The year 2020 is on its way out. Do we remember its entry? When we look back, the whole year seems to be a blur at times, and at other times, each and every moment excruciatingly vivid.Right in the beginning when we were reading or watching all those news regarding this virus being found in China, we never thought that soon, it would be catching up in our country and how ! Never had we seen or heard about such a thing, neither had we imagined that it would impact our life in such a way that we have almost forgotten what The Old Normal was before COVID-19, what with ‘The New Normal’ being splashed everywhere in almost every sphere of life, be it Home, Work, School, College, Offices, Travel, Fashion, whatever and wherever..
I don’t think there is a single person who has remained unaffected by this. In the beginning, when the sudden Lockdown was announced, all our plans were thrown haywire and we were asked to be ‘locked’ in our respective homes. It seemed to be a blessing in disguise initially. We finally got the chance to be at home, without taking leave, and also work from home. A novel concept, it seemed, especially for people in the Public sector like us.
So we were cooking, cleaning, doing all the household chores as well as working on our laptops all at the same time. But hardly a week into it, we were asked to report to our offices physically as things were not going as smooth as it was required and physical presence of some of the employees specially ones holding responsible posts was required. It was March, that time of the year when there is a rush to meet all the deadlines of production, productivity, finance, annual reports etc. before the financial year ended. People are working round the clock to meet the targets. And in that scenario, entered this deadly virus and threw our lives out of gear. We just didn’t know how to cope. The work was same, the deadlines were same, the targets were same, the pressure had increased and the SOPs were different. We had to operate with minimum manpower as well as other resources, but give maximum output. The stress started to show. It was further aggravated when COVID affected cases started to show up with our near and dear ones, office colleagues, friends – near as well as far. Worse, the fatalities began.With several COVID hospitals being set up near and far, the sound of the shrill siren of the ambulances day in and out, sent cold shivers down our spine. Anxiety started seeping into our bodies, physically as well as mentally, while we tried to cover it all up in front of our family and friends by showing a brave face.
Days passed into months and there seemed to be no respite. We all started to learn to live with it now, our only defence, the precautions that we needed to take everytime we stepped out of our homes. Deep within, I started thanking God that atleast I had some work, some responsibility, somewhere to go, meet and interact with people, even though from a distance, things to do which kept my mind away from all the stress and anxiety. Now there was no time to even think. It was only work. And with all the work, came additional responsibilities. We were all asked to do our bit in helping people who were going through tough times financially. With the continuous lockdown, and other situations owing to COVID, people were losing their jobs, savings drying up, daily wage earners being hit the most. So we were out on the streets, in villages, colonies, slums, railway stations, Hospitals, distributing food packets, dry rations, warm clothes, masks, PPE Kits, anything and everything with which the less privileged and the front line workers could be helped. Initially it was a tedious and scary responsibility, but soon it became something that we could relate to.
The writer is working as Chief Manager(HR) in the Public Sector Company, Coal India Ltd. In Ranchi.
To be continued
We had now become a part of the huge ‘Corona Warriors’ family who were leading from the front, risking their lives, and working day in and day out to meet the energy requirements of the country. And we were also doing our small bit for the people who were not as lucky as we were.
And lucky we were. We are. This is the time when we can actually see the difference. Count our blessings. That we have a steady job, money, home. clothes, food, medicine. The basic things needed to survive, which millions of people don’t have in our country. Or they lost during the Pandemic. The great divide that exists in our country has never been so wide and clear as it is now. Children already struggling with no power in their homes now facing the challenge of online classes in school, with no computer or mobile, or the internet. Forget the mid day meals which were the motivating force for them to attend schools. Daily wage earners, already facing an everyday challenge of making money, now turning to selling vegetables and fruits, as these were the only things that were being allowed to buy or sell outside. Even educated people, business people who had lost their jobs or earnings had now turned to selling vegetables on the road, with the hope to bring atleast one square meal for the family. Everyday we were reading atleast one such story in the newspapers.
The most disturbing times were, when people who we thought were earning decent money approached us for some monetary help as they were going through hard times. We were distraught! Again time to count our blessings and appreciate the things that we have. And hope to never undo the learnings we have learnt during these times. How stress provides the opportunity to learn in compressed time. How less is more. How the simple things matter. How precious freedom is. Why we need to support other people. To help each other.Develop patience. Develop compassion. To practice gratitude. No longer take people for granted. Staying in the present. To slow down. How hope and optimism is crucial to dealing with life’s challenges. How necessity can become the cause of amazing inventions !
The current crisis is also a wake up call for many of us. For understanding the true value in life. This has left several of us with a sense of meaning and a new zest to work towards achieving our goals. And our goals may have changed now, or will change by the time the pandemic ends. We know now that time is precious and what we really want from life. While money is definitely important to survive, for some people, it may be the adrenaline rush which comes out of working hard and fast, while for some of us, slowing down could help us fight off mental and physical health conditions, appreciate the people in our lives, being more grateful, and ultimately enabling us to lead a more fulfilling lives. To each his own. But may we never forget the lessons that we have learnt during this Pandemic. And to come together again, as and when the need arises. To show equal resilience to face whatever challenges that life will throw on us in future. Cheers to our Hope, endurance, perseverance and resolution.
And cheers for the coming NewYear 2021 !!
The writer is working as Chief Manager(HR) in the Public Sector Company, Coal India Ltd. In Ranchi.