Here I stand at the end of the 2020 road. When I look back…
I still remember stepping onto the first day of this year which has turned out to be the most peculiar one I’ve ever been. Each passing day has occupied a unique place in my book of memoirs.
"Self-realizing this truth and making others too – This is what 2020 has taught and meant to me."
Right from the event of ‘Brexit’ to the US Presidential elections, the entire world has got shaken in trade, economy, development and a lot more. As far as our India is considered, whether it was the assembly elections or the vigorous space missions, nothing took a break. In fact we were all running a race. I’m sorry, we still are!
How many of us have cherished a moment of joy or took a stand against an act of injustice?
Well, some hark back