Corona versus Quarantine!
37,820 deaths due to Coronavirus so far
MARCH 31 (WTN) - Word of the day: Quarantine! ;Order of the day: Quarantine! because Corona virus has gone scot- free and is catching human beings, suffocating them and taking toll too. God knows whether it is a man- made disaster or a natural disaster but it leaves us dumbstruck and quarantined. Some of us are arrested in house and the rest stranded under the sky, as the life and all the wheels have come to a halt. The planet earth is at rest, on a self- healing mode!
No noise, no pollution, air quality index seems to be improving. The earth is able to breathe. The animals too seem to be wondering- who has tamed their master, as they move in a fear- free environment. Dolphins are dancing in their dives in waters where they never dared to come. As the aircrafts cease to fly, birds, the jewels of the sky seem to sing more melodiously, flutter more and take many more flights in the clear skies. Trees too have got a new lease of life. The sounds of silence can now be heard!
Apart from the essential services, rest of the nation is on a complete closure. Markets and malls, pubs and bars, hotels and resorts, games and sports, parks and theatre, schools and offices, temples or mosques, churches and synagogues..... all have been shut down and we have been locked down. It is time to be with the family whole-heartedly. We need to take the signals in the right stride and search for the light inside!
A stark transition from being too occupied to being too idle. A picture, man could have never imagined, not even in its wild dreams. Wuhan is the seat of the biggest Virus-laboratory/ bank in Asia. Such virus banks seem to have inspired many minds to produce and create science fiction like ' My secret Terrius' episode 10, a South Korean television series ... The fiction now has been translated into a broad - day reality today. The 'gin' is out of the bottle and is catching on people. The endemic that had its epicentre in Wuhan bypassed Beijing and Shanghai and has now become a pandemic.
Each day, every hour we seem to be keeping our fingers crossed as we track the number of: people we have lost, people confirmed corona positive, corona- suspected. The graph seems to be on an exponential rise. As it seems to be spreading too fast, isolation, quarantine seems to be the only preventive measure. But it is hitting the economy and people too hard. Choosing to lockdown abruptly without any arrangements is a tough trade-off!
A cursory glance at the impact of Corona crisis on stock exchange shows a sink in the global market and the Chinese market is unscathed. It agitates my mind. So many questions cross my mind. Is it a bio-weapon as many consider it to be? The devils are at play!
Japan is coping up in a planned and coordinated way. Coordination between the preventive measures and 'business as usual'. Wearing masks, hand sanitization, social distancing and avoiding crowded places. Bowing is their way of greeting people. The whole of affected world is changing its ways. There is a switch from handshakes to Namaste, hugs to social distancing, sanitization and hygiene.
In the given circumstance, the sight of the plight of the have-nots is painful. Many of them are workless, homeless, foodless, helpless! The relief measures are not reaching all of them and they definitely are not confined, they cannot be because neither do they have four walls nor a roof above them.
In this diabolic situation let us all express our gratitude to all the angels that are helping us to stay alive: healthcare professionals, essential service- suppliers and providers, police.... compassionate volunteers and charity- workers. It is time for us to contemplate what mad-race are we in! It is time for us to recall the injuries and wounds that we have inflicted to the earth. It is high-time that we stop the catastrophic-devastation and return to nature.It is nature's way to show its fury and wrath and make us straight.
Today it is Corona that is suffocating us
Tomorrow it might be some other virus
More monstrous and more ferocious
Today we are together with the family
Tomorrow we might be alone and lonely
In fight against the disease more deadly
For all of us this is nature's humble request
"Please don't abuse me, I am almost dead
Let me revive my rivers, regrow my forests
Let me take care of my other kids
Let me see them fearless and active
Let me see them dance, let me see them live
Sit down, watch your breath, you too breathe
While we resurrect and usher in peace,
Sorry for the lockdown, sorry for the quarantine!"
