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Corona Sutra: Owning the Lockdown Blues

There is no humor in the COVID-19 virus, the cold and unseen stranger who is touching everyone with its icy cold fingers. This young lad that cannot differentiate between the strong and the weak, the rich and the poor, seems to be acting like the vamp of those melodramatic daily soap TV serials which have a never-ending storyline and come what may, they never get caught. The unchivalrous gentleman has been the star of every conversation.

Having said that, Indians have been balancing between the risks of, once considered a normal act of grocery shopping with the risk of coronavirus pretty well, while the virus sits twiddling its thumbs and suckling on the hope to befall on the very first Indian at sight.

For a nation where hygiene is questionable and food and water are not to be found in their cleanest form, it is totally unbelievable how lightly Indians are handling the horrors of the virus and the lockdown when the so-called ‘First World’ countries are falling apart.

With the risk to prattle the issue, I guess perhaps we Indians believe firmly that our WBCs are susceptible to viruses. You know, like well-trained commandos, ready to march against Mr. Covid-19’s cruel, great pack of muscles body, not forgetting, how they are also wearing a high-quality armor suit.

Notwithstanding the experiences, how every disaster movie starts with ignoring and shutting down the danger prophesying scientist, why do I get the feeling that something similar happened with Dr. LI Wenliang when he tried to raise the alarm on COVID-19. At least if we were part of some disaster movie, we would not be home-tutoring our kids amidst this hardhearted homework pressure and the merciless perseverance of the schools to make our kids the world leaders. Here, look at us ‘the enduring humans’ along with anticipating how to work from home without losing our mind, there are people (me, only) who are contemplating on sending their dogs to fetch their supplies since they cannot catch coronavirus.

Keeping in mind, how the world is full of contradictions, there are people who would spend all their time at home but now that the government says you have to- Well…Susan is all set to go on a shopping spree!

We also have unique and romantically nostalgic moments making their ways into beautiful heads of ours- reminiscing how we used to get stuck in traffic for hours straight and while the prying eyes of fellow sufferers contemplated ‘why-a-young-female(me)-was-allowed-to-drive-a-car’ my thoughts would keep me company.

Speaking of coping mechanism, which meant spending time on Social Media, but it has been no respite either. I had no idea people could look like Greek Gods and resemble the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood while doing daily chores so much so that now I am buried in shamefulness. They are not shying away from becoming experts on the mechanism of how COVID-19 spread either. Now that Tik-Tok is banned people are resorting to other platforms to spread misinformation. Now with the state and local governments ordering close, Social Media is filling an important function. The best hope we have is Instagram, Twitter, and other sites which makes it easier to bear witness.

For years Social Media was viewed as an anti-social force but with the crisis at hand, it is unveiling the passé: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and others that they can actually deliver on their old promise to emulate information. With misinformation still peeping from here are there, there are also opportunities to correct them. Let’s be real, no social platform can be perfect in terms of fighting the battles. Nonetheless, in times of crisis, their vitality is indeed revolutionary.

It petrifies me to even think that I am living in a world where human interaction can cost me my lungs and even worse-MY LIFE and interactions on social media can cost me MY SANITY. With Mr. COVID-19, clenching its lips back, preparing to unhinge its jaws and pound on the first human he finds- Keep washing your hands like you just got done with preparing a marinate for your batch of mutton biryani and you need to take your contacts out.

Until then, steer clear from typhoons like Masakali 2.0 and try to be original. Remembering good times will perhaps give you the energy to make through emotional weariness and exempt you from acting like an Avenger and stepping out of houses until lockdown ends.