The invisible being holding the remote control to our lives
Namrata Munoth, INN/Chennai, @InfodeaofficialÂ
70 days, 1,99,000 active cases and still counting! The Coronavirus officially COVID 19 has truly shaken our lives. Everything has changed, from the way we work and study to the way we socialize and spend our leisure time. The constraints of living with the virus are bringing out the creativity in people. Let’s look at a day in the life of one Chennaite during this lockdown period.
I live on one of the busiest roads in the city and instead of the loud sounds of passing buses and autos, I’m woken up by the sweet sounds of chirping birds every morning. I go for a walk on the road outside and instead of the stressed faces trying to push one another to get ahead, I find happy faces patiently waiting in cues outside shops and waiting for their turn to get in.
I return home and do what I rarely did before, we as a family clean our home together, washed the dishes and clothes together, and eat and rest together. Yes, we have aching hands and legs, but we are all happy. It’s noon and I start getting ready in ethnic wear and with makeup; I have to attend a friend’s wedding on Zoom. I am done in about 30 minutes and I rejoin my family to see that they are all sat with color pencils and sketches making Corona themed tickets for a Family Tambola game at night.
I make mine and we head to the kitchen to prepare our dish for the Masterchef competition. We make a delicious dish, capture it on our phone’s video cameras, and share it with the judges and audience on the concerned WhatsApp group for their votes.
In a while, my phone alerts me of notification from Paytm: Rs.1500 credited to your account! Hurray! I’ve won! I quickly finish dinner as I have a concert to attend followed by a session of board games with friends and then a movie night with the family. The day comes to a close and I need to make no effort to fall asleep. Tomorrow is going to be busier, grocery shopping, and a birthday party to attend! Plus I also need to get my formals ready which I need to put on and go to work at my home office for a few hours every day. We are all in our homes but if we pause for a moment and think, we are actually doing most of what we did before but of course in a different way and without any show-offs and frills.
This little microscopic living being has taken away all the nonessential things from our lives and has left us with what is truly important and needs to be valued. Whether we choose to ignore or embrace the teachings of nature is a personal decision, but nature has shown us its power by making the unimaginable a reality. Doesn’t it seem like God is punishing us, humans, for our maleficence?
