You, Coronavirus, and the Lockdown! An open letter to the world.
Dear World,
Have you learned?… You will ask me what?… Oh My God, You don’t know what to learn?… and it continues…
Today, I, you, we, they, rich, poor, male, female, young, old, Hindu, Muslim, Christain, Jew, elite, middle class, the country and not only that but the whole world is facing one of the biggest crises of the century and you know what it is. Yes, you guessed it right, it is a Coronavirus pandemic. Why it is dangerous because it spreads rapidly, so even if the fatality rate is less than 5% (yet to be confirmed) the truly affected people are in millions and so the high number of fatalities. It has already spread in almost 90% of the countries and territories in the world, more than 400,000 people are tested positive (true cases might be in the range of 4 to 10 million), more than 17,000 have died and most of the countries are either complete or partial lockdown. Although scientists are still finding the exact reason and source of the virus and also the vaccine for the same, we have a lot of responsibility on our shoulders (actually hands, wash it properly and frequently). This is nothing less than a war-like situation and the measures to be taken to combat COVID19 are also stricter than ever. Although it is not hard rather pretty simple to follow for each one of us at an individual level (yes, of course, govt. has to do their job to protect the citizen of their country). Just follow the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. For more credible details visit the World Health Organization
At least do the five mentioned below. #StayHomeStaySafe #SocialDistancing #HandWash #ElbowCough #Don’tTouch
In this war-like situation, the soldiers are the ones who are fighting this devil from the frontline, yes I am talking about Doctors, medical staff, cleaning staff, and all the people related to essential services. They are risking their lives to protect us and providing their services selflessly. It also teaches us a great lesson of unity, non-discrimination, and the concept of “God is in us”. We could clearly see this in hospitals and visuals which we are getting from across the globe. This is the time that teaches us that we all are one, we all belong to each other. A doctor doesn’t ask whether you are a Hindu or a Muslim, a Christain or a Jew and you don’t check if the doctor belongs to some specific religion or caste, you just go with your problem and request them to treat you. This is the time to reflect on our old beliefs which may not be right and spreading hatred. This is the time when we can trust what we are observing, listening to, and contemplate. Only a human will save another human and that is what all religion teaches us to have faith in humanity and unite in the time of crisis.
Governments across the globe are taking a few strong decisions and many of them have decided to lock down the whole country to stop the spread of this virus and India is not an exception. India had its first lockdown (Janata Curfew) on 22nd March, called by Hon. Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi and now the full lockdown for 21 days starting from 12:00 AM 25th March 2020. This is the first time when the whole of India is going through some novel experiences of lockdown in their own houses. This kind of lockdown is new not only for India but the countries that are in the same situation, such as Italy the worst-hit country by the virus, Iran, South Korea, Spain, the USA, China, and many more. The world is one and all are praying across the globe for a healthy and speedy recovery for the people across the border.
The people who are going through this lockdown are experiencing the unexperienced. After a long long time, I could hear the bird chirping from my balcony (I am sure you also might have heard it even if you don’t have a balcony) in the busiest time of the city Mumbai 10 am in the morning, where you could not hear anything but the annoying noise of the running vehicle all across the city. It seems like nature has come alive and ready to shower her love again on us. The world has observed several examples such as Beijing has observed blue sky after a long time, peacocks dancing on the roads of Madrid, clearer water, fish has returned to the local water bodies, and the air is fresher than ever. It seems as if nature has just hit the reset button. It has been observed all across the globe that how slowing down for a day and week helped us to see what mother nature has to offer but what we have done to our planet for our gr/need.
These times also made us realized that whether we love the loud music of our iPhones or the birds chirping outside our window, whether the early fresh air is better or the spa, whether we like the comfort of cozy bedrooms or the sun rays touching our face while sitting in the balcony. We have to decide what we want and how we want because our future depends on what choices we make today. Mahatma Gandhi said that “There is enough on earth for everybody’s need, but not enough for everybody’s greed”.
These difficult times also gave us opportunities to spend more time with our loved ones, our family, and friends at home. It has unleashed the creativity which we were suppressed or hid somewhere or didn’t get time to explore and enjoyed the thing which we really loved once upon a time be it music, writing, poetry, cooking, reading, and many more. We also learned how to do work from home efficiently (India is still struggling on that front). These times have also given us space for self-reflection and made us recognize ourselves a little better than before. It has also made us appreciate nature and the surrounding a little more.
I’ll go back to my personal experience of observing the chirping of birds which I heard this whole day and realized that they are trying to convey something to us. I felt as if they are trying to say that they are happy and free and are finding and reclaiming their lands which were theirs before and tried to convey the request that “don’t cut my trees, don’t build another building, don’t bother me with your noise, don’t pollute my water, it is ours as much as it is yours. I am with you in all your happy and sorrowful moments, will you be my friend from now onwards”. Friends, The onus is on us whether we want to keep on running like a headless chicken or really want to slow down a bit, realize our mistakes, learn from them and make this planet an amicable place for every living being because remember we are not the only inhabitants of this planet, we are one of the species with millions of other presents on this beautiful planet earth and all of them have their eyes laid on us with a request and waiting for our response…
#BeABridgeForChange #BeTheChangeYouWantToSeeInTheWorld #StayPositive #StayMotivated #StayHomeStaySafe #PreventionIsBetterThanCure #COVID19 #Coronavirus #WorldHealthOrganization #WHO
Please look at the protective measures against the novel coronavirus (COVID - 19) released by the World Health Organization:
India is going under 21-day Lockdown starting from today midnight 12:00 AM 25th March 2020. All essential services will remain open, A brief list of what is open and what is not: Ration Shops under PDS, shops dealing with food items, groceries, fruits, and vegetables, dairy and milk shops, animal fodder. Please visit the link for a detailed list.
Note: All photos have been collected from online sources and hyperlinked.
In the end, I’ll leave you all with a song by “Coldplay” called “Everyday Life”
“Everyday Life”
What in the world are we going to do?
Look at what everybody’s going through
What kind of world do you want it to be?
Am I the future or the history?’Cause everyone hurts, everyone cries
Everyone tells each other all kinds of lies
Everyone falls, everybody dreams and doubts
Got to keep dancing when the lights go outHow in the world am I going to see
You as my brother, not my enemy?’Cause everyone hurts, everyone cries
Everyone sees the colour in each other’s eyes
Everyone loves, everybody gets their hearts ripped out
Got to keep dancing when the lights go out
Gonna keep dancing when the lights go out
Hold tight for everyday life
Hold tight for everyday lifeAt first light, throw my arms out, open wide
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelu-halle-hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelu-halle-hallelujah
