On a fight against the pandemic

(Originally dated 2nd March 2020)

All the masked faces I see around me, all the packed bags ready to be taken home, the televisions and radios busy broadcasting the latest news updates almost all day, the medical sector working round the clock to help humanity and to bring things under control, many panicked souls worried about their dear ones who are far and near, these are part of the consequences of Covid-19 that I could see in the small social circle that I know of. Apart from all this is the worrisome statistical numbers, which has led to the strict lockdown measures across the world. I am a student who is supposed to be in college, hurriedly finishing my assignments, presentations, exams and what not, but instead, here I am, sitting on my bed in my room, unable to stop thinking about the ‘how’s and ‘why’s of the current happenings. Unpredictability definitely rules and I’m not questioning its power. But what if mother nature is trying to convey something that we, humans, are failing to see and understand? 

 

“If we’re going to fight a disease, let’s fight one of the most terrible diseases of all, indifference.”

-Robin Williams

The Covid-19 virus, which emerged in the city of Wuhan, China, is now a pandemic which lamentably has a hold on more than 150 countries as of date. It is known to spread from person-to-person who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet), through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. When the world is under a threat, when people are fighting for their lives, hasn’t it become obvious enough that we should come together to fight this pandemic away? Or is the falling economy still our priority? Why are there people who haven’t yet taken ‘social distancing’ seriously? 

This year, like every other year in the recent past, was expected to have a significantly alarming amount of emission of greenhouse gases. Now that many cities are under lockdown, fuel demands have dropped significantly, transportation of people has come to a stand still in many places, reducing air pollution to a large extent. This rapid downfall in emission is something which is unusual enough and has been witnessed only in times of serious crisis like the 2008 financial crisis, the WW2 and the WW1. Is it just me or isn’t it plausible that the spread of this virus is a reminder for us to realize that we can be made helpless and vulnerable, that we should cherish the gifts of nature and not to take them for granted, only to fall prey to her fury? 

“Many of nature’s finest lessons are to be found in her storms, and if careful to keep in right relations with them, we may go safely aboard with them, rejoicing in the grandeur and beauty of their works and ways.”

-John Muir

In the beginning of 2020, there was a fear of the possibility of a World War 3 which was ignited in many. Though the buzz gradually faded away, the situation in hand makes me think about how the human mind is prone to worrying about things which probably don't deserve the attention it gets and how things that do matter are being deprived of the care they demand. There are a lot of small but important details that we fail to notice in our busy, scheduled lives. And if we do take a moment to pay attention to them, they will definitely prove to be worth it, sometime down the line. And here, I’m not trying to emphasize on what these small details are, because they are to be realized on our own, and all it takes to do so is to keep one’s eyes and senses open! There are lessons to be learnt even from a crisis like this and when we do recover and get back to our routined lives(which we hopefully will, pretty soon), we should make sure to take these along.

Now, when the inevitable is knocking on our doors, it is up to us to decide how we face

it. Having vengeance or harping on the issues that prevail in the society isn’t going

to help us anymore. Indifference is the last thing we need, and it isn’t some irresponsible rhetoric or fear that the world needs, but men who take responsibility for their actions, for the well-being of fellowmen, respecting and following the safety measures that are being taken for the prevention and cure of the disease. We’ve lost enough, we can’t afford to lose more. We’re going to overcome this, just like we have in the past when we were struck by the Great flu, the Asian flu, the HIV/AIDS and many more. 

“Shreyo Bhooyaath Sakala Janaanaam” - May All People of this World be Happy and Prosperous.

(This is the last line of the song “Maithreem Bhajatha”, a beautiful composition, aiming at the welfare of the entire human community, written by the Paramacharya of Kanchi and was rendered by Smt. M.S. Subbulakshmi at the United Nations Organisation in 1966 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the UNO.)

What can be and should be done, is to fight this together, not as a family or a society or a nation, but as global citizens.