Storms across the world

Charley, Isabel, Frances, Andrew -as innocuous as the names sound, to the people who have experienced the hurricanes (known as severe cyclonic storms or typhoons in other parts of the world), the harm that they inflict is quite palpable. As communities in some parts of Florida begin to rebuild their homes, Frances, now downgraded to a tropical storm is plowing through a different part of the state on its way to the interior parts of the country. For some, the worst of the ordeal is over.

On the other side of the world, soon-to-be freshmen in the state of Karnataka, India are breathing a sigh of relief as the admission process is about to start after a whirlwind of court battles and negotiations between the college management boards and the state government. The seat sharing structure between the government (which admits in-state students) and the management (which admits both in-state and out-of-state students at a higher fee rate) has been worked out. At last, the ordeal has ended.

And in Beslan, Russia the heartrending cries of mothers and fathers and husbands and wives and sons and daughters and relatives and friends could silence the noise of a Frances or a Charley. Hundreds are buried and hundreds are still missing. Many bodies are charred beyond recognition. For President Putin and the rest of Russia, the consolation is that hundreds made it out alive. And at least, the ordeal is over.