By Shreya Gokhale , 21
A long while ago on a sunny morning, while we were in the middle of long holidays and longer days, a video plays on my phone. It shows me a group of people in khaki uniforms bringing a birthday cake for an old man living alone in self-isolation. Another video. A group of residents in society is welcoming a lady with songs, flashcards, and claps. She is back home after twenty days. They sing of her bravery and thank her for her service in healthcare. The old man from the first video and the healthcare lady from the second cry tears of joy. Seeing them in my WhatsApp forwards, I cry along. In a desert of disappointing headlines and articles, this feels like an oasis.
Before the holidays came, it used to be a good time. Watching movies, eating out, shopping in bustling bazaars, getting pushed by the crowds for that one glance at God in temples - we had found our happiness in this. Suddenly, something struck. Eventually, it'd affect us so badly, we'd stop everything we were doing and just wait for it to go. We named it Corona. It came from nowhere and started killing fellow humans with something that started as innocently as the flu. We started fearing it, without being able to see it for real.
Governments stepped forward, took measures and most of us helped the world by staying home. Nobody had seen it coming. Nobody was prepared. But some of us were brave enough to step up and help the world by risking themselves. We called them Corona warriors. While we stayed at home, they came forward from all kinds of professions. Doctors, police force, army, pharmacists, sanitation workers, among many.
Right from when the screening started at airports, people were assigned duties that put them at risk. But they continued to work without a flinch. The humanity showed a side of that we haven’t seen earlier – bravery. While we were anxious even for a grocery visit, that doctor from our neighborhood showed up to work every single day and risked her life. For that policeman on the crossroads who toiled in scorching heat to catch covidiots, that electricity board member who worked tirelessly to make sure we had a comfortable quarantine at home, that old chemist who’d rather relax at home who opened his shop every day for those who needed it, and the vegetable vendor who had little kids at home she couldn't hug after a long day – someone said it right, not all heroes wear capes.
However, I refuse to believe that only the essential workers were corona warriors. In that time, diligently following the government’s norms was as crucial. Some people would dig up texts from Ayurved, jotting down the immunity-boosting food combinations and share it on social media. There was a community altruist who collected shopping lists from the old people and ran grocery for them. Some kind employers handed out incentives to their delivery guys because that was a hard time to deliver goods. There was a tech-savvy teen who was teaching net banking to a next-door grandma. There was a mother who would not let her son wander around for nothing, and there was a son who would not let his vulnerable mother go out to run errands.
Instead of going out unnecessarily, we stayed at home. We followed the rules. We sang, danced, wrote, cooked, and slept. But most importantly, we thanked ourselves and others. For being corona warriors to our best capacities. And just like that, in no time, we bounced back to normal and corona no longer scared us.
When it was over, we got out of our homes to just saunter around. We went to the park for a walk. We looked at the sun, the moon, and the twilight. We looked at the people, the crowd, the kids. We closed our eyes and felt the fresh, crisp evening air. We breathed, and gratitude filled every inch of our hearts.