So, we end the first phase of the 21 day lockdown tomorrow and enter into the next phase which will take us until the end of this month. This lockdown has been unprecedented in many ways for us Indians.
If I look at it dispassionately, the lockdown is a severe assault on personal liberties. It has been described as the strictest lockdown in the world with closure of schools, travel bans, closure of borders, etc. This was further aggravated by our own building associations getting overzealous and banning all non residents from entering our buildings. That health and safety of citizens and residents were the reasons for such stringent actions is well understood but the other aspect cannot be ignored.
In a country where there is little awareness and respect for personal space, social (now renamed physical) distancing is being emphasized as a way to keep the virus away. One needs to just stand in a queue in India to feel the breath of the next person in line. We don't like to keep distance and distance makes us feel further from our goal, even though our turn may be the next.
This lockdown has also been a great lesson in the real idea of "social distance" - how privileged we are and in how many ways we are more privileged than others. While we complain about being locked up in the comfort of our homes, we have a large number of fellow citizens just wanting to get to their safe homes.
The little demon virus also taught us how enough is really enough. We managed with little through three big festivals - Ugadi, Easter and Vishu/ Bihu/ Baishakhi/ Putthandu/ Poila Boisakh- while under lockdown. Just look at what we have made of our festivals - and how they have grown beyond the confines of family and our homes to become garish and gaudy.
With all religious places closed and no organised religious activity, I get a sense that people are way closer to an "Almighty" or seeing some sort of a strength within themselves than ever before. So, where's the need for organised religion.......and aren't we better off seeking what comforts and consoles us all by ourselves......
And for a change, we Indians will have to follow rules in the interest of others' safety. We break rules casually with not a care in the world about what it does to other people. We are driven too much by our own personal interests and goals to be bothered about the trouble we may be causing to fellow citizens in our pursuit of those.
Lastly, we sought solace in art when the world looked dim. Whether it was the JanataCurfew Online festival or the NCPA screening of their top shows or Andrea Bocelli rendering Amazing Grace from an eerily empty cathedral in Milan, or the many shows and films that we consumed on Netflix and Prime, art moved in beautifully to fill in the empty spaces in our locked down lives.