Cor(o)nered!

A glimpse of the sky with cotton ball clouds floating around….Not the transcendental sky which posed questions to me. It is a threadbare sky I see through my glass windows…. Are we going to be caught within the walls? Are we cornered?

My heart swells up with emotions when I go back  to our sepia tinted lives of yesteryears!  Is it sepia tinted? No, those are the vibrantly coloured pages of our lives. We did not have the most luxurious living, we did not have things of our own..  The word that was sparingly used during that time was ‘my’; it was always ‘our room’, ‘our blanket’, ‘our umbrella’ or ‘our pencil’…. Everything shared by everyone! I remember the time when I could boastfully say something as ‘mine’, definitely with an excessive amount of pride, was when we got a pocket diary. We got it from our maternal uncle who was in Singapore. At that time the concept of diary writing was totally new to us. Achan gave us a  detailed account of the purpose of diary writing  and told us  how diaries could be kept as ‘secret diaries’ from others. (We still fondly remember how our father took delight in encouraging us to explore anything new!) It was quite unbelievable for me, a 7 year old at that time, to hear that there was something like a ‘diary’ which we did not have to share with others!

Now look at the generation around us! Look at us! Do we like to share our space? Do we like to share even the simplest of things? How easily could we replace the word ‘ours’ with ‘mine’! How our lives are changed!! We call it progress. Does progress mean neglecting human values and destroying Mother Earth? Does it mean stomping over tiny blades of grass, tearing apart the delicate woven nests and dismembering huge trees that gave us shades? Now where do we stand? The whole of humankind at the mercy of a miniscule virus! Look around us! We have fallen down, helplessly! Cornered by Corona. Do we still believe that we have the supreme power, we are the only ones who deserve the best and we are the rulers of earth?

Believing myself as a strong optimist, I don’t want to be intimidated by the darkenss. Let us believe that our future is not so bleak. Our resilience cannot be jeopardised! Mankind will not accept defeat. We are still holding our hands, standing united, lending our shoulders to lean on, yet practising social distancing. We will get over it; we will come out as winners, stronger and tougher. Let us not forget the lesson we have learnt from being cor(o)nered. Let us keep a promise not to take things for granted! Let us understand that every living being has the same right to enjoy the bounties of nature, just like us. Learn to accept that fact and respect it.

Can we go back to the way we lived? In simplicity, in gratitude – sharing things with others and showing care for others! It is not late! Remember the joy of living  in a small house surrounded by nature… The open doors inviting our neighbours… the open windows tempting the fresh fragrant air to come inside. Walking to schools and markets , meeting  familiar faces on our way and returning their smiles. Then coming back home and sitting together with our family or friends to share the day’s events, carefully colouring it with hues of imagination. Imagine the pleasure of finding a few souls at home, intently waiting to hear your anecdotes with the same fervour that we show now to watch a new Netflix season! These were enough to cheer our days! Wish to live in such a wonderful world after the Corona effect fades away!