A Chinese belonging since December 2019 gradually shifted to be declared a 'Public Health Emergency of International Concern' by WHO on January 30, 2020; also dutifully named as 'COVID-19' on February 11, 2020. The total numbers were not exceedingly inflated and the world became busy to flatten the curve to avoid getting the healthcare system overwhelmed.
It will not be wise to reiterate the above matter instead we are now all waiting to see light at the end of the tunnel and know how will be the 'Post-covid' time treat us.
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Hopeful perspective- Nature and family :
The onset of the virus has compelled us (most proclaimed social animals) to retreat from claiming our rights on Mother Earth and helping Nature in its cleansing process.
Increased rates of browsing the social media during the lockdown has opened our eyes to many breathtaking scenes occurring in our societies and neighborhood.
- Wildlife spotted on streets roaming freely relieved from human intervention.
- Air and water pollution has diminished to a large extent.
- No cars, no smoke hence smog-free skies in cities
From an individual's view point, the lockdown was a much-needed break from the ultra-busy work life and an aid in balancing both family and profession. The wish of elderly parents who crave for the time of their children is now fulfilled. Working mothers are now investing more time on their kids and husbands and the reverse is also true.
This 2XL- break was never a plan which was within our imagination.
Finishing up with the nicer side of the lockdown implications, let us come to the harsh reality.
- Hoarding of both essential and non-essential stuffs has been very common in supermarkets leading to the scarcity of groceries for the less privileged. This got normalized as days passed because most of the stores went for the 'purchase limit' policy for the buyers.
- Self-owned business setups got closed resulting in zero earnings. The tourism industry including airlines were badly hit. Millions of cases of unemployment sputtered throughout the world; many of them surfaced on account of media coverage or else failed to come to limelight.
- Even the stock markets responded to the pandemic with worrying volatility with large troughs triggering market-wide circuit breakers. Trading came to a halt four times in March. Stock markets worldwide reported their largest single-week declines since the last financial crisis in 2008.
We cannot allow any more negative thoughts to build a nest in our minds, because even the holy Bhagavad Gita says,
'Whatever happened, happened for the good.
Whatever is happening, is happening for the good.
Whatever will happen, will also happen for the good.'
Time has arrived when we no more write normal as normal, but within parenthesis. Does it sound scary or are we heading towards a more disciplined lifestyle?
The 'Khud ko pehchano' (know yourself) mode:
As mobile phones and hence social media are our most reliant companions in lockdown, it is obvious for us to know that #Normal and #newnormal are trending on Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms.
Now coming straight to the point.
How many of us got to know that we can go for a haircut at home too?
How many of us have explored too many new recipes from YouTube and challenged the taste of restaurant food?
How many of us did not feel the absence of burgers, french fries, biriyani, 'Paani-puri', sev puri and other junk food during the lockdown because of the presence of great Chefs at our homes?
New branded attires and expensive footwear are lying in our wardrobes, untouched for almost over three months. Ladies, our makeup and accessories are just decaying without usage. Have you noticed these?
Still, we are surviving without them.
Isn't it time to realise that we can live well with minimum materialistic pleasure and comfort?
Coronavirus is making mankind ponder over the fact that we can be happy even with doing our own stuffs without assistance of a domestic help.
For people who ran out of time when it came to rediscovering the actual person in each one of us, the lockdown turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Many of us are indulging ourselves joyfully in singing, painting, sketching, gardening, only to name a few. Challenging our friends on some activities through social media and drawing inspiration from them is sheer fun.
Will the world witness a 'new normal'? If yes, how will it treat us?
For most of us, 'being caged' at our homes is boredom, we are desperately wishing for the lockdown to get terminated and get released from our cages.
Are we sounding outlandish? No.
It is quite obvious for the only species named Homo sapiens to feel imprisoned when it has been ruling the planet for ages.
A fear of getting infected has got so deeply drilled within that we are now worried about the 'After Corona' effect.
- Stepping out of the house needs a second thought. The one and only option to stay alert is that we have to assume that each and every person around us are asymptomatic carriers of the virus. According to researchers, we have to learn to live with the virus so 'physical distancing' and masking will continue to be two prominent practices.
- Multiple bottles of hand sanitizers have being kept at homes to act as shields for all of us. Hand soaps are being used like never before.
- Handshakes were a greeting gesture of the past. We have to be extra cautious when it comes to usage of public touch points.
- No more social gatherings, even wedding has to be completed with the presence of very less number of families and friends. Small hangouts with friends will be carried out with lots of ifs and buts.
- As very few samples of faeces of COVID patients contained the virus, will the usage of public rest rooms be a safer option??
- #Workfromhome has been a cornerstone of the 'new normal' conversations. In a way, it will save conveyance costs, fuel expenses and not allow the commuters to get freaked out in traffic. It will be good once we learn how to manage this process as this will be with us for a while. It looks like many workers will continue to work from home permanently.
- It will be a rather challenging time for travel bloggers, vloggers, business travel and hardcore travelers. By now, we have got used to conference calls and realized that all meetings do not require a physical presence. Business travel will be more mindful way of travelling which will benefit both the employers and employees.
- Assuming that the vaccine gets launched soon we get vaccinated. Imagine in case of international travel, each one of us has to show our COVID vaccination certificates along with passports and tickets. Another document will be added to our identities.
- Many restaurants will not be able to cope up with the 'takeaway' and delivery services on account of the extra charges to be incurred for delivery partners.
This is life and we have no other choice other than acceptance.
Why don't we look at the new face of life as a new opportunity, a new discipline, a stricter principle?
