26th
Mar 2020
Corona: Connected world’s eye opener
Covid-19,
popularly called Corona virus has been an unprecedented phenomenon which has
changed the way we live globally. Originated in Wuhan, this disease has now spread
to almost all the countries of the world. This has resulted in panic, pandemic
and severe stress in everyone’s mind. One of the worst affected countries are
China (although as I write this the situation in China is largely under
control), Italy (by far the worst affected with highest number of deaths
recorded till date), US, Spain, France and Iran. South Korea has mitigated the
spread commendably by extensive testing and isolation.
India, my own country, is in a
state of National Lockdown and everyone is house-bound, stepping out only for
essential goods/services and emergencies. While Governments, Police, Healthcare
professionals, Cleanliness workers, Emergency services and people working for
companies classified under essential services have been working day and night
to keep situation under control and with minimum hassles for community living,
people are shaken to their cores. No one, even in their wildest imaginations,
had seen anything like this coming. The world has turned upside down. In my
imagination, the nature has given the world the tightest of slaps till date, at
least in the last 50 odd years.
Let us, for a moment, sit back and look at how this whole
thing has unfolded. The world got infected in a matter of months, with 1st
case having been reported in Dec 2019 and in March the whole world is (pun
intended) sneezing. How did we go from being oblivious to each others’ cultures
to getting the same diseases?
Equalizer
The
same global connectivity which has benefited the mankind in terms of knowledge,
accessibility, travel, awareness and progress became the vehicle for this
deadly, invisible equalizer. Yes, Corona is the biggest equalizer which has
brought everyone in this world to the same level. Suddenly, no one is rich and
no one is poor. No one is spending lavishly but only spending on basic
necessities. No religious discrimination reported in the last month or so. No
criminal activities (at least none reported) doing the rounds. Suddenly there
is an eerie silence across the globe, silence of fear, introspection and to
some extent gratitude. Everyone is empathizing with others, trying to
understand each others’ pain. I mourn Italians’ deaths, express concern over
increasing numbers in US, Spain etc. People show care and concern about the
condition of other people across social strata. How has this been possible? We all
have been slapped and forced to sit idle and think. We had all, in our perpetual
materialistic rat races, forgotten that we’re all humans and need to have that
sense of belongingness and gratitude. We’ve been force fed the bitter syrup of
empathy, introspection and humility. All temples, mosques, churches etc. are
closed and people have started looking inward for answers.
Mirror
The virus has indeed shown us all the chinks in our so
called armor. The armor of global connectivity, the whole ‘global’ness in fact. We were under the false impression of safety,
supremacy and dominance. Nature has gently (on his scale, for us it’s been
disastrous) told all of us how insignificant and puny we are. At the slightest
hint of this disease, all our travel, social gathering and lavish displays of
wealth have stopped. We had been trying to exploit our mother earth as if there’s
no tomorrow. Nature has only shown us that there is tomorrow but we humans may
not be a part of it. In a very relatable clip from the movie Inferno based on Dan Brown’s novel,
Betrand Zobrist speaks about how fast we’re growing (rather outgrowing
ourselves) on this earth. With such limited supplies, this overexploitation is
just reducing our time here. Without sounding too dramatic, I’d like to note
here that our doom is certain. It’s just a matter of when. We, especially in
the last century, have started hurrying towards our own extinction. Nature has
just shown us the mirror. If we still want to race towards it, we would be
successful, but ironically won’t be there to celebrate it. This lockdown has
also given ample time for everyone to individually introspect. To look at what we
have been doing in the past, and how much of it really made sense. We’re
reinventing our true needs and realigning our priorities. It is surprising to
see how few things are actually necessary.
Everything else is just a way to fulfil our snobbish wants. It is a wakeup call
for us. Wake up from your stupor of ego, self-centeredness and arrogance.
Tutorial
Whatever be the theories about origin of the Corona virus, may
it be through accidental or intentional intimate contact with bats or any other
wild animals or though some laboratory, one thing is certain. We should learn
not to mess with nature. We’ve been taught this tutorial many times but we just
don’t listen. As Alanna Shaikh, a global health expert and an expert on health
systems, puts it beautifully: With our constant exploration and
exploitation of nature, it’s not a question of if but when we would get
the next virus. As we interact with the wild and come in contact with the unexplored
areas of the earth, we’d come in contact with these unknown bacteria and viruses
for the first time. This will not stop as our ever growing population means
there’s going to be ever growing need for land; for cultivation, for housing,
for travel enthusiasm and finally for pure curiosity. What we CAN do is, be
more responsible and appreciate nature while interacting with it. Be harmonious
in our ways rather than being violent. Live by being a part of nature, not
trying to dominate it or be above it. Not only is it pathetic and futile, it is
in the best interest of mankind to be gentle.
Positive Vibe
While this Corona
virus has terrorized people to the core and caused inconvenience across, there
are still many positive outcomes which would have never happened if not for
this virus. Some of them are:
·
People spending quality
time with family
·
People speaking heart
to heart, rather than about business and in some artificial way
·
Air pollution coming
drastically down and climate becoming surprisingly pleasant
·
Calm and serenity with
almost no noise around
·
Appreciation of natural
beauty in the surrounding
·
Me time (Most important
according to me) for spirituality, introspection and reinventing yourself
·
People doing physical
and mental exercises to stay fit
·
People staying away
from bad habits such as tobacco, smoking, drinking etc.
Friends, I totally understand
that all of you are tense, stressed and (to different degrees) in panic. The
whole world is telling us how bad the situation is, how important isolation is
and how tough the times ahead are (sometimes even when we don’t want to look at
it). I have simply tried to go beyond all that and touch a bigger point that
transcends work, economy and daily grinds. Even if some of you feel refreshed,
positive and introspective after reading this, I would consider myself
successful.
May this earth be as beautiful
as ever…
Stay Healthy, Stay Safe, Stay
with yourself!!!
Sarang Tilak
Mumbai, India
