The gigantic, glistening building with its gleaming windows stood in front of us. The students stood in a queue talking nineteen to the dozen as the line slowly entered The Great COVID-19 Museum. All eyes fell on the incredible lifelike statues and the brilliant paintings depicting the global crisis three decades ago. For the students, this trip was an unexpected journey, but for us teachers, it was like going back in time and experiencing it all again. A pair of curious eyes looked at me and asked, “Was this really true?”

I smiled and replied, “Yes.” As we went outside for lunch, the students begged me to narrate my own tale of the pandemic. “There’s nothing better than a first-hand experience.” I took a deep breath and combed through my memory as I described what the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic had brought to humanity.

“It all started with seemingly insignificant news reports which soon became the talk of the town. My father, a government official, was getting reports each day, and what seemed like an unrealistic situation soon became a bitter reality. The news was covered with horrible scenes of cremation grounds, people losing their loved ones, some not even getting a chance to conduct the last rites of their departed family members. It was really miserable.”

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Drawing comfort from the beautiful verses that Lord Tennyson wrote over a hundred and seventy years ago, it is once again the perfect time to ‘ring out the old, ring in the new’. We welcome another year with gratitude to simply be alive and well, reeling from what has been a true test of the human superpower of resilience.

We arrived into 2021 fervently hoping to escape from the grasp of a global health crisis that the United Nations described as quite unlike any other in the history of its 75 years.

The novel coronavirus was and is not limited to a health crisis; it has wreaked havoc on social, economic and psychological levels. It claimed lives and livelihoods, hitting marginalized pockets of the world hard and affecting almost every industry. Children today have spent entire academic years indoors and have yet to fully grasp what our ‘normal’ used to be.

As vaccines were deployed successfully, we rose to the challenge and attempted to achieve a semblance of the pre-Covid era. Schools, colleges and offices reopened carefully. Entertainment and social gatherings became possible gradually. The world got back into its hustle and bustle.

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Even as the Government of India grapples with negativity and pessimism, largely unleashed by the media, a marvel of engineering is being readied in one of the most strategically significant areas of India. It has taken us ten years to build the ambitious double-tube Banihal-Qazigund Tunnel along the 270 km Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, and has cost us nearly Rs 2,100 crores. It shall ensure that Kashmir shall be linked to the rest of India during all weathers and in all conditions. The people are relieved; are rejoicing. Whether to take their goods or their loved ones in distress for medical treatment during the harsh winters — the citizens of this part of India shall heave a sigh of relief.

Yes, a lot is happening in India. Away from the glaring, ill-conceived and largely unjustified criticism of all that the government does or doesn’t do, there are countless stories of hope, valour and grit.

A large number of entrepreneurs and innovators across India responded quickly to the challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Asimov Robotics, a start-up based in Kerala, deployed robots at entrances to office buildings and other public places to dispense hand sanitizer, and in isolation wards to carry food and medicines in order to ease the pressure on medical staff.

In early April 2020, the Indian Government launched the COVID-19 tracking app, Aarogya Setu, which uses GPS and Bluetooth to inform people when they are at risk of exposure to COVID-19. The app was launched before a similar initiative from tech giants Google and Apple got off the ground.

Many start-ups developed low-cost, easy-to-use and portable ventilators which could be deployed even in rural areas of India.

Let us talk of cheer and positivity, even as we pray for the waves of the deadly pandemic to finally recede forever… Not only has India been witnessing some very remarkable integrating efforts between universities, industries (start-ups) and the government, but also some heartening efforts by individuals in all walks of life.

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Malls, branded shops, factory outlets, supermarkets, one-stop shops, on-demand smartphone apps and the like put up their shutters. Now, the convenience stores that have almost been turfed out by big names and periodically went out of business are once again making a go of themselves, lively and vigorous. Once a colourful and vibrant hallmark of typical rural and suburban life, these corner stores did not shut up overnight. But a combination of factors over the decades led to the transition from departmental stores to novel atmospheres, big and colourful, where we also hear foreign words that are exotic brands. Known to all, shopkeepers could not fend off competition from big business that changed consumer habits. Nothing wrong with opting for comfortable brands till we know how much is enough. 

