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The author moved away from India just before the Coronavirus spread. Staying alone- without her family, she wonders what she must do in these trying times.
It had already been a few months that I had been feeling low since I stayed away from my family and home. I had recently moved to a new place (Taiwan) with my husband and had just started settling down.
But somewhere, I was really looking forward to the Chinese New Year holidays so that I could visit my family and friends in India. It isn’t easy moving to a new place, leaving your friends and family, and adjusting to the new surroundings.
I have no real friends here, just my husband and the few people that I know. Long leisurely walks at peaceful green places around and travelling was my only respite which sadly, has almost, come to an end for now.
Social gatherings and travelling is not considered safe at all at the moment. It initially worried me more because many people travel between China and Taiwan during the Chinese New Year. And that was around the time when it started.
I was hoping that things would get better soon but it doesn’t look like it now. Several countries are cancelling their visas and sealing borders. Schools and colleges are being shut down, people are working from home, social gatherings and events are being cancelled.
People are distancing themselves from others which is actually need of the hour but it has also filled us with a fear. They are avoiding even looking at one another, let alone smile.
God only knows (before the symptoms show) who around you could be carrying the virus. Between all this, there has also been news about people being harassed and insulted as they come from the place where it began. Deep down it makes me feel sorry for all of us. Extreme situations bring extreme reactions- could be compassion in some or hatred in others.
Before it could all make me feel worse, I tried looking at the situation from a different angle. What do I need to do now? Can I make it better? Is there anything to make it better, starting with myself?
Obviously there are things that we need to be careful about- personal hygiene, symptoms, precautions, medical help. But there are a few other things that we perhaps were forgetting- connection. Connection with our own selves, with family and the one that we all as human beings share with each other.
This situation has forced us to pause and observe. All of this is coming at a huge cost. This virus doesn’t discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion, gender, caste, or citizenship.
Is there something big that we need to look at? Right now this emotion we are experiencing has surpassed all the borders- physical and others.
Would fear teach us what love and compassion couldn’t?
Picture credits: Pexels
I love reading, writing, traveling and learning. I want to experience more and more of diverse aspects of life. read more...
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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