Corona Diaries 1: Snippets Of Life In Times Of Pandemic

As the Corona horror story unfolds with by-now predictable turns and half of humanity stays in confinement at homes burdened with the feeling of hopelessness, what catches the eye is the recurrence of smaller stories of human follies, vanities and desperation. The virus vs mankind battle has exposed the utter powerlessness of the latter; it also has laid bare the infinite capacity of men to be silly even in matters of life and death. Here are snippets of life in the times of Corona.

OLD, LONELY & FINICKY

The message was as terse as it could get. “Don’t bring death to us. Stay put where you are. If you decide to fly down to Bhubaneswar, don’t expect us to open the doors for you. Remember we are old and vulnerable.”

It’s not quite the welcome you anticipate from elderly parents for your annual visit home after schools close post-exam. They usually wait the whole year for a family reunion and grandkids, unburdened of the stress of studies, usually get treatment reserved for royalty. Their stern words hurt. Then you know they are hurting too. Past their late 70s with health matters to nurse, and little else to get excited about in life, they look forward to these annual get-togethers with certain desperation.

These are unusual times. The Corona scare is driving people to make choices they wouldn’t in more normal times. The fear is accentuated by news that the elderly are more susceptible to the virus and unconfirmed reports that in Italy, which has surpassed China in mumber of deaths, is letting the old fend for themselves and focussing on the treatment of those who have longer to live. Healthcare is prioritising those with capacity for economic productivity. At this point it is not easy to verify this, but the grim possibility hangs heavy in the air. Unfortunate circumstances often force mankind into unfortunate choices.

There is reason why the elderly parents back at home are jittery. Perhaps it is better to leave them alone for now.

THE GREAT IRRESPONSIBLE INDIAN

Being irresponsible is a trait many Indians wouldn’t simply let go. Not even at the time of a massive local public health scare, not even during a pandemic. We wouldn’t understand fully why the fairly educated and reasonably informed COVID-19 case from Odisha behaved in an apparently irrational way after landing from Italy, but a spate of similar cases across the country leads to one conclusion: We as a people are rather callous about our social responsibilities.

When the Supreme Court called for a ban on firecrackers during Diwali in New Delhi to rein in massive air pollution, we had some people distributing them in certain localities. The justification for the act had little to do with pollution. The wise men claimed the court’s decision hurt the religious sentiments of one community. The implementation of odd-even rule in the Capital state attracted similar reaction. Some were ready to drive on the wrong day and pay the fine. The justification: odd-even made no sense and its efficacy is not proven.

It would take great imagination to find a ‘justification’ in the case of corona though. There is no way to explain singer Kanika Kapoor’s Houdini Act at the airport. Perhaps it is time the country made socially risky behaviour a serious criminal offence.

THE ‘IMMUNE’ CLASS AND THE BLIND VIRUS

Being rich, famous and powerful has its perks. In India, entitlement, or at least the sense of it, is one of them. Those in one of these categories or in all of them believe what applies to ordinary folks, laws included, don’t apply to people in the rarefied circles.

Some find it rather demeaning to share space with others at the airport to get preliminary tests done. The advisories and instructions from the government on corona detection, of course, are for ordinary folks. Thus, we had many just walking off the airports into waiting swank vehicles. They landed at fancy hotels, attended fancier parties and let the virus have a gala time too. As news reports suggest, such parties, involving the who’s who of politics, industry and the world of entertainment, were in full swing even after the government sent the alarm bell ringing. Some jumped quarantine facilities.

We are yet to grasp the magnitude of the damage they could have caused. Going by the sharp escalation in the number of affected in other countries, we can only say it could be enormous in terms of human lives. The toll might include some among the ‘entitled’ class.

The virus, by now it should be clear, has no reverence to power, riches or fame. Presumed entitlement ensures no immunity against it. It is blind to human vanities.

THE ANYTHING GOES MEDIA

How do you handle a beast called the social media? Even as scientific and medical communities across the world struggle to decipher the intractable Corona virus, and no antidote to it seem to be on the horizon yet, the social media gyan industry is in no dearth of solutions. The remedies come fast and furious — from consuming cloves of garlic in liberal scoops to drinking warm water to trying out cow urine to God knows what else. Can these lot ever be serious and responsible? The bigger worry, however, is the speed at which it spreads in the social media universe powered by quick forwards.

A cursory look at the people behind ‘send’ commands reveals they are fairly educated people and reasonably informed about the world around. From whom one would expect a bit of fact-check, and, well, a bit of application of intelligence.

Blame it on the trait of attention-seeking which has found full exposition on the new media. Anything for a few ‘likes’ and smileys. Reality-check can go to hell.