This soundscape reflects what happened in Bhopal on December 2, 1984. The silence of the night punctuated by chirping crickets, and the humming Union Carbide plant in the distance. Heard next is the deadly gas traveling through various chambers until it leaks into the air. Sound of the gas leakage alternates with the plant’s sounds. After all neither did any machinery shut down nor did any emergency sirens go off. It seemed business as usual at the plant premises. The gas slipped into the wintery night and towards the unsuspecting victims most of whom were fast asleep in the area surrounding the plant. What follows is the breathlessness of the very first victim of this greatest industrial disaster.

© VIJAY  S  JODHA 2011