The Invisible Enemy Returns

“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”

Jon Kabat-Zinn

As the fiercest waves of coronavirus are ravaging my beloved country, staying sane and calm is not so easy

Last year we learnt about the virus, lockdowns, making lifestyle changes, and working from home. The novelty of the situation provided us with the opportunity to become more self-reliant and adjust to spending time within the confines of our homes. Most of us were stoic and appreciated that as the traffic decreased, pollution levels came down. The silver lining was clear skies and being able to hear the sounds of birds chirping and enjoy the peace and tranquility that was enforced on us. We accepted and lived through those six months with positivity and hope that we would soon overcome the virus.

It seemed like our prayers and efforts paid off, and by the start of 2021, the world had a vaccine, and the roll-out began in India in early January and people became bold and reverted to old habits of socialising, going on holidays, and even partying in large numbers.

We assumed that the vaccine had fortified us with a cure, and we now knew how to deal with and defeat the virus. Masks came off, social distancing forgotten, and complacency set in as the vaccine was made available to Indians.

Today, a year later, we are devastated by a mutated virus that is more virulent, deadlier, and airborne as the number of patients increases with each day, and the statistics are alarming!

We are again in lockdown, and this time around, the mood is different. The virus is impacting a more significant percentage of the population throughout the country. The virus has reached closer home as friends, and their families test positive. The sudden unanticipated surge has thrown everything out of gear, and now patients are struggling to get a bed in a hospital, dealing with a scarcity of oxygen, medicines, and other life-saving equipment. The helplessness and tragedy of watching your loved one's gasping for breath and succumbing makes one helpless, angry, and scared.

Today, I avoid watching news channels. The news distresses me no end. I would rather not see and hear about the ongoing tragedy in hospitals as it is essential to stay cheerful and well. The blame game is not of significance. The systemic failure is something I find hard to accept and forgive.

I want to quieten all the negative thoughts and questions that arise in my mind. We have to concentrate on breaking the chain of transmission and healing.

Later there will be time to ponder and conclude if we could have saved ourselves such overwhelming grief and tragedy had we not thrown caution to the winds. If only the influencers had guided the masses and been role models, this catastrophe could have well been avoided.

Alas, “what’s done cannot be undone” So many innocent people are paying the price of collective failure with their lives and jobs.

The virus has defeated us as a nation. A nation with 1.4 billion people is crying today and praying hard for divine intervention.

“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh

As we stay within the safe confines of home, I hope and pray that the virus which has entered so many houses all around us stays away. Each night, I go to bed praying that the almighty is merciful to us, and miraculously; I wake up to a non-covid world.

I believe and know that as a country; we need to unite and defeat this enemy that threatens us all. This is not an opportunity for politics or making money.

We, as a human race, need to learn lessons from all our mistakes. Taking nature for granted and assuming that we had the power to control all situations, this pandemic has brought us down to our knees.

We have to be resilient and robust, as more and more countries are closing down flights to keep this Indian variant away.

So many of us with children living on other continents have to deal with the anxiety of not knowing when we will meet our children.

I pray we will rise to the occasion and amend the inadequacies of infrastructure that this surge created. Our health workers need our appreciation and support to remain positive and motivated, despite all the pressure and difficulties they face. They are our Saviour’s and have quietly borne the brunt of this tsunami that has struck our nation.

It is difficult to fight a war without weapons, and our depleted resources in the health sector need urgent replenishments to keep us from drowning. May all the political bickering be silenced as we look to a speedy consensus on dealing with this crisis and minimising loss of life.

Today, as I receive anxious messages from family and friends concerned about my well being, I would like to reassure all that India will overcome this wave, and we will emerge stronger, wiser, and aware that,

“When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it: admit it, learn from it, and don’t repeat it.”