Ep 15 – Life in the time of Corona

Hello and welcome back to Being Meraklis a podcast by Shwetha Sivaraman

How are you all coping amidst the lockdown and the looming COVID-19?

There is so much uncertainty, panic, and fear all around. As for me, having dealt with a family emergency myself in the last 2 weeks, corona-related anxiety began much later only at the start of this week.

Nothing else takes up as much space in our minds today as the coronavirus outbreak, and I thought I’ll come over here and share my thoughts on “Life in the time of Corona”

So much has changed, hasn’t it?

I was shocked when I saw the streets of Bombay for the first time in a while on Tuesday earlier this week. The maximum city of Bombay, the city that never sleeps – Quiet – so quiet it felt even the leaves were too scared to move and make a noise incidentally. It was eerie. The city where I’ve actually had to stop recording my podcasts even at 2 or 3 am in the night because someone was honking in the middle of the streets in Chembur was enveloped in total silence. As I walked out on the streets, the silence was shattering, no vadapav vendors, kali peelis, or hordes of people walking so fast to get somewhere. It felt unnatural. From being a thriving noisy vibrant and hustling city to finding the sound of your doorbell ringing jarring – things have taken quite the turn, haven’t they?

There is so much anxiety all around

First, with the virus itself, we know so little about it, yet there is so much chatter about it. We wake up listening to half-baked numbers, analysis, a growing number of cases worldwide, assumptions about its ability to survive in tropical weather, astrological predictions based on planetary positions on when this will end and whatnot. There is a deluge of Home-made remedies, immunity-boosting drinks, kashayams, methi water, turmeric latte, vitamin C supplements recommended by WhatsApp Doctors.

You are worried about your safety, your family’s safety, your friends, neighbours, colleagues, maids, drivers. You are worried about your survival and the family’s survival. With my own family and friends spread out across the globe, I know the pains of monitoring the number of coronavirus cases across India, the US, UK, Netherlands, Canada. Afraid some idiot not respecting the lockdown could end up infecting any of the near and dear ones exposed.

You find yourself helpless cause there is so little you can do. The virus can literally thrive on any surface – the handrails in your building staircase, the counters at the medicine shop, the surfaces of the milk packets you open first thing in the morning, just about anywhere. Not to mention the number of times you catch yourself touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. How much precaution is enough precaution then? Did you take them all? Isn’t one slip enough to become a carrier? And the worst the wait – cause the symptoms can show up as late as 2 weeks after you come in contact with the illness.

Then there is anxiety about the future, how is all this going to turn out? Is the end in sight? Is it truly 21 days? What if it’s much longer than that? What about the financial ramifications this could lead to. Running a small business myself, I cannot tell you how nervous this thought makes me – Will my business survive this lockdown? Will I be able to service those reliant on me with salaries and payments? What if this doesn’t end in 21 days, what then?

And amidst all this there are social media, pushing everyone to transform themselves amidst a pandemic. Get in shape in 21 days. Do all the free courses online and become a genius by the end of the lockdown. Live workouts, live interviews, tips and tricks, and shares and hacks on fitness, wellness, writing, photography, calligraphy, acing social media, digital marketing. Such tall expectations to be productive every minute of every day. I mean, seriously?

Why do we find it so hard to just be? I wonder? Are we so afraid of what the quiet and solitude can bring out in us? That we insist on keeping at it, on rushing and hustling.

I for one feel overwhelmed by this deluge of information and narratives. It took a while to digest the actual spread of the virus across the world, the adrenaline pumped social media version of it and- Not to mention the ridiculous attempt to dress up the virus in a garish princess outfit of being good for the earth and as a sign that we need to slow down, pause or reflect.

Not to burst anyone’s bubble but let’s face it the virus does not care for you to pause or reflect. I think it’s time we see things for what they are instead of undermining it or garbing it as something else right? I mean we are strong enough to take it.

Coronavirus: The truth as it is

The truth of the matter is that humans have been plagued by viruses and virus-caused infections for over 10,000 years now. Epidemics are not unheard of and they are as grim as corona feels now. There are millions of viruses in plants and livestock that mankind is not aware of and with modern technology, we have made it easy for the virus to spread and thrive across continents. The fact today is that there is an outbreak of a virus that man really did not know existed and has not found any cure for. There is no more or no less to it. And for us to protect the species we need to stay put until the virus dies its natural death or we find a vaccine to combat it.

There is no silver lining

But the truth I find easier to accept. Now that we know this, I find it easier to deal with it rather than drown myself in arbit theories. We are combatting an unknown threat and there is only one thing we can do. Take as many precautions as possible, fight the virus, and hope we find vaccines soon to protect ourselves from it.

But all is not a loss, there is one glorious thing that the virus has brought under the spotlight. We as humans have been living our lives so cut off from nature believing ourselves to be the masters or centers of the universe. This virus has shaken that belief. Grounded us to face and accept the reality that we too are but mere animals on this planet. And that all our mighty technology and manmade inventions are vulnerable and susceptible to something as small as a virus. We are no exceptions.

I wish I could tell you there is an answer to this chaos, or that the light at the end of the tunnel is near or visible. Alas, no one knows. These are unprecedented times, and no one can predict what tomorrow brings. All we can actually do is take it one day at a time and hope that the end is near. We can hope that every little precaution you and I take every single day, makes a difference to at least a few more lives in the society. We can hope that mankind survives this virus and look back and tell our grandchildren all about that little squeaky virus that put our entire lives on hold for those few months in 2020.

All I can tell you now is it is okay not to have all the answers, not to know what tomorrow or the day after brings, not to know how this will all end but still be happy. We are after all lucky and privileged enough to have a roof over our heads, to be able to afford stocking up supplies for months, to have electricity and live out this isolation in the plushiest of comforts, to have access to the internet and stay connected with the remotest corners of the globe, to have loved ones to call, rant, laugh out loud, and to share space and time with our loved ones.

Life after CoronaVirus

There are so many things we took for granted we will look at with a new light

– To wake up and not having to worry about you or your family surviving that day
– To open up the door and welcome your maids home to cook some delicious food
– To get ready and go to work
– To have that cup of coffee and a conversation with your best friend when you feel like
– To hug your loved ones in a tight embrace without fearing you could make them sick
– To get on that flight and wander unexplored countries
– To celebrate festivals together with all your loved ones under a single roof
– To Saturday Nights parties (ah who am I kidding, I mean Sunday morning brunches)

Let us take this time to be, to connect with things that matter to us, to not think about a moment beyond the now, to celebrate all that we have and just ground ourselves in that gratitude. And hope that this too shall pass, bright new dawn shall come when we could step out of the house as fearlessly as we did before but only this time remembering to smile as that rays of sunshine fall upon us as we rush to work.

Let us stay safe, stay strong, together apart.