I was
always very thrilled to watch all those fiction movies, be it alien or a
science fiction or movies based on some natural calamities. It all looked so
adventurous with the technological advancement and computerization of the
cinema. But today when I myself am stuck with the lockdown, I am actually able
to feel those experiences which the directors of these movies would have liked
to convey.
Today when
we are facing a pandemic, we have actually understood the value of life, the
value of relations, the value of technological advancement we have made, and
many more. We could have never understood the true value of these precious
things if we would have not encountered with the deadly virus that has made us
realize that beyond everything, there is a super power and we are at His
disposal.
Today,
when I see the empty roads, deserted streets and malls, which in no way would
have been possible, no festival, no mourning would have caused life to be so
standstill, it seems I am playing the role of those actors which I once upon a
time saw on the screen, enjoying with a glass of cold drink and popcorn. I
desperately want it to be a nightmare which will be gone once I open up my eyes
and everything would be as it was before.
On the other side, I even think that till now people had their own identity based on parameters like gender or religion. But today what I see is two groups of people — infected and non-infected; positive and negative cases.
Today, the entire world has come together and is fighting against this “natural manmade” disaster. The term “natural manmade” may confuse the readers, but isn’t it so true. It’s a living thing, cultivated by humans, and due to some loopholes, it has invaded our atmosphere. Who is to be blamed? Or do we really need to blame anyone? Do we call it a destiny? If yes, the next question arise is why us? Is it a blessing or a curse? Just to brief you with some statistics, the total number of corona cases as on April 10, 2020 were 1,619,051 (0.020%), amongst them 96,955 death occurred, which nearly accounted for 5.98% of the infected group with symptoms and 365,847 people recovered from this deadly infection accounting to 22.5% recovery (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?) On the other hand, approximately 1.35 million (0.017%) (1350000/year; 112,500/month; 3750/day) people die each year due to road accidents (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/road-traffic-injuries) (accessed on 10th April, 2020). Another fact is that approximately 7.56 million (0.096%) (7560000/year; 630000/month; 21000/day) people die every year due to hunger or malnutrition (https://editorials.voa.gov/a/world-hunger-day-2019/4935420.html) (accessed on 10th April, 2020). The idea behind showing this statistics is that today we have become alert due to this alarming condition of the pandemic which is increasing on a logarithmic scale. And I bet if anyone ever thought about these and other number earlier which are alarming too! The only difference I see between these numbers is today we are fighting with an unknown enemy. But we never gave it a thought for the mere reason that it did not affect us directly. Today, every one of us is glued to our mobiles and television set for any new popping because it does concern us. So that is where again I come back to the point of the destiny. It perhaps is nature’s decision to open our eyes and to be more concerned for “US” rather than for “ME” or “WE”. These statistics shows that we could have very well taken control of these, but we never did. The world is beautiful if we wish to make it.
Author:
Dr. Neelam Makwana, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Head, Dept. of Pharmacology, Karnavati School of Dentistry (KSD)
Disclaimer: The opinions / views expressed in this article are solely of the author in his / her individual capacity. They do not purport to reflect the opinions and/or views of the College and/or University or its members.
