Jottings - Slice of life - 436 ( The year 2020 for me - part 1)
The general feeling as we reach the end of 2020 is that we are unlikely to witness another year like this — perhaps, not in the lifetime of those of us who are in our forties or fifties. At least, that is our hope. Looking back, when the year opened in January, little did anyone foresee the trajectory the next twelve months was to take. Except for a few secretive doctors and molecular biologists in Wuhan, China( working under strict orders), nobody else, I would think, had an inkling of the impending catastrophe that would bring the world on its knees. Within a matter of few weeks beginning in late February, the virus found its way across international borders, infecting human bodies with a mathematical precision only an epidemic can achieve. People around the world slowly, hesitatingly, and in many cases unbelievingly, awakened to the fact that a pandemic, a potentially deadly virus, was raging in their midst. Prime ministers, presidents, mayors, and senior doctors with sardonic and grim faces, unsure of themselves or the counsel they were receiving, appeared on national television announcing lockdowns and urging people to maintain calm and restraint for a few weeks. Few weeks turned into months. Offices closed down, Airports stopped operations, businesses pulled downed their shutters, schools abruptly closed, and soon the gravity of what was happening hit all of us with full force. What was, until then, a news item on the TV and newspapers, suddenly became very personal and existential. It began to sink in that this was not a simple viral flu that is likely to quickly pass away, but something more primal and raw, a sliver of a mutated genetic code gone rogue and inimical to the human species. A vast population of us were in imminent danger if we did not collectively act with common sense, intelligence, adequate survival skills, and timely empathy.
The fact of the Pandemic hit me on the morning of 11th March 2020, when I woke up to WHO’s statement declaring a Global pandemic. A few days earlier, I returned home from the airport when the customer I was going to meet on the West coast canceled their meeting minutes before I boarded the flight. The company had presciently ( and a trifle optimistically ) closed down their facilities for just two weeks — till the end of March, and my meeting was rescheduled accordingly. The Atlanta airport was still buzzing with activity, and it didn’t look like anyone was really bothered about the epidemic. I took a cab back home munching the sandwich I had bought to eat on the flight and bantering with the Uber driver about the unnecessary panic over a virus. On the 15th of March, a few days after the WHO declaration, NIIT locked down its offices — again only for a few weeks to begin with; but as the weeks rolled by, and the severity of the epidemic intensified, it became increasingly clear we may not be able to return to the office anytime soon — perhaps never, in the way, we used to. A new paradigm of living and working had crystallized all of sudden — physical isolation, social distancing, and virtual socialization. By the month of May 2020, the acceptance of the pandemic across the globe was complete and irrevocable. Even the US, which for an initial few months vigorously resisted the idea of a pandemic ( costing it dearly in human lives) settled down to the “new normal” — as the new way of living came to be known.
The chilling realization that every time we choose to go out, meet people, or happen to be in close proximity to others, we run the risk of contracting a deadly virus or spreading it to others, became real by the end of June. I am often reminded of Albert Camus's poignant observation in his brilliant work “The Plague”. As the plague ravages the fictional Algerian town of Oran, Camus’s hero, the Doctor muses: “What's natural is the microbe. All the rest — health, integrity, purity (if you like) — is a product of the human will, of a vigilance that must never falter. The good man, the man who infects hardly anyone, is the man who has the fewest lapses of attention.” It is a brilliant passage, it resonates with brutal honesty today in the midst of the current real pandemic, against Camus's fictional one in his book. The only thing that can keep the epidemic in check is vigilance and attention to one's actions. You can be a good man, a spiritual aspirant, a philanthropist, a Prime minister, or a President — it doesn’t matter. The virus doesn’t differentiate or distinguish. It knows no such labels or boundaries. Prayers can perhaps offer some illusionary solace, but cannot get us anywhere against the spreading virus — only vigilance, scrupulous attention to measures preventing the spread of the virus can help. Just as a Tsunami abates only after running its furious course; similarly, an epidemic can subside only when it loses the freedom to spread. Therefore, a good man in the time of an epidemic is one who is vigilant enough not to consciously create an environment to spread the virus — nothing more.
The point that everyone is asking is this: how did we allow this to come to such a pass? How did we not prepare for this calamity, when all along, we knew that such a possibility existed? From the 1980s onwards, it is the same strain of the virus that has reared its head in different forms and shapes. Yet, mankind was caught utterly unprepared, and worse still — we allowed it to happen. We live in a knowledge society, and yet, all the knowledge we had about the possibility of this outbreak came to nothing when it really mattered. This pandemic has taught us, rather painfully, that Knowledge without wisdom is useless. We now have not one, but a few vaccines in place. In record time, Pharma companies have managed to wriggle through the rigorous process of producing a commercially available antidote. Ironically, as we breathe a sigh of relief, a new strain of the virus has broken out in England and other parts of Europe. Will the current vaccine hold? Only time and experience will tell. Did we hastily create a vaccine without waiting or factoring in, as experts have been telling us all along, that another more virulent outbreak of covid is likely to happen during the winter months? There are no answers to such questions.
I have survived 2020 - that’s a great deal, considering I couldn’t socially distance myself as much as I wanted to. I had to visit stores regularly to buy my daily groceries since none of them would home-deliver for less than a specific amount of order. I can’t buy in large quantities or stock either, because I am single, and perishables have a shelf life that I cannot avoid. For the first few months, I did live on tinned and frozen foods; but when it was clear that this regimen wasn’t going to end anytime soon, I gave up stocking, and started cooking fresh. I realized I had to stay healthy, in case I have to fight the virus. I meticulously wore a mask from the beginning, especially in public places.
This strange year has also profoundly transformed me. Large doses of solitude and time to think, and many other factors have helped catalyze and synthesis ideas that have been incubating for a long. Those are fulfilling moments indeed when mere ideas metastasize and take on a living reality.
I will continue with part 2 tomorrow.
God bless…
yours in mortality,
Bala
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