Family members of Daud Alam. Picture by Rakesh K Singh

Gopalganj/Patna, March 13: Musharraf Parvin, a 35-year-old woman, cannot sleep even for a moment. The tsunami in Japan has wreaked havoc in her life.

Her husband, Daud Alam (38), was in Yokama town in Japan when the catastrophe struck the country. His cellphone is unreachable and the family has not been able to contact him for the past two days.

Parvin and her three children — Imam Musarraf (12), Aatim Daud (8) and Vakil Daud (6) — are scared the tsunami might have something to do with the sudden disappearance of Daud, but they are hopeful he will call them soon. The family members, living in Jangalia Mohalla under Gopalganj town, are spending their days praying to god for the well-being of Daud who had gone to Japan in February this year as manager of a construction company.

Parvin is at loss about the whereabouts of her husband. Maybe the astrologers, who attributed the tsunami to “a shift in the positions of planets” at a seminar organised on the premises of AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies, could help her locate Daud. Over 200 astrologers took part in the two-day seminar organised by Indian Council of Astrological Sciences (ICAS), Patna chapter. The event concluded today.

The astrologers said the tsunami was an influence of shift in planetary positions. V. Narayan, the national general secretary of ICAS, said: “The same thing happened when a tsunami hit Tamil Nadu in 2005. At present, constellations like Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo and Pisces are situated in east, south, west and north, respectively, and whenever this happens, it triggers financial crisis, natural calamities and political shifts. You can witness the turmoil in Egypt and Libya. No power on earth can stop this. We don’t predict anything, every fact is based on science and thorough research.”

He added: “This year six eclipses will take place and two of these will occur in India in a single month between June and December. They will surely lead to climatic changes in some parts of the country.” C.K. Rangacharya, the vice-president of ICAS, said: “Japan will take not more than two-and-half-years to recover from the devastation.”

R.K. Narayan, the chairman of ICAS, Patna chapter, talked about the importance of astrology in today’s life. “Astrology is not only about marriage or business but much more. It’s a limb of the Vedas which is based on the theory of karma. The birth takes place according to the destiny of the individuals as a result of past karma.”