1934 killer quake survivors recall twin horror in Nepal

EOI, PTI, KATHMANDU 10 May 2015: The recent deadly earthquake in Nepal has brought back memories of the 8.3-magnitude temblor that struck the country 81 years ago and claimed nearly 12,000 lives.

The earthquake that shook the Himalayan nation on January 15, 1934 is considered to be Nepal's worst tragedy ever, which not only claimed nearly 12,000 lives but also destroyed thousands of buildings and severely damaged the country's architectural fabric, including the three famous Darbar Squares and the iconic Dharhara Tower.

Parsuram Upadhyay, 90, considers the previous earthquake "scarier". "I feel lucky to have survived not just one but two killer quakes. But the one that hit us in 1934 was scarier. Jets of water sprouted from the ground, and the earth shook like it was possessed by some demon," Upadhyay told PTI.

"Houses tumbled down like a pack of cards and the three famous Durbar Squares were badly damaged. I had put it all behind me but this quake, it reminded me of the experience that fateful year," said Upadhyay, a resident of Bhaktapur district.

And, Upadhyay was indeed lucky to survive the current earthquake as Bhaktapur district in the Kathmandu Valley suffered massive damage with rows and rows of houses flattened by the fury, and the immense loss of architectural heritage at Darbar Square.

Siraha and Saptari districts were among the worst-affected in the Terai Belt in the 1934 temblor.

Devi, his 84-year-old wife, who was just a three-year-old child back then, has very faint memories, but she says, "her parents have told many stories about the '90 saal ka bhukampa', and she feels blessed to have lived through both of them.

The 1934 earthquake, dubbed officially the Great Bihar-Nepal Earthquake is known in Nepal as the '90 saal ka bhukamapa (the 90's quake)', referring to the Bikram Samwat equivalent of the year (1934 AD equals 1990 BS), according to the calendar followed in the Himalayan nation.

Ninety two-year-old Bhotu Thapa, who survived the tragic event, called the previous quake "a harsh reality, a nightmare."

"The bodies were buried as there were so many and they were unable to cremate," reminisces Thapa, who was a 11-year-old boy then.

After the April 25 earthquake too, the funeral pyres on banks of Bagmti burnt for two continuous days, from dusk till dawn.

The 7.9-magnitude temblor, which has killed over 8,000 people last month and robbed the country of its architectural heritage again, thus in many ways has also become an eerie reminder of that 1934 calamity, which had wreaked havoc on both sides of the Himalayas.