Is there an ideal situation?

By : Nayana Madhu Dutta

These days 'life is all but frequent and deep sighs'. Never thought social distancing as two words would ever come together in the context of our interactions and proximity with people we love, families we care for, communities we work with and the kind of social integration wherein we talk about 'bridging the gaps'.

The definition of words like quarantine, isolation and outbreak are so much more than their literal meanings. The meaning of a pandemic can be so different for each one of us with varied and unique manifestations.

 At one end, some of us are honing our hidden talents ushering in deeper meanings to life, which is fantastic. On the other hand, there are people whose journey back home is as arduous as it can ever be. For many, like the daily wage earners staying indoors might not be an ideal situation. In an article published by BBC, the Indian poor expressed their fear of being killed by hunger, before the virus.

How much solace one can extend by tele-counseling one's brother or sister who are staying alone in their apartments possibly in a containment zone working online not knowing, what future holds for them. How much more, one can think of staying safe while at work or when on emergency field duty.

Will we be able to promise safety of our parents and children when we go back to a small one or two BHK apartment even though we have promised ourselves of following all that is possible for prevention? Do the healthcare professionals sure of any possible timeframe of a vaccine when the only breather for saving lives currently are the combination of drugs administer by them?

To add to our miseries, we had the tropical cyclone Amphan devastating coastal states of India like never before. In the recent past, we have seen newer and redefined perspectives of being social as individuals and while extending our social support to the communities in despair.

Walking home

Many would agree to the fact that there has been a growing and ever widening social and economic disparity for us to vividly notice, while one of the most pertinent aspect, which very few talk about, is our mental health or well-being. Many have taken pay cuts.

While many have not received their dues, too many of them have lost their jobs and livelihood. While some of us are consciously giving up on luxuries, too many of them are finding it hard even for the essentials or necessities of life. A few of us are eating healthy by choice while many are rendered to no choice.

 As we say so, some of us are also doing our bit within the ambit of our individual or corporate capacities to extend a hand or two, but there is room for more to be done. Global collective voices in response to the pandemic through initiatives like 'Global Citizen' or 'One World: Together at Home', or the scores of balcony/home concerts, motivational videos, songs, podcasts and many more socially-driven content on online platforms which cannot be ignored.

We have incredible and heartfelt stories of our warriors who have risen up to the cause of fighting the pandemic even at the cost of their lives, families and much more. Be that as it may, at the end of the day one seeks solace and happiness and honestly, this pandemic has definitely put us all to our own kind of worries and situations. It is so nearly impossible to step into someone else's shoes no matter how empathetic we are, yet we can try to be considerate and respectful.

The interaction was to pen down something that would keep us going no matter what. In an ideal situation with all kinds of support, we need to emerge as stronger as ever right? There has to be some sort of a light even at the end of a deep dark tunnel. United and determined efforts have to be the need of the hour but what is that one thing we may always bank upon, even when things are not as expected.

Is it that inner light or some sort of a self-push? There are diverse deliberations as to how someone can ignite their inner light when they have to sleep with an empty stomach or with a burdensome mind, while some of us are also struggling with depression and anxiety.

Therefore, maybe there is nothing like an ideal situation given the fact that our journeys are so contrasting and our stories are coloured.  Yet, we have to join our efforts to unite and rise up to the cause of not only rebuilding the crumbling social and economic structures, but every transformation needs be humanitarian in nature.

 While societies and economies have their own uniqueness, as a country to score high on the global happiness index we need to act local in the real sense of the terms. Macro-economic reforms might not perform as expected, if the same is understood in isolation from the deeper social constructs of a country like India at the micro level.

For us to see impactful changes, "economic growth and social inclusion" shall go hand in hand while we focus on policies that will not only help improve the living conditions of people but also focus on enabling them to stay on it or rise above it. While we do so as was written by Nobel prize-winning economist Angus Deaton in his 2013 book called, The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality 'the existence of a robust public healthcare system is one of the pertinent expectations its citizens have from their country with accessible primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare structures'.

 A support system to rage a systematic war against any kind of contagion provided India being one of the largest and populated democracies. At an individual level, though it is easier said than done, self-belief and self-motivation could be one of the ways to keep up with our spirits, while we also keep doing whatever maximum is possible for those who cannot make their ends meet.

If at all there can be any other way out, one of it definitely shall be equipping the minds of our younger generation or condition them in such a way that they realize the importance of values like staying together, empathy, sustainable consumption and their responsibilities towards environment and mankind.

To be able to accept and adjust to the so-called new normal might take some time. However, all civilizations have their own break-even point and accordingly, they need to reflect and usher in changes for better to thrive and to sustain.

 "We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope." — Martin Luther King
 First printed in The Sentinal,Guahati) (The writer is Senior Manager-Public Affairs (CSR),Oil India Limited, Duliajan. She can be reached at nayana.m.dutta@gmail.com)