden behind these news stories. These stories are like vines; following them, I’ve reached the enormous and astonishing fruits hidden underground. I start with these news stories that everyone can find online, selectively telling stories you could never imagine. This time, there are two vines. Today, anyone living in the civilized world cannot be unaware of the first vine; even a hundred years from now, many will remember this catastrophe. The second vine, however, is much weaker, growing in the vast shadow of the former, perhaps garnering less attention as a by-product of the disaster.
I first saw the ruins emerging from the seawater on Sina.com. Due to my personal interest in ancient, mysterious archaeological discoveries, I always pay close attention, so I read the entire article thoroughly. That’s all; for a journalist, most news is skimmed or just the headlines are read. Thus, I could not have anticipated that this piece of ruins would soon become a small vine, leading me not to a fruit but to a key. This key made me realize that the first vine was not just a disaster! As I write these words, I know everything. But I don’t know how to describe it… The fruit of truth, huge, vast, immense? I can only try to express it through contrast; compared to it, this tsunami that swept through the human world is nothing, to put it mildly, insignificant. Insignificant! I am willing to start from the beginning, hoping you have some patience. Even the most violent hurricane can only slightly flutter the edges of one’s clothing.
On the evening of December 26, 2004, when I opened the news on the Great Ocean Net, I saw the tsunami event that shocked the world, some time after it had occurred. That day was a Sunday, and since I didn’t go to the newspaper office, I learned about it late. The data I saw then was the same as in the first news story I listed above: over 3,000 people dead. This was enough to make me stare at the monitor for over ten seconds. Over the years, in the generally understood civilized world, earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods resulting in deaths in the hundreds are considered major disasters, but this time there were 3,000. Two months later, this number rose to 300,000. This disaster, which once again made humanity aware of its smallness, offered me a free overseas trip in the spring of 2005 to accelerate the recovery of the domestic tourism economy hit hard by the tsunami. The Indian government organized a tour for travel editors from major Chinese newspapers to visit India, encouraging them to write articles to promote tourism recovery. The ten-day itinerary offered several routes with limited choices. Limited choice meant that some routes shouldn’t be overcrowded with journalists while others were left unattended, aiming to balance the promotion of domestic tourism.
Mahabalipuram Prophecy (2)
The travel section reporters couldn’t be away for so long, so they handed the opportunity over to the newspaper, and the leadership decided to send a reporter from the most overworked general assignment department, as a reward through the hands of the Indian government. As for the flattering article to be submitted upon return, any journalist could handle it. This plum assignment eventually fell to me. Although I’d like to say it was because I was the most hardworking and popular in the department, the truth is, I just had good luck and drew the slip of paper that said “Indian A-San.”
Unlike regular tourism, this time the available routes were limited to visiting one or two attractions each. The Indian tourism department wanted us journalists to write in-depth about the places we visited, rather than just skimming the surface. I chose Mahabalipuram. For someone who had never been to India, many places were attractive, but the ruins emerging from the receding seawater tipped the scale for my choice. I knew that terms like “mystery” and “puzzle” used in the reports were merely to make the news more appealing, but my incurable fascination with mysteries was enough to sway me.
On February 23, along with other journalists, I boarded a flight to New Delhi from Shanghai Pudong International Airport. In New Delhi, we would transfer according to our chosen travel routes. My companion was Wang Yan, a travel editor in her thirties from the Yangtze Evening News, whom I had never met before. She wasn’t particularly enthusiastic, spending most of the flight asleep.
