Prerna Boorakoti
There is no fixed time to gain or lose something in life. What is expected is not received, and what is received is never imagined. Times have changed, and according to time, the colour of the world, manners, lifestyle, and everything else changed. Some changed for good and some changed for bad times; we all have travelled through such bad times even without wanting to. COVID-19, which rules the hearts and minds of people, is the shadow of bad times that have played with our lives and forced us to lose everything, such as breath in the body and distance from relationships. Staying unemployed even after getting a job, staying away from education even after going to school and dying for two times a day’s bread, etc. I don’t know how many difficulties we have all faced together. Aside from this, many such situations were faced in which there was breath in our bodies but no hope left to live life. The movement of devotees in the temples and gurudwaras had stopped early in the morning. At the door of God, all the devotees were standing at a distance and chanting with masks on their faces. True faith and desire were visible in everyone’s eyes.
The labourers who earn money on the basis of two to two rupees per day were dying mentally due to the fear of Corona and not getting work; they had nothing to lose and had gained nothing throughout their lives. People roaming around in shiny vehicles who were underestimating others by showing off their wealth, they were all waiting for the lockdown to end by covering their vehicles and sitting at home due to the lockdown and on their wealth, was feeling embarrassed by boasting. Those who did not give importance to each other’s work were now getting to know the importance of each other’s work and fatigue through online work. Those who kept expensive perfumes in their purses were now giving priority only to sanitizers. The faces of all those who boast of beauty and those who do not were covered with a veil of masks.
People were longing to hear the voice of those selling chaat or golgappe dumplings from your terrace in the evening, who used to chatter day and night about chaat dumplings in the market and street. The condemnation of the servants working at home and those who did not respect them understood the importance of doing their work. Those who were proud of their high job and position got trapped in such a dilemma that even after having a job, they looked like unemployed at home, the hope of a new job and vacancy seemed to be ending, and even after being educated, they felt illiterate.
The sound of children playing in the street and in the park was now drowned somewhere in the rooms. While coming to school in the morning and afternoon, the children were now bound in the bondage of online studies, due to which the studies did not stop but the problem of eye strain increased. The education received from teachers in the classroom is now limited to online books only.
The students who were reluctant to go to the school and college are now waiting for the school to open. Students who used to consider giving exams a burden are now yearning to do so. Now the relationship between ink and pen has come to zero due to copying. Those who make expensive marble and swimming pools by removing trees and greenery in the garden are planting green plants on the walls and windows of the houses so that oxygen can be supplied.
People who used to adopt western culture and greet with ‘hello’ and ‘hi’ are now addressing others from a distance with hands in a salutation posture. While this is a positive change, people are also rediscovering their own culture and traditions through these gestures. The hands of elders who used to raise their heads for blessings are now able to receive blessings from a distance of only 2 feet.
Even though we all have lost a lot during the Corona period, the cloak of humanity that we had forgotten to wear has now become an essential garment, and we all have understood the truth of life. Apna Ghar Apna Makan has become a prison house for everyone. People imprisoned in their homes are facing the punishment of not coming out of the house as a punishment for tampering with nature and because of the arrival of the big pandemic. That’s why we have lost a lot and gained a lot during the challenging period, which is impossible to forget.
(Author & Researcher, Bureau chief Punjab, Loktantra ki Buniyad ,Government of India)
