When Michael Coe, an expert on Mayas, a Mesoamerican civilization wrote in the 1960’s that December 21, 2012 could herald an “Armageddon” to cleanse humanity according to the ancient Mesoamerican culture, he would not have foreseen the amount of hype and hysteria that is being seen in various parts of the world. Fueled partly by doomsday Hollywood films on one hand, and internet fatalists over the years, the pitch of noise over a total destruction of the world has taken on a fervor and the bizarre. An international news section in a national newspaper mentioned of mass hysteria in a Russian prison, a Chinese man building survival pods for doomsday. The much respected newspaper, ‘The Guardian’ had a slightly tongue in cheek segment where the text was written in a question and answer sequencing. Amongst others, it said that in Chechnya and various other parts of Russia, politicians were calling for calm after superstitious citizens started panic buying of candles, torches, salt and matches. Elsewhere in China, it reported that there has been a healthy dose of doomsday profiteering with dedicated websites selling gas masks and tinned food, and one Chinese furniture-maker has been hawking a range of hand-built glass-fibre survival pods at exorbitant rates.
Coe had written that according to the Maya Long Count calendar, December 21, 2012 marks the end of the 13th bak`tun, an epoch lasting some 400 years and the beginning of the 14th which would coincide with an Armageddon or the end of the world. The fears of the world ending has led to such discussions and reactions amongst the public in countries all over the world that even the U.S. space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has gone to the extent of making a statement to the effect that “our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.” According to NASA, the buzz over the December story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened, the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012 and linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 — hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012.” The idea of a doomsday or a cycle giving way to another way is also accepted in Hindu mythology with the talk of one era or a ‘jug’ giving way to another and a final cataclysmic end.
In an age of scientific advancements and technology, one would expect that people would scoff at the idea of a ‘doomsday’ but in this case, it is another face of technology: the internet, which has spread the panic. Social networking sites are full of discussions on the topic: some on the lighter side and some on the serious and philosophical. But one common strain that is emerging out of this universal fascination and fear psychosis is that the idea of ‘an end of the world’ is something that makes people feel bereft and at a loss: that there will be no tomorrow for anyone. Yet, it is equally true that there is the other kind of people who are trying to make the best of ‘an end of world scenario’ by offering ways out of being struck down. Cashing into the anxiety of people many have come up with contraptions that are supposed to keep one safe and sound as the world destructs and all too expectedly, they come with steep prices. What other irony can be there that in the event of the world ending, those who ‘have’ can still be saved while those who ‘don’t have’ will perish!