The Man Next Door

It was a normal day, but it did not seem normal. 

Their city had come out of the second lockdown recently. 

There was much excitement! 

It was great to see all the familiar faces.

 

Not seeing a soul in sight was creepy.

On a normal day, there would have been a traffic jam at that time of the day.

He walked on the street puzzled. 

Photo Prompt- Roger Bultot

He wanted to get his smartphone repaired.

Lockdown Creativity

During this lockdown, I'm trying to be productive.
Tapping my creativity, and my work & life-skills.
Attempting to accept & do & connect & give;
And feel grateful, making the most without frills!

I have self-nominated myself to be the only one,
Authorised to step outside our home in case of need.
All in my family need to fully follow instructions,
I'm calling friends & relatives; asking them to pay heed!

Telecast of Ramayan And Mahabharat

When PM Modi ji announced Janata Curfew on March 22, 2020 to fight coronavirus, and citizens followed his call countrywide, the streets were deserted that Sunday. Seeing the visuals in the news, I told my father that this was how the streets looked when Ramayan and Mahabharat used to be telecast on Doordarshan in the late 80's.

I was in school and I remember how the whole family used to be glued to the screens when these shows were telecast. My grandparents, both from my paternal and maternal side, were particularly happy.
My maternal grandparents were seated in their chairs much before the shows were to start, and asked everyone - all my uncles, aunts, cousins and us (when we were around) to come. If anyone was missing, she/he would be called. It was like an alarm or school-bell to signal presence and alertness to imbibe the precious lessons.
The scene in my paternal grandparents house was not much different. They used to also invite all the 'khalasis' (workers) and household staff and all watched together as the extended family-members in the huge hall.
Everyone looked forward to the screening. These were truly mega-family shows. They brought together family members of different ages, and they all enjoyed watching the shows together.
They were popular with all, especially all the elders of the family, who advised everyone to watch.  Their wishes were the family's command.
Also, there was no alternate channel for choice/competition, and thus no jostling for the remote or flipping channels! 

Lessons From Coronavirus #Covid19

The coronavirus i.e. Covid-19 has several lessons for the world.

Pandemic for the World

World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared coronavirus a pandemic. Almost our entire world has been affected by the coronavirus, with patients now spread over 195 countries by now. We are all on the same boat and united in our fight against the coronavirus.

Source

Many have been killed across the world.

About 30 military trucks have crossed Italy’s Bergamo, from the cemetery to the highway, with about 70 coffins of people killed by coronavirus that the cemetery can no longer manage: there are too many and will be cremated or buried elsewherehttps://t.co/OBTvmfIyuK

— Alfons López Tena (@alfonslopeztena) March 19, 2020

Haves and Have-Nots 

Coronavirus does not differentiate between the rich or poor nations, or the non-religious or religious. Age, gender, race, income etc. factors do not matter as now all that matters is - whether we are safe and do not 'have' the virus, and if we do 'have', then how to ensure we do not infect the 'have-nots' (i.e. those who are not suffering and do not 'have' the virus.). Nations are busy working to ensure the 'haves' population in this case is checked and 'have-nots' maintain their status.

But, nations have to address the costly economic aspects too. The 'have-nots' (i.e. the poor- those without social security, bank-balance and income) need support in this tough time.

Apart from the toll on lives, the legacy of COVID-19 may well be deaths due to stress, loss of livelhoods, a rise in homelessness & in extreme situations, civil unrest. The only global experience that has lessons for us in the current situation is the last world war. (2/4)

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 19, 2020