Jottings - Slice of life - 439 ( The year 2020 for me - part 4 - the conclusion)
A calendar year is only an agreed-upon convention for measuring time, as much as the lines of longitude and latitude are only imaginary lines around the earth. There is no intrinsic reality to any of them. Nothing changes tonight at 12:00 PM. The Earth is not going to pause for a few minutes, take a bow, and tremblingly announce across the galaxies that a new year has begun on a blue ( Carl Sagan’s description of the Earth)dot in the cosmos. No! It will simply move on. It is a uniquely human trait to measure time chronologically. All other species live by the natural rhythms of nature, except Man. To us, the ticking of the clock, and the shifting days on the calendar — are more real than ourselves. In 1752, when England decided to finally switch from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian, Englishmen had to “lose” twelve days to synchronize the calendar with the Gregorian calendar — which meant that after Wednesday, the 2nd September 1752, the next day was revised to 14th September 1752. People rose in revolt over this change. They demanded, “ Give us back our eleven days” as if their life span was reduced by a legislative act. This episode may well be an urban myth, but even then, it is not entirely unbelievable that people may have actually felt that way. After all, Chronological time is everything for us. Our lives are a constant race against, and, with time.
The year 2020 will go down in the history books as the year the Pandemic struck, and how modern man, despite his technical and material progress, was yet again, humbled made to deeply reflect on his precarious place in nature. Natural disasters, whenever they strike, do bring such a humbling realization each time; but, their impact is always localized, and never felt across the globe. Watching on television, a Tsunami devastating a shoreline is one thing, and having a pandemic lurking on one’s doorstep is quite another. Covid 19 is palpably near to all of us in equal measure. None of us are exempt from its circumference. A pandemic can bring the entire globe to its knees. Nothing else can. However, we are fortunate this time, that unlike the plague or cholera or the chickenpox or the Spanish flu of the yesteryears, Covid 19 hasn’t been as virulent or indiscriminate a killer. Even in its current milder strain, hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, but, the numbers could have been worse if the virus was even more merciless in its annihilation. We only hope the new strain of the Covid virus detected over the last few weeks at few places around the globe does not start another wave of fresh infections. That could be a disaster of even more gigantic proportions.
We turn our calendars to 2021 with a lot of hope and optimism. We haven’t done badly at all in 2020. Here is my take on years gone by. For the first time in the history of recorded pandemics, our scientists have been able to distill a vaccine in less than six months. It doesn’t matter if the vaccine is not 100% effective; the fact that we have the formula for the antidote to Covid19 is by itself a major human triumph. Secondly, except for a few countries, and pockets of people who refused to see reason and show empathy, the rest of the world adopted social distancing and wearing of masks with unprecedented diligence and commitment. Even children understood the need for such precautions. Thirdly, the wonderful work and care by the front-line workers, putting their lives on the line, despite poor facilities and support — will remain a worthy chapter in our fight against this pandemic. Fourth: the resilience of all those businesses and the agility of the leaders who orchestrated the switch, from a brick and metal office to working from home in quick time, helped save millions of jobs which otherwise would have added more burden on the economies already reeling with unavoidable unemployment. Fifth: Family bonds became stronger. Parents whose daily jobs involved a lot of travel found themselves “living” full-time with their families. The mere proximity of elders is enough for growing children to derive psychological comfort and much-needed warmth, even if the father and mother are on calls for the most part of the day. Sixth: Cooking has taken a new life at home. With restaurants closed, and the general fear of exposure keeping people inside homes, families have returned to the good habit of cooking multiple meals a day. The act of cooking is therapeutic, and certainly, nothing is more fulfilling and utilitarian. Sixth: Reading became more prevalent. Amazon reported a steady increase in the sale of books, and every week, the New York times book review showcased a steady stream of fresh authors, and at least half a dozen new books. Seventh: the arts have gone completely online. With the world’s major orchestras and movie directors deciding to continue their work on the virtual medium, we were never deprived of our aesthetic enjoyment. With children at home, more and more families have also started watching shows that are meaningful, than merely entertaining. Eighth: 2020 has shaken the world out of its complacency, and exposed all that which is stagnant and in need of change. Natural disasters and epidemics have had this effect on human life. The Italian Renaissance of the 15th century flowered out of the plague that decimated half of Europe in the previous century. Post covid19, we cannot afford to go back to the previous state of work and life. Governments have to seriously rethink their role in their respective economies, and the world has to come together in closer cooperation than before if we stand any chance of effectively dealing with pandemics or any global disaster in the future. The piecemeal approach is taken to control Covid19, and the willful withholding of information by key players have been the two main causes for the quick spread of this virus. Ninth: Common man has become more empathetic this year. When life is reduced to simple terms of living and dying, then empathy comes naturally. This Pandemic has brought several communities together in ways that wouldn’t have been possible in normal conditions. Tenth: People have become more reflective and introspective. With the pace of life slowed down quite a bit, there is more time now to think. And whenever man begins to think, there is hope.
Over the last four days, I have written over 6000 words and I thank my readers for their patience in putting up with them. These essays are just my way of taking stock of my own evolution in a given measurement of time. It’s been great fun writing these pieces.
I wish all a great 2021 ahead, and send my prayers and love to each one of you for robust health, peaceful and a contented life.
God bless…
yours in mortality,
Bala
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