Our journey from one 26/11/ to another 26/11

I BLOG BECAUSE I FEEL …

ये कहाँ आ गये हम, यूँ ही साथ साथ चलते…

Only an year ago we were making such an issue of the organised attacks by Lashkar that left 166 dead in Mumbai on this day 12 years back.

Then we had an identified enemy whose only purpose was to spread hatred and create fear by causing deaths. And we were all supposed to hate the enemy and stay united. Naturally.

We hanged the main accused with fanfare after a prolonged trial, hoping it would send a message to all the enemies once for all.That it did not happen even after the famous surgical strike is another story.

Today in 2020 over 500 persons are dying/day in India alone, due to a deadly disease called Covid19, taking the toll to 1,35,223 since March and still counting, while the number of infected have crossed 9 lakhs since March .These are the official figures that have been reported.The unknown die anonymously in anonymous places as in all tragedies.

Death has not been a great leveller. It has not left any class or religion or caste or country untouched.Not a day passes when there is a report of a well-known person succumbing to the pandemic despite the best treatment possible.

Who can we blame for these deaths?Except for that now deflated joker Trump, no one seriously believes in conspiracy theories anymore.  Actually words like conspiracy,terrorism, Cold War,Jihad seem so petty and meaningless in today’s world where what we are being taught is cold-blooded Freudian formula of each one for oneself.

We can’t even blame the theory of Karma for this all devouring monster because it has consumed some of our noblest souls.

And what are the lessons we are being taught?

1. Initially we were very proud that the Indian Namaste was becoming the norm for greetings all over the world as shaking hands was out.

But gradually all such delusion was drowned in the flood of advisories that were given out by the medical and political authorities.

2. Don’t allow the elderly to go out of the house.
3. Don’t open schools or colleges.Remaining alive is more important than getting degrees or topping in the class.
4. Hide your identity under a mask.
5. Maintain social distance of at least two metres even with persons you know.
6. So much so that doctors who are supposed to feel the pulse and make physical examination are keeping patients at two arms distance.
7. Brothers and sisters have bee told discreetly for their own good not to visit them during festivals like Rakshabandhan and Diwali which were occasions for family get together.

Those unlucky ones who are admitted to hospitals after getting infected with Covid19 are being shunned even by nurses and ward-boys. A majority of bodies of Covid19 patients have been found in the toilets because the ‘Corona Warriors’ did not want to touch them.

So much so, that even relatives of the dead refuse to attend their cremation, scared of their own survival.

Hatred of our Own was never so much the Normal till 2020.