The Provisional Return To Innocence.
I took the pen in my hand after quite some time...or was that the keyboard I picked up...no that doesn't sound too right. Ok, I am writing after quite some time...And it feels good. 'Twas after a nudge from my friend since childhood, to write about the current situation, that I am taking this up. So thanks Amit for getting me to activate my blog again.
Things around the world are not normal, my immediate proximity included. There is clear and present danger around us. My innate sceptic sense now tingles even more at any thing that is brought into the home from outside, be it groceries, or vegetables, or medicine strips. Their days of being imponderably innocuous objects are now past. It is mildly humorous, and dark, that I now look at a potato (or a bunch of spinach, or a box of detergent, or a simple strip of dispirin) and imagine if there is something virulently pathogenic on them, and if these have been compromised by a touch not so holy. And ponder briefly if these vibes could get transferred to me. Using the subtlest of touch possible, I lift them up and wash them, and wonder again if I should use salt or a baking soda dip to sanitize these items. Though I cannot (unfortunately :-) ) clean the vegetables using dettol, I do clean all other the packets and leave them to dry. :-) .
So to summarize, I wash (everything) and sanitize anything (except open vegetables) that comes in. And then, especially if I have been outside my apartment to any of the only 3 current possibilities , i.e. the vegetable shop, grocery or medical), I take a bath.
You ask if I am paranoid, I say I prefer to err on the side of caution. Better timid, than covid :-). And then again, it is not for me I fear so much, it is bringing in the pathogen into the home that I dread, and of the consequences to the family thereof.
Speaking of stepping out, I have not been outside my home for a straight 5th day now. It feels strange, but so be it. Minimizing venturing outside, is minimizing risk. Simple enough. But its the simple things that are the savior now. For example, Washing my hands on touching anything from outside, or the elevator buttons, or anything remotely contagion-friendly. And let the footwear be outside of your home, or just in. But don't I dare walk inside with the footwear I have worn outside!
Visiting the Vegetable shop or grocery store is now an adventure, to be avoided unless critical to survival :-). Here, (apart from the social distancing) worth re-considering highly is our habit of inspecting multiple vegetables pieces before finding the right one :-), which multiplies the risk for us and for others exponentially !!
Though the grocery shops though not as well-stocked as earlier, they still have sufficient essentials for your regular needs. You will surely not go hungry, or miss your regular medicines.
So I have avoided hoarding so far. But I do buy enough in one round, that I do not need to venture outside again for 5-6 days. The milk delivery still happens everyday - needless to say I wash and sanitize the pouches with soap water. And yes, I only pay online, no cash, no notes or coins exchanged. Thus far, 10 days into the lockdown, there has been no real need to panic. So far so good.
But you only get to buy the basics, the essentials. In general, the feeling for any excess has floated away for now. Reasonable consumption of anything is now the in thing at home now. It is a revelation of sorts, how we can make do with less. Less Order, Less Consumption, Less Wastage, Less things taken for granted. Less marauding of the Earth we share. Less pillage of the Earth that sustains us. In ways this is a return to days where needs ruled the day more than wants. Then, we took from each other and from nature what we really needed, and no more. In ways we are returning to how we are supposed to be. We are returning to ourselves. Its our return to innocence, albeit temporary.
Good for the soul and good for the body. But not so good for the GDP. That's the flip side. It is unfathomable how production and consumption orientation drives us, when we actually need so little. But needs are not what Empires are built on, Wants are. Needs are not sufficient to drive the global economy, Wants are. And when we buy less , or are inhibited from buying more, like in current times, on such a scale, the economy is undeniably and massively impacted. Sometimes I wonder, what if we all continued some of the spartan habits triggered during this lockdown. Then you consume less, and they have to produce less, and so it affects somebody's jobs, and then some more, eventually risking everybody, including us. Consumption is what makes the world go nowadays. So without it, we risk an implosion, call it a severe recession if you will. And that is not so good, is it.
So summarizing, all good things stay good only with time limits. I am sure many of us will be only too happy to go back to to our work and previous routines, as soon as this crisis is over. So, it is really good to see dolphins in Venice's canals and near Mumbai's shores for a while, it is good for Jalandhar's residents to be able see the might snow-capped Himalayas from 200 kms away, for a while, it is good to have deer and peacocks coming down on some Mumbai roads for a while. Yes, but for a while, ain't it? ;-). Mere Beauty hardly helps fill empty stomachs (unless its commercialized of course). We so dearly now talk about how nature is healing itself in this time period, and how the crime rates have decreased, how much more time we are getting with our families, how the rushed lifestyle has slowed, most of us would surely be happy to go back to our routines, powering the cogs of the production and consumption-fueled economy, and lessening risk of economic fallouts, and securing our incomes - ultimately for securing our lifestyles, our statuses - our wants. Unmindful of the nuisance that drives the dolphins away from Venice or Mumbai, and unmindful of the pollution and haze that hides the Himalayas from Jalandhar.
Nevertheless, for time being, for sure, the implicit feeling of entitlement we have had, for resources, for individual freedom, for pleasure, for mobility, for gain, is paused. Not so sure about the freedom of expression though.
Interestingly, it is individual freedom or group empowerment is highly counter and highly risky to your community's and therefore ultimately your well-being in this situation. On a positive note, the kind of abuse that we see of the individual freedom and group empowerment in the country and in the world, consequently, has also ceased or at least reduced, for fear of this newly felt and invisible higher power that we are facing.
On a tiny wee little side note, for now, I look at my garden a little more than a hobby. Once a while, I can make spinach sabzi from the spinach from my small balcony garden. Also some chillies and curry leaves are made available from time to time. Today I plucked 3 medium-sized capsicums too, may be for the salad. :-) . Watering the plants, doing the harvesting of my little veggies from time to time also offers some peace and some satisfying distraction.
Coming back, One thing that is sure, that this epidemic, or pandemic (or is it panda'mic ? ) will have altered our wants too significantly, at-least in the medium term (even after the situation has subsided reasonably).
- When will they open up international travel in these years to follow, and to what extent? And even if they do, I might not want to travel to or take my family to Italy or Spain or France for sightseeing.
- I might think twice before going to too a crowded place, whether it is the cinema hall, or markets, or crowded shops.
- I might look at with serious suspicion and disdain at anybody who coughs, or sneezes, though benign.
- I might even be wary of going around the state or the country, over-conscious of my surroundings.
- Will the economic damage sufferred due to this non-melodramatic but hugely fearful onslaught lead to an increase in crime in the months to follow?
- Will people become wary of having larger gatherings of social contacts and will this be counter-productive to their mental health - man being a thoroughly social animal. Video calls are helping us fill that gap to an extent, to reduce the mental impact, and the void of being away from our friends, relatives, social circle.
Will the risk of this particular virus ever go away? May be after they develop the vaccine. But there are many others, many yet undiscovered, many unfought.
We are vulnerable. Our super success as a species is also a super risk to the species in various ways. (In this case it provides the pathogen an endless chain of hosts). The only positive thing that can come out from here, is if we use the time we have got to better our routines, our thought processes of how we want to live our lives, and better our appreciation for everything that we take so for granted, better ourselves.
How the situation would evolve and pan out, now, and after, for now is an Enigma.
Speaking of Engima, the lyrics of one of my favorite songs seem to match the response that humanity needs to have in spirit to face this situation : "Don't be afraid to be weak, Don't be too proud to be strong, Just look into your heart my friend, That will be the return to yourself, The return to innocence."
Things around the world are not normal, my immediate proximity included. There is clear and present danger around us. My innate sceptic sense now tingles even more at any thing that is brought into the home from outside, be it groceries, or vegetables, or medicine strips. Their days of being imponderably innocuous objects are now past. It is mildly humorous, and dark, that I now look at a potato (or a bunch of spinach, or a box of detergent, or a simple strip of dispirin) and imagine if there is something virulently pathogenic on them, and if these have been compromised by a touch not so holy. And ponder briefly if these vibes could get transferred to me. Using the subtlest of touch possible, I lift them up and wash them, and wonder again if I should use salt or a baking soda dip to sanitize these items. Though I cannot (unfortunately :-) ) clean the vegetables using dettol, I do clean all other the packets and leave them to dry. :-) .
So to summarize, I wash (everything) and sanitize anything (except open vegetables) that comes in. And then, especially if I have been outside my apartment to any of the only 3 current possibilities , i.e. the vegetable shop, grocery or medical), I take a bath.
You ask if I am paranoid, I say I prefer to err on the side of caution. Better timid, than covid :-). And then again, it is not for me I fear so much, it is bringing in the pathogen into the home that I dread, and of the consequences to the family thereof.
Speaking of stepping out, I have not been outside my home for a straight 5th day now. It feels strange, but so be it. Minimizing venturing outside, is minimizing risk. Simple enough. But its the simple things that are the savior now. For example, Washing my hands on touching anything from outside, or the elevator buttons, or anything remotely contagion-friendly. And let the footwear be outside of your home, or just in. But don't I dare walk inside with the footwear I have worn outside!
Visiting the Vegetable shop or grocery store is now an adventure, to be avoided unless critical to survival :-). Here, (apart from the social distancing) worth re-considering highly is our habit of inspecting multiple vegetables pieces before finding the right one :-), which multiplies the risk for us and for others exponentially !!
Though the grocery shops though not as well-stocked as earlier, they still have sufficient essentials for your regular needs. You will surely not go hungry, or miss your regular medicines.
So I have avoided hoarding so far. But I do buy enough in one round, that I do not need to venture outside again for 5-6 days. The milk delivery still happens everyday - needless to say I wash and sanitize the pouches with soap water. And yes, I only pay online, no cash, no notes or coins exchanged. Thus far, 10 days into the lockdown, there has been no real need to panic. So far so good.
But you only get to buy the basics, the essentials. In general, the feeling for any excess has floated away for now. Reasonable consumption of anything is now the in thing at home now. It is a revelation of sorts, how we can make do with less. Less Order, Less Consumption, Less Wastage, Less things taken for granted. Less marauding of the Earth we share. Less pillage of the Earth that sustains us. In ways this is a return to days where needs ruled the day more than wants. Then, we took from each other and from nature what we really needed, and no more. In ways we are returning to how we are supposed to be. We are returning to ourselves. Its our return to innocence, albeit temporary.
Good for the soul and good for the body. But not so good for the GDP. That's the flip side. It is unfathomable how production and consumption orientation drives us, when we actually need so little. But needs are not what Empires are built on, Wants are. Needs are not sufficient to drive the global economy, Wants are. And when we buy less , or are inhibited from buying more, like in current times, on such a scale, the economy is undeniably and massively impacted. Sometimes I wonder, what if we all continued some of the spartan habits triggered during this lockdown. Then you consume less, and they have to produce less, and so it affects somebody's jobs, and then some more, eventually risking everybody, including us. Consumption is what makes the world go nowadays. So without it, we risk an implosion, call it a severe recession if you will. And that is not so good, is it.
So summarizing, all good things stay good only with time limits. I am sure many of us will be only too happy to go back to to our work and previous routines, as soon as this crisis is over. So, it is really good to see dolphins in Venice's canals and near Mumbai's shores for a while, it is good for Jalandhar's residents to be able see the might snow-capped Himalayas from 200 kms away, for a while, it is good to have deer and peacocks coming down on some Mumbai roads for a while. Yes, but for a while, ain't it? ;-). Mere Beauty hardly helps fill empty stomachs (unless its commercialized of course). We so dearly now talk about how nature is healing itself in this time period, and how the crime rates have decreased, how much more time we are getting with our families, how the rushed lifestyle has slowed, most of us would surely be happy to go back to our routines, powering the cogs of the production and consumption-fueled economy, and lessening risk of economic fallouts, and securing our incomes - ultimately for securing our lifestyles, our statuses - our wants. Unmindful of the nuisance that drives the dolphins away from Venice or Mumbai, and unmindful of the pollution and haze that hides the Himalayas from Jalandhar.
Nevertheless, for time being, for sure, the implicit feeling of entitlement we have had, for resources, for individual freedom, for pleasure, for mobility, for gain, is paused. Not so sure about the freedom of expression though.
Interestingly, it is individual freedom or group empowerment is highly counter and highly risky to your community's and therefore ultimately your well-being in this situation. On a positive note, the kind of abuse that we see of the individual freedom and group empowerment in the country and in the world, consequently, has also ceased or at least reduced, for fear of this newly felt and invisible higher power that we are facing.
On a tiny wee little side note, for now, I look at my garden a little more than a hobby. Once a while, I can make spinach sabzi from the spinach from my small balcony garden. Also some chillies and curry leaves are made available from time to time. Today I plucked 3 medium-sized capsicums too, may be for the salad. :-) . Watering the plants, doing the harvesting of my little veggies from time to time also offers some peace and some satisfying distraction.
Coming back, One thing that is sure, that this epidemic, or pandemic (or is it panda'mic ? ) will have altered our wants too significantly, at-least in the medium term (even after the situation has subsided reasonably).
- When will they open up international travel in these years to follow, and to what extent? And even if they do, I might not want to travel to or take my family to Italy or Spain or France for sightseeing.
- I might think twice before going to too a crowded place, whether it is the cinema hall, or markets, or crowded shops.
- I might look at with serious suspicion and disdain at anybody who coughs, or sneezes, though benign.
- I might even be wary of going around the state or the country, over-conscious of my surroundings.
- Will the economic damage sufferred due to this non-melodramatic but hugely fearful onslaught lead to an increase in crime in the months to follow?
- Will people become wary of having larger gatherings of social contacts and will this be counter-productive to their mental health - man being a thoroughly social animal. Video calls are helping us fill that gap to an extent, to reduce the mental impact, and the void of being away from our friends, relatives, social circle.
Will the risk of this particular virus ever go away? May be after they develop the vaccine. But there are many others, many yet undiscovered, many unfought.
We are vulnerable. Our super success as a species is also a super risk to the species in various ways. (In this case it provides the pathogen an endless chain of hosts). The only positive thing that can come out from here, is if we use the time we have got to better our routines, our thought processes of how we want to live our lives, and better our appreciation for everything that we take so for granted, better ourselves.
How the situation would evolve and pan out, now, and after, for now is an Enigma.
Speaking of Engima, the lyrics of one of my favorite songs seem to match the response that humanity needs to have in spirit to face this situation : "Don't be afraid to be weak, Don't be too proud to be strong, Just look into your heart my friend, That will be the return to yourself, The return to innocence."
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