Let me get back to my old ways, talking about my colorful Island. I would classify Mauritius as a small village of the world where gossips and rumors rank among the best practiced sports. It has been a long time since I wrote about the cultural backstage of the island, an important facet that any visitor or immigrant must understand – or learn it the hard way. This tiny village has stories; sweet, spicy or salty, which makes it an interesting place to live in; even more interesting when all is condensed in such a small place. You don’t need the media to relay much, word of mouth is enough.

This week was loaded in terms of distractions. We got our first Cyclone of 2022, named Batsirai. We felt its presence, unlike so many previous ones who were mere wind blowers. Batsirai reached Class 4, the strongest alert possible on the island. For your information, schools are closed from Class 2 and insurance does not cover vehicles travelling after 3 hours from the issue of Class 3. Cyclones are a kind of family get-together. Before Covid lockdowns, cyclones were the only events where one could find a full family confined to the walls of their homes. Every cyclone brings some nostalgia where the elderlies would recall what they did. There is, you’ve guessed it right, a sort of tradition at home during a cyclone.

Eating is what comes to mind when you’re sitting idle the whole day, watching the rain and listening to wind whistling and hissing. The classic food is the inevitable pharata (farata or some call it roti) with chicken masala curry. Pharata is just like your tacos / quesadilla but much thinner. You can have it with a curry (or several curries) or with a butter spread. Pharata became the tradition as it is easily made and replaces the traditional bread. It is a consistent meal, mind you – and a treat for tastebuds.

Board games are also a favorite among families. Monopoly and Scrabble are probably the most popular ones. They have travelled generations and do not alienate any member of the family. Of course, things have changed over the years, regrettably. The likely scenario these days would have each member of family hooked to a screen and engaged with his own self or with someone not in the house. Anyways, evolution of mankind. In the days where a family would not afford board games (yes, there were days and there still are families in this situation), the best leisure would be watching special TV programs. I remember when I was a kid there was only one TV channel and it had to accommodate all cultures of the island. So, one would enjoy shows of different languages in one stretch of the day. Kids were pampered by the national TV: circus shows, cartoons, and kids movies were all over the place. Those were the days.

The cultural diversity is also very resonant in the cyclone news and announcements. These are broadcasted in four languages: English, French, Creole and Bhojpuri (a dialect that mixes creole and Indian languages). Cyclone bulletins, giving the latest movement updates, and change in cyclonic alert levels have a distinct jingle and, again, everyone can mimic this sound. With technology, we do not need to keep the radio on all the time. In the early days (or my younger days) we would keep the radio on as we never knew when the next announcement will be made.

The greatest fear for any youngster, during a cyclone, is not the damage it can cause… the greatest fear is electricity cut. No internet, no TV… life becomes miserable. Electricity cuts are rather frequent given that all our systems are based on poles, of which many are in wood. Trees outgrowing electric poles and wires result in line breaks.  Charged wires hanging loose or lying on the ground is not a rare scene. Fortunately, with more recent infrastructure, such hazards are being reduced. I remember the black-out on the island during the passage of cyclone Hollanda. We had no electricity for almost two weeks and families had to go to the nearest river for the laundry. During those times, a curious phenomenon hit us all : the famous ghost named ‘touni-minuit’ (translate Naked Midnight). In the dark nights, there were stories of a strange creature, visiting houses (and women). Hysteria and paranoia everywhere. I know one old person who died of a heart attack thinking he saw the touni-minuit on his roof. Strange enough, the ghost was sophisticated and polite; he’d give a phone call and warn people of his visit. That was in February 1994. Hollanda is often considered as a ‘reference’ in class 4 cyclones, in modern cyclone stories. It came with gusts of 216 KmH.

 Not every cyclone brings damages to the island, thank God. Most of them, even when reaching class 4, bring wind and rain. Mauritian houses and buildings are mostly concrete built, therefore very resistant. The damages, and in modern era, cannot be compared to those caused by Hurricanes and Typhoons. All to confirm that the island is blessed by the Gods. Our grandparents often narrate the devastation that happened in the 60s and 70s through infamous cyclones named Alix, Carol, Gervaise and Claudette, raging with gusts reaching (or exceeding) 200KmH. Modern cyclones hardly reach around 130KmH (class 4 classification comes with anticipated gusts of 120KmH).  Gervaise was the most dangerous one, recording gusts of 280KmH as it passed over Mauritius, while the common trajectory is about 80-150Km from the shores of the island. This was in 1975.

The strongest we had in the recent past was Gamede (2007) which had gusts of 158KmH and it passed 230 km away from the north west coast.

These days cyclones are mostly associated with a day-off school. From class 2, schools are closed but other professional activities remain opened until class 3 is announced. Strangely, there’s more a sense of holiday than fear on the island – probably it is better this way. In Batsirai Class 4, there were videos of irresponsible people (whole families) having a swim in the lagoon. It all translates the nonchalance of a population not appraised of the dangers of natural calamities. I remember when the great tsunami hit Indonesia and news were circulating about its imminent reaching of our shores, many found it not inappropriate to stand by the beaches to watch the waves. I would also translate this into a confirmation, up to now, that the island is blessed by the Gods. There hasn’t been any major catastrophic event recently (except probably the flash floods in Port Louis causing 11 deaths) and thus the population does not have any sense of danger. Maybe this, in itself, is the danger.

You know better what a cyclone means to Mauritius now !

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