By William Pais

Apr 12: It is a remote analogy. But I dare to draw it in the present different and difficult circumstances. Back in my schooldays on the way to school during rainy season we used to encounter Trombidiidae, better known as red velvet mites or rain bugs, on the bright green grass just after the rains. Their velvety red colour attracted all, one would pick them up in hands and admire their beauty. They were docile and moved slowly. For all their visually appealing and meek qualities, colloquially they were called 'Cows of God' or 'Devachem Gorum' in Konkani. The parallel here, when two of these mites joined, to me, resembled the microscopic vision of coronavirus that is deeply engrained in the psyche of our present times and has robbed us of our peace.

A microorganism that is not visible to the plain eye has brought almost the entire world to an abrupt standstill. The work we thought was so necessary to our daily life stands suspended and mankind has no clue what will emerge in the next moment. Each morning as the thoughts of work for the day come gushing, the unwanted and unseen guests in front of our house dance in gay abandon, and put an end to everything, pushing us to inner confines of our homes. Most of us who took for granted what was on the table have suddenly realized the value of it and getting food is foremost on the itinerary of everyone. The raging roads with 24x7 zooming of automobiles have begun to look like ghost highways where none dares to venture. The bursting metropolis with zooming sounds of the machines of different hues and capacity, have come to a grinding halt, waiting for their resurrection, imminently days away.

Till last month the defense of every country was fighting a different war with their visible enemy but today the enemy of nation is hidden in the most unlikely of places. Back home, in India, the streets reverberated with echo for and against the thought of who will belong to this country and who will not. The elected government once elected, thought the piece of earth of which they were in charge, belongs to them and tried every trick in the book to oust those they were intolerant about. Their rants have stopped now. Even majority government has slowly started to think about the “others” and less fortunate. The granaries that were hitherto allowed to go rotten are slowly being opened to the hungry stomachs and money to the poor however miniscule has started to dent the greed of those who are in charge of the government. In the administrative landscape in reality there was no space for the dispossessed. Look at the abrupt call for countrywide lockdown in three-hour notice and note the utter chaotic situation in our urban centers. Migrants, poor and marginalized had for long had learned to trust in their own capabilities and ordered their feet to take them to a place where they hoped to be a little more comfortable. Any right thinking government would not mete out such a harsh treatment to its own people who elected them in the first place. The government basked in the glory of an absolute majority, thought they would wade through anything and everything. The irrational tax structure by the government was a detriment to lakhs of enterprising men and women; government would not listen to the woes of tax paying citizens. All of the government schemes were directed towards making the rich richer. Now the government is facing the prospect of drastic loss of revenue. All the actions of a majority government looked draconian and authoritarian. The narrative of a PM coming at eight in the night and saying from twelve midnight the country would come to grinding halt can only illustrate that we do not have space for the homeless, and the dispossessed.

The pandemic, in all its supremacy has not spared anyone no matter where they belonged. It has virtually brought everyone to his or her knees and made them wonder what lay ahead. The same PM who did not bat an eyelid to clamp the lockdown, now takes many days to consult the chief ministers and does not arrive at decision even after prolonged deliberations. He seemed to have prescription to every malady of the country but he is silent on the next direction the country needs in the difficult times. In fact it is the civil service and the state governments that are doing effective work to contain the pandemic. Corona has mellowed everyone. The religious leaders of different sects, who only seemed charitable at the outset and summoned the needy to their doorsteps, chose to deliver the food supplies to the needy in their doorsteps. The bishop of Mangaluru in a rare appearance was seen giving food packets to the hungry in a simple attire devoid of Catholic regalia, a sight of real church ministry. The seers have started worrying about the hungry and started saying none should and would go hungry to bed. The hungry and the needy were always there, only the possessed ones did not take note of them. To strengthen the already strong, to give possessions to those already possessed, was the adage till yesterday. Today everyone has slowly started to think about those who are hungry, we have started understanding why they are hungry and homeless. Disproportion that was deemed moral and legitimate is soon turning into a reality that we need to share something with the less privileged.

The thought that earth was my domain has slowly changed into a thought that the earth belongs to everyone. That we are not islands but a landmass connected to each other. No amount of preaching sermons, satsangs would manage to drill hole in the brain to espouse a feeling of kindness but corona managed to do all that in one go. That we were overexploiting the earth and its resources and the greedy became poachers officially and unofficially. That no amount of earthquakes, calamities made this point, even if they did, none would be taken note of. Invisible corona has done that in a minimum time. Corona has brought a good sense in our public and social discourse. It has brought humanity to the fore against divisions we created. It has brought out the need to share with others. It has brought a rethinking into our using of resources. Look at the hospitals which were overflowing with the afflicted everyday. But when the pandemic started to preside over, all other diseases have taken backstage. The need to go to a doctor for other ailments have become bare minimum, and by my conservative scanning of medical landscape, even deaths relating to killer diseases have come down.

The birds have started to chirp and the trees have started to sway in gay abandon. This pandemic in an opportune moment to rethink and redesign our negotiations with what is around us - both living and not living, tangible and intangible. It is time to restore everything to the place where it really belongs respectfully. That expelling something from its place may be fatal. Let corona pandemic be an opportunity to be just and kind. Corona to me looks like the red velvet mite and has come like the Cow of God to restore us to the place where we all really belong, a place of pride of our own in this vast Universe.

Oh corona give us fear but not disease
Oh corona Give us lessons not death
Oh corona become an angel to the weak
Oh corona become Cow of God
Oh corona go soon but before you go
Make this world a better place.

William Pais is the author of the Land Called South Kanara and is the director of Gallerie Orchid, Mangaluru.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the above article are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Daijiworld. Daijiworld does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.