What impact did the atomic explosion leave on the people and the place as depicted in the poem ‘A doctor’s journal entry for august 6,1945’ By Vikram Seth?
Or, Give a description of the destruction of the property, people and the dignity as seen in the poem.
The sudden atomic explosion of August 6, 1945 on Hiroshima, Japan in an otherwise quiet and cheerful morning left immediate impact on the place and the people. The people received severe injuries. Some were crushed under the debris of the houses. Some were probably burnt and fatally injured to death. Our speaker, the doctor himself was seriously injured. He was bleeding and dislodged a piece of glass from his body. And on the way to the hospital, he could walk no more and finally sat on the ground. Again, sitting there on the way he was watching other people marching towards the hospital with their hands stretched out.
All the buildings were collapsing and things were scattered here and there. The doctor says “The roof, the walls and, as it seemed, the world collapsed in timber and debris”. Dust swirled everywhere. On the way to hospital the speaker and his wife saw how other houses tilted, swayed, toppled and crashed. Many people were under the debris of houses and other structures and died there. An atmosphere of fear was prevailing. Fire sprang up in the dust spread by the wind.
There was a huge loss of lives. The remaining persons still alive were undergoing a state of trauma. They were yet to understand what might have struck them and what was to do then. Some were quick enough to at least realize that they needed to reach the hospital, but their body didn’t permit them a long walk. Others who could continue walking, were joining the silent march of the naked people. Their clothes were all burnt in the flashes. They were undergoing such physical and mental pain that they couldn’t utter any words.
It was not only the destruction of property and people, but also a destruction of dignity. People were forced to keep silence and walk naked on the street. It is symbolic of the inherent barbaric nature of war.