The self-described minimalist in me prevents me from going farther from home that requires a drive or ride to purchase anything that I can find at the store round the corner. Love affairs with local stores never end because they were more than just selling and buying. Yes, they were social by nature. People knew the shopkeepers, and vice versa. People visiting the stores fondly addressed the keeper as annachi, greeted each other by name, exchanged gossip and we got totally oriented as to what was happening in the entire neighbourhood or town. Regulars even purchased on credit. Many came just to pick up a copy of the daily newspaper. While growing up, many of us would have experienced that first taste of independence in walking or riding our cycles to the local shop, often with a family member or a pet in tow. Mostly, shopping meant picking up a few items for parents as well as the obligatory coconut candy, lollipop, a Cadbury or something that’s denied to us. Strolling downtown Nagercoil to Warrens, an ice cream parlour, on Saturdays with my bestie to hang out for hours and hours is such a vivid hometown memory I cherish.

The humble corner store is having a revival of sorts much to my delight. Since COVID-19 has stopped people from looking for more than just essentials, all seek a peaceful, safe and quiet shopping in departmental stores which exist as a ‘social-glue’ amidst social distancing. Unlike olden days, the shopkeeper doesn’t know shoppers’ preferences or have prepared any purchase in advance to be readily delivered. Groceries from any corner store are also meant to sustain proper social relations and the present generation is getting the first taste of it.

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Mumbai, India’s financial capital, is also home to the world’s largest slums. Here, the world’s richest and poorest live alongside each other! Experts feared that Mumbai’s slums would explode with the Covid-19 pandemic. However, on the contrary, during both the first and second wave of the pandemic, Mumbai’s slums exploded with compassion, resilience, and a strong community spirit.

In March 2020, Covid-19, combined with the sudden and complete lockdown, struck a deadly blow to the residents of these slums — lower middle class and unorganized workers, migrant daily wage labourers, and small entrepreneurs. As the people here are used to facing crises, information about pandemic control spread like wildfire and people co-operated with the efforts of medical and security workers.

There was an equally deadly enemy: poverty! With all establishments closed down and no means of travel outside the city, the working class, especially the daily wage earners and migrant labourers faced an unprecedented crisis, leading to starvation and daily deaths.

It was then that the undying spirit of community-based organizations all over Mumbai, swung into action. It was not only NGOs from outside, but also NGOs born and nurtured in the slums that decided that no one should go hungry. Even as you read this article, they are waging their battles against poverty and hunger during the second wave of the pandemic too. Three such organizations are: the Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), Hum Sab Ek Hain Foundation and the Mohalla Committee Movement Trust (MCMT).

Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan

The Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) office, a small two-storey structure sits in the heart of the slums of Kherwadi and Bandra East. Founded in 2007 by academicians turned social activists Noorjehan Safia Niaz and Zakia Soman, this women’s organization has been leading struggles for Muslim women’s personal and professional rights, domestic and political freedom, for equal access to education, employment and healthcare. The ban on triple talaq and the movement for opening places of worship to women are among some of their achievements.

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“It’s your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself, that determines how your life’s story will develop.”
~ D. F. Uchtdorf

A terrible lot has happened over the past one year and a half! A lot, indeed…
A lot of panic.
A lot of deaths.
A lot of running helter-skelter.
A lot of baffled reactions.
A lot of recklessness.
A lot of over-confidence.
A lot of job losses.
A lot of deliberately induced negativity.
A lot of loneliness.
A lot of new avenues.
A lot of creativity.
A lot of negligence.

In short, life will never be as it used to be before the pandemic created this havoc. Even for nations and individuals that were not much rocked by grief and losses, life will not be the same ever again. The same was, perhaps, said of the World Wars and other big disasters that shook the world, but though those events were huge — the world wasn’t this global and the impact wasn’t felt this overwhelmingly. This time, we are all devastated by it — a little or a lot! But, we are…

Is there anyone out there, who hasn’t lost anyone he or she knew personally? A neighbour or an uncle or a teacher or a cousin or a friend’s parent or any other relative or a friend? A lot of us have also faced loneliness, helplessness at our inability to reach out to our loved ones, financial constraints and most important, almost all of us have faced FEAR!!! The FEAR of what lies ahead, and how shall we cope with the uncertainties ahead — is gnawing us from within…

While a lot of articles, slogans and messages, are doing rounds, we alone can best lay down what is the most suitable mantra for us. Although, the final choice is ours, there is no harm in trying to understand whatever we can in a bid to boost our preparedness.

One such attempt at a holistic strategy/mantra for the days and years ahead can be: “I-SEE”.

‘I’ ought to be our most important concern, right now. If you survive and survive well, only then you can be of any use to your loved ones, and to the community at large. Hence, the first ought to be ‘I’. Sit down with a pen and paper and jot down everything that you can about yourself like:

• what foods suit you
• what ails you
• what causes you discomfort
• how much do you sleep

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As a college student, I have learnt the following valuable lessons during the pandemic:

1. I have become aware of the importance of medical literacy or health literacy which can be defined as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions”. Even before the pandemic, medical literacy was required. But, now it is needed more than ever. It was due to the lack of medical literacy, that even U. S. President Donald Trump seemingly promoted the drug hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, as a “preventive measure” for Covid-19, though its effectiveness was never clinically proven.

2. I have also learnt how technology has basically become the backbone for human development. We rely so heavily on modern technology that all our day-to-day activities have become digitized. From basic education to stocks, everything has become internet-reliant. The lesson I have learnt is that with the help of technology we can learn many things on our own. Technology has not spread its wings throughout the world, certain places still lack proper internet connectivity, which has become the digital oxygen for us humans.

3. Moreover, I have learnt how easily humans can adapt to change. In a week’s time, most educational institutions and industrial organisations adapted themselves to using web conferencing applications like Zoom, Google Meet, etc. Online education has more benefits than physical face-to-face teaching as it has a much wider spread and all information or educational content becomes open-sourced.

The pandemic caused a lot of suffering to people all over. Millions of people lost their jobs and livelihood; over a million people lost their lives. All of a sudden, everything came to a standstill. Almost everyone has a sad story or other to narrate. However, by looking at the pandemic only negatively, we won’t be able to move forward.

Though the pandemic is looked at negatively by vast sections of people for various reasons, it has also had positive impact on us in many ways. Above all, we have come to know that the future is always uncertain and as humans, we need to live our lives, and move ahead in the best way possible.

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“It’s positive! You are advised immediate follow-up treatment and total isolation,” came the expected message from the Covid-19 test centre! This was followed by loads of advice from friends, family members, doctors, nurses, and the like. “Inhale steam, gargle with saline water, take good rest, sleep well, take vitamin supplements, do breathing exercises, and bathe in plenty of sunshine,” etc., were some of the well-meaning but repeated instructions. All these were intended at one single programme: Boost your immune system to fight and conquer the obnoxious virus that can attack and destroy the cells on some of your vital organs.

Today, as the whole world is battling the deadly virus, we stand in need of a greater moral and spiritual force to fight and conquer various types of evils that threaten the existence of human family. The pandemic teaches that the world needs a renewal, a rejuvenation, and a resurgence from its moral and spiritual degradation.

1. Immunity against the Pandemic of Injustice

Injustice is the violation of the right of a person or group of persons. Justice calls for equal opportunity and treatment of every citizen before the law. Everyone has a right to one’s human dignity: to profess one’s faith, to work and earn decent wages, free speech and movement, right to education, food, etc. When any of these rights are denied to someone, it amounts to injustice.

Unfortunately, injustice is rampantly on the rise in our own free society. Due to prevailing caste system and the unequal distribution of wealth and opportunities, the poor and the less-privileged are often unjustly exploited and oppressed by the rich and the powerful. Injustice is meted out to the Dalits and the poor by the upper class and the ruling class. It is blatantly clear that in recent times, even the courts of law in our country award two sets of justice — one for the elite and another for the poor and the weaker sections.

We need to boost ourselves with the power to stand for and fight injustice wherever it is found. It develops in us from a daily dose of our own awareness of what is the value of human dignity.

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Grandma, lying in her comfortable bed, heard her door opening.

“Hello, grandma!” said her teenage granddaughter, as she swept into the room.

“Hello, my dear girl!” said Grandma. “How nice of you to see me today! I missed you yesterday!”

“Oh grandma, I had such fun yesterday!”

“You did; come sit and tell your grandmother all about it,” said grandma as she shifted a bit, and lovingly made place for her granddaughter. “So tell me what did you do?”

“Oh grandma, you know the malls are open, so I went shopping, and since I was out, called Susan and Kumar, and we went over to a bar and had a few beers. It was such fun, grandma!”

“Ah my child, I hope you wore a mask while doing all this?”

“You can’t sip a beer with a mask on, can you, grandma?” said the teenage girl, and they both laughed heartily imagining the scene.

“Looks like you’ve brought a gift for me?” asked the grandmother staring at a covered bowl, “Open it, dear, so grandma can know what you’ve brought me from the outside world!”

The scream that came from the old lady echoed round the house and even to the neighbour’s and the street below, as her granddaughter uncovered the bowl, and the green and yellow virus sprang out, caught the old lady around her throat and slowly entered her lungs.

A few days later, the family lit her funeral pyre. Grandpa couldn’t come for the funeral as he was beginning to feel sick!

Gruesome as this story may sound, this is exactly what we do, when we from the younger generation break norms prescribed to keep the virus away.

I spoke to a group of youngsters a few months ago, just after the lockdown had been imposed and asked them what they felt about being locked in at home. I felt so glad as youngster after youngster talked about it being a necessary sacrifice to keep their parents and grandparents alive and safe.

“If we don’t catch the virus, we are saving their lives!” they all said.

Rightly so!

“What they don’t know,” said the virus, chuckling, “Is that many of them never know I’ve got into them, and it’s only when a senior member picks it up at home, they realize they were asymptomatic all along, as they mixed and mingled with each other and loafed round without precautions! Ha, ha, ha!”

I personally know someone who went shopping, bought the best of delicacies for all at home, from the beginning of the lockdown. Today, she lives, while the two older ones are dead!

“Please don’t warn them, Bob!” mutters the virus angrily, “I quite like being a take home gift!”

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For weeks I’ve been hearing the sound of the pitter patter of rain outside my window, but was told that though the rain was falling in the city, it wasn’t falling in the lakes, which meant that after the monsoons retreated there would be a scarcity of water in the city.

“For the lakes to be filled, you need strong winds to blow the rain clouds inland, and over the lakes,” explained a friend to me.

The strong winds obviously didn’t come, and soon a twenty per cent water cut was introduced in the city. A twenty per cent water cut when announced transmits into a fifty per cent cut, as the municipality never announces the severity of the cut they make.

And then the strong winds came. They came with such force that the newspapers reported that trees fell, a landslide happened and old buildings collapsed, even as people got electrocuted because of the floods!

“The lakes are filling!” said, the same friend to me gleefully.

“Thanks!” I told my friend, because he reminded me that beyond the immediate, which was trains not running and water getting into home and streets, there was a big picture being created, a picture that told you and me that we could be in the happy position of having water without a cut for the next whole year.

And my eyes stray to the same newspaper which reports the floods, the landslides and no mention of the lakes… is it doing the same with this pandemic?

Is there a bigger picture forming in the background that no one is talking about?

Has there been a bigger awareness that life is short and all the politics, and money building is futile because we may not be here tomorrow?

Are we still involved in property disputes with a brother or sister, fighting over a piece of land, which this pandemic might never allow us to build on?

Even as the newspapers point their cameras at the virus stalking outside our doorsteps, and forcing us to shut ourselves inside, have we found joy in a long-lost friend calling to ask how we were, and being happy for the concern shown? Maybe a relationship growing stronger, bonding taking place during this lockdown?

Have we found during this catastrophic time that our faith has increased, our righteous living grown more pronounced and a sense of stillness and peace quietly taking over ourselves?

That, dear friends, is the sound of the lakes filling even as the winds, the rain and the floods make their presence outside!

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