Lockdown in a positive note...

We are in the midst of an unprecedented lockdown, the likes of which has never occurred in history beforehand. Even during wars and conflicts, life went on as usual elsewhere across the globe. India’s Freedom struggle was in full flow during World War-II. Today, all the streets are silent, the mandirs, masjids and churches are bereft of pilgrims, and every day seems to pass on as another day of death and despair.

It would be then, perfectly natural, as this period is felt by all, as a prelude to “Doomsday “. Yet hope springs eternal; Humans are, after all, of mind and reason: In the midst of all the pessimists, there are optimists. It is the fervent hope of all optimists, that a day shall come when “We shall overcome! “

How then, would be the best possible manner in which one can maintain an air of “positivity” in the environment of such curtailment of freedom and negativity. Based on the minuscule knowledge that I have, following the books of the great masters and motivators, and my interactions with positively oriented people, I venture to offer the following suggestions:

First of all, we got to understand that we are fighting a fearsome unknown enemy. It knows no geographical boundaries. It strikes the Kings, PM,s and Commoners. It has no solutions in sight, though the hopeful may suggest that Hydroxy Choloro-Quinine has some hope. At least President Trump is banking on it-that’s why he is beseeching India for supplies. At present, the best way to avoid it is complete physical isolation. I am sure our PM meant physical isolation when he spelt out “Social Distancing “. After all, we are more connected through the virtual world.

Once we have accepted the terror of this scourge, we have to follow the norms prescribed by the experts, primarily the isolation factor. That way, the chain of transmission can hopefully be broken, After that, we have to hope for the best, monitor the statistics, the afflicted ones, the recovery rates and the lessening of deaths. The ultimate decision rests with the authorities; they are the best judge of that. They have to plan the way forward to contain the pandemic, the supply chain to provide food to all and the resumption of essential and non-essential services. Even after the lockdown is lifted, it will take a minimum of three months to bring things to normal. After that, there is still a massive struggle to re-build, just as it was done after World War-II.

For individuals, this is the best time to reflect and replan, away from the hurly-burly materialistic world. This is the time when families are together. For a change, we have returned to a world of connection and compassion. Very often, in our quest for success and achievement, we have lost connectivity with people, however significant or insignificant. For us, only the people who matter right now are important. Others can be discarded, under the “Use and throw “policy. The net result is that the higher you climb, the more detractors and enemies you are collecting. This is the best time to reconnect with old friends and relatives. You don’t have to rush off to office like a zombie to thumb your Bio-Metrics!

With ample time in everybody’s hand, this is a golden opportunity to increase one’s knowledge and capabilities. Books and the Internet is a great source. I myself have spent in various periods of my day, ringing up retired Oil Indians, who have helped me immensely in the past and enquiring about their well-being. Also, a good time to call friends, relatives, nieces and nephews, whom I have not connected to the past many years. I have also the opportunity to go through many classics of Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Rabindranath Tagore and Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Through these books, in some cases, I have been transported through time to learn about the Famines of Bengal in the early twentieth century, the 900 days siege of Russia, where they survived by eating Turnip and potato soup, and other major disasters of mankind. In that way we are very lucky that we have the means of grocery at our doorsteps, and using technology, we can order vegetables to be delivered at our homes.

This is also an important period for the families to learn the art of “Resource Mobilisation “, to dwell in the period when the last morsel of rice and the last piece of vegetable is useful to our plates. Also, one gets a lot of self-satisfaction by helping our lesser brethren. I personally have helped a couple of people outside Oil Colony by arranging money for them through well-wishers. I have also got the opportunity to help neighbours in their procurement of groceries etc., in their current condition of “Home Quarantine”.

To the adults and teenagers who have never entered a kitchen, this is a golden opportunity to learn and make new dishes, achars(pickles ),  Biryanis, smoothies, juices, mocktails etc. A lot of my male friends are doing it and enjoying it. For their daily exercise to keep fit, there is the walking within their compound, or, in one case, climbing the staircase ten times daily at one go.

In our families, this is a golden time for the parents to teach their children new skills and hobbies. Also, the children can spare much time to interact with the grandparents’ generation. I myself have derived a great thrill in transforming a person who has never entered a kitchen, into a reasonable cook. The story goes as follows:

In our Skill Development Institute at North Guwahati, there is a young faculty from Odisha, who is staying all alone. All the other faculties, hostel staff, kitchen staff have gone home. He has only two guards for Company. The guards have a separate kitchen, and they stay nearby too. He has no problem with provisions, enough stuff to last two months, except fresh vegetables. Only thing is that he knows only how to make a cup of tea and doesn’t know how to cook. The first few days, one neighbourly shop keeper supplied him homemade stuff. But that too stopped. When I came to know of it, I advised him to watch You-Tube videos of how to cook rice, dal, mixed Veg etc. He also consulted his mother through video calling. In my frequent interaction, I told him the quantity required for one person to cook rice, dal etc. Then the easy method of cooking, adding salt and turmeric, masala, tempering etc. I asked him to throw off the rotten vegetables and arrange to procure fresh veg. I also guided him to pay at a premium price and procure milk from neighbours. At present, he is turning into a self-dependent cook and is really enjoying it.

All in all, in this time of despair and uncertainty, there is light at the end of this tunnel. It is up to each of us to control our minds and thoughts. I am sure our positive thoughts and deeds will make us a more complete human being. Till then, see you all after lockdown ends!