Surviving The Gujarat Quake.(Judy Frater )(Interview)(Brief Article)

Ten years ago Pennsylvania-born Judy Frater settled in India's western state of Gujarat. After frequent visits to the Kutch desert region, the former curator at Washington, D.C.'s Textile Museum wanted to reinvigorate the state's dying tradition of embroidery craft. Through the Kalaraksha Trust, which she helped found, the textile art of 500 village women has begun to win praise again. But Gujarat's cataclysmic earthquake, which may have killed upwards of 50,000 people, has altered her priorities. Last week Frater, 50, spoke to NEWSWEEK's Ian MacKinnon about the experience. Excerpts.

MACKINNON: What do you remember about the quake?

FRATER: I was in my bathroom in Bhuj about to take a bath. Suddenly the room was moving like a railway car--backwards and forwards. Totally bizarre. It took me a few seconds to comprehend what was going on. Somehow--from grade school probably--I remembered you should stand under the door frame in an earthquake. I grabbed hold of the doorway and thought it'd be over shortly. But it just seemed to go on and on forever. Nothing in the bathroom fell. But in the kitchen I could hear things falling. Anything breakable was broken. It was so violent. I froze there and remember thinking: "If I die here, they're going to find me naked." When it stopped I said to myself: "The water's still hot, so I might as well have my bath." My house was cracked all over the place. But I'd no clue about the devastation outside.

When did you realize the scale of the disaster?

I was totally shocked and confused. I threw on some clothes, put my wallet in my pocket and locked the door. I started off for the old city, where my best friend lived. But my landlord said police had cordoned it off. Then I was in a total panic. My neighbors were scurrying around to see if their family members were all right. One wanted a saw. "What do you need a saw for?" I asked. He told me people were trapped in a destroyed apartment building. We got reports the general hospital had collapsed. My driver arrived and told me he'd seen buildings falling. Rumors were flying around. When you're totally in the dark, it's very frightening.

How did you help the quake survivors?

Some girls from our artisans' communities are schooled in Bhuj. They'd been trapped in their hostel, but my driver had pulled them all out. One was badly injured--her scalp had been ripped off. She was taken to another hospital. We took the other injured girls to Sumerasar, where I knew there was a doctor. Going there I saw what ...