The new normal...
We
have heard normal is boring and yet here we are after more than 90 days being
locked down hoping for a normal.
In
all probability the new normal will not be boring but can be terrifying. What
is scary is the collateral damage that this pandemic has inflicted on us. Loss
of jobs, pay cuts aside, there is the loss of livelihoods of the hidden
population who are invisible to the common eye. I remember the pain on the face
of the iron man, (not the Marvel one) in a normal week he would be carrying a
large bundle of clothes for ironing but now there are no clothes to be ironed.
His smiling face could not mask the resigned acceptance of possibly hungry days
ahead.
This
lockdown has shown us how much of our time, energy and resources we used to
spend on non-essentials and how we can survive fairly well without them. This
lockdown has also taught us that communication networks and devices are essentials
and in many homes, one device is just not enough. India may have more mobile
phones than toilets but we now know that both are inadequate. Why toilets? In
home quarantine and in isolation, an additional toilet will be such a blessing
for those who can access it, so that the infection is not spread to the other
members in the household.
Education
and religion have both moved home. In hindsight it may be a blessing. More than
the limited Zoom classes the home schooling and self study without the examinations may actually have a lasting impact
on the children in my personal opinion; though the fellowship of classroom and
playgrounds will be sorely missed. Religion is getting more personal, more
intimate, removing the middle men and hopefully it will bring God and man closer.
Non-essential
jobs will face an existential crisis, by non-essential any product or service
that we have managed without in the 90 and more days are in the danger of
shutting down or changing. How many would have imagined that Zoom will be the
biggest competitor for an airline?
Critical
jobs will flourish and grow, more importantly they need to be acknowledged,
appreciated, compensated and adequately rewarded. The farmers, milkmen,
delivery boys, electricity and telecom maintenance crews, sanitation workers,
public utility workers, banking and financial services staff, media personnel,
police and lastly the medical fraternity; these people worked when others could
not, they put themselves at risk when we took it easy. There may be more hidden workers who could
have been missed in the list but if they worked at their workplace when we
worked from home they qualify to be there in the list of people to be appreciated.
In
time we will come to accept this disease for what it is; just a disease that can be
fatal to a minuscule few. Most diseases have the same characters but COVID19 does not come with a
vaccine or cure so the pandemic. It may come from acceptance, frustration or
annoyance but we will overcome the fear of this virus one day even if a vaccine
is yet to be found.
The
normal is ahead, hopefully we will be able to recognize it and accept it
because it will not be like anything we have seen before.
Are
we ready?
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