Breathing in the air during a global pandemic leaves behind an unsettling feeling of an oncoming emotional turbulence. The world outside has turned deafeningly quiet. No public speeches. No loud announcements. No commercial boards. Just plain eerie silence. We are at the very heart of this battle.
Finding a way to keep our mental balance intact just trying to survive during these uncertain times is no ordinary thing. We may be required to forego many social commitments and maintain social distance for everyone’s well-being. It is unfailingly easy to get caught up in this disturbing exhaust of Covid-19. But there are those who are rising above their own self-destruct mode and fighting to keep the wheels of normalcy running.
Everyday heroes
From the online delivery executive ensuring the items are delivered to you within the stipulated time to the humble milkman helping you maintain your daily dose of
Even Telecom staff are sat up in a tower resetting connectivity so that we can work from home, while they toil outside of his home. And what of the power company technician, spreading himself thin by doing his rounds, checking on downed power lines?
With bated breath and hand-sanitiser at the ready, we walk into to a grocery store for essentials. Step out of your apprehension for a moment and smile at the grocer who is standing there to help you. He may look cheerful and calm on the exterior, but deep inside he is equally worried about exposing himself to the virus and consequently harming his family.
If doctors are at the frontlines of the battle, the policemen are holding down the fort. Recall the stories of many doctors and hospital staff working round the clock.
Recollect the stark visuals in many news channels, where the administration and the police officials communicate with to a frustrated mob with visible maturity and balance of mind. When the policemen plead to our conscience with folded hands, asking us not to venture out, how do we react? By getting upset with them and irrationally provoking them. What about the poorly paid truck drivers, driving a load of fresh vegetables from far-off lands to keep all of us well-fed? And the boys who deliver government-sponsored food packets and the people who voluntarily do large-scale cooking to feed the community at large?
Beyond the call of duty
Kindness is sprouting in various hues, shades, and formats from many quarters, known and unknown.
On the side-lines are security van drivers who zoom in and out of the city, filling up ATM machines to ensure the availability of cash; the trusty security guards at apartment entrances, patiently checking temperatures and carefully spraying sanitisers. Many of them don’t even get an opportunity to tuck their children into bed at night because of their long, sometimes even 24-hour, shifts.
Then there are people restoring humanity’s faith by coming up with novel ideas — the railway team brainstorming how to convert train coupés into emergency beds; the government officials rushing to release necessary orders for the administration to abide by, bank staff who work hard to keep the economy in active mode, insurance professionals ensuring your protection cover. And many more ...Even a five year-old kid teaching his grandmother to use her elbow to press the elevator buttons instead of her fingers, is doing his bit.
A ceremonial five minutes’ clap from the balcony appreciating these brave souls is only a beginning. Contributing a few days’ salary and CSR funding, which many a times are done out of sheer compulsion, may help to some extent. As individuals, can we modify our attitudes towards these souls and award them their due respect? Can we give them a pride of place in our society and remember their relentless service through our lifetime? Shall we start looking at them with more affection and more respect?
Once normalcy is restored and we are back to our busy schedules, and the coronavirus becomes a thing of past, a story to pass it on to the next generation, if we fail to remember these people, we will be blamed for being for thoroughly unjust towards humanity.
The writer is MD, LIC of India. Views are personal