It has almost been six months that we all are under lockdown. This year was never planned but it happened, which makes it more obvious that there is some supernatural power that can put everything to halt. Every time everything doesn’t fall into place. We must trust nature. It can wreck havoc, it can solace, simultaneously. Nature can be the best and the worst thing to face. Confined to my house I keep wondering and thinking, will we ever be able to live a normal life; life that was loud, beautiful, bustling, and chaotic. But, it was life. There was drama, there were bustling streets, overcrowded buses, meeting friends, going to colleges and schools, unnecessary fights and much more we missed these months. While this lockdown is afflicting human lives but at the same time it cleansed the beautiful nature. Industries, factories, air and road traffic that contributed in pollution were brought to a standstill and the quality of air has improved drastically. Reduction in green house gases, less polluted water bodies and least human activity has healed nature. Isn’t that great? Nature has the quality to revive itself, it has proved so. We live in a country where we had to keep pollution in check by following odd and even rules, but the pandemic smashed such rules and forced us to follow what we could not have imagined. It made us realize how nature can play a role in providing inner peace and how little things can give us happiness.
Amid the fear of contracting Covid, the consequent lockdown has resulted in the decline of accident cases, so have the crime rates fallen. People are so vested in this virus that other infectious diseases are fading out from the hospitals as if Covid is distilling rest of the diseases.
Pandemic unleashed terror, it derailed our everyday work. It shattered the economy, corporate or the everyday economics. It inflicted people with pain of less work, of not going out or exploring new things, but it bridged that void between relationships. Those relationships which were unhinged with our everyday of bings and tings of social media. We’re spending quality time together, be it with family or long lost relatives. We got along well even in the presence of internet. We enjoyed maggi with our families; we explored oil free dishes, making parathas and doing other domestic work. We shared secrets, we disclosed fears, and we admired and understood our parents’ roles. We felt the togetherness. We lived each moment and valued the rise and fall in relationships. We listened to the soothing lullabies from our grandmothers. We read the books which were unread since ages. We are trying to adopt that philosophy and goodness from the books. Children who always complained about their parent’s time, but this lockdown proved congenial. They enjoyed with them. Much more we could hardly have gotten time for when our schedule was hurly and burly. We must thank nature that it gave us so much to cherish especially spending time with family, sharing the happiness and brunt together made the lockdown worth it. This lockdown also awakened people about all those efforts government took to control pollution and conserve nature and how they failed every time. They tried every possible way to keep the environment clean and safe but what lockdown did is superlative to all human hand efforts and exhilarating simultaneously. Cleanliness should now be prioritized whether it is about personal hygiene or the environment.
This pandemic has somehow instilled a sense of introspection in us at both public and individual levels. This is the time we all must rethink and reconsider our lifestyles and our approach towards nature. We can recreate social coherence. We can help those in need. We must be ready to help and take help when needed. Nature can be fierce; we must make it necessary to conserve nature as well as humankind. This was the time when people got exposed who had over loaded bank accounts and they failed to donate a bit and ignored people in despair and need. But we as a society must realize that no virus can kill us unless we let it kill us. We must follow instructions and work together to build a Covid free society. We must educate people that this virus is not going to last long but our efforts will. We must extend a helping hand without the expectation of a reward. We must tell people and ourselves that nature can be a great friend if treated well. Humans are made out of love and let this love be around. Let’s imbibe and reflect love.
(Author is pursuing PhD in Mass Communication and Journalism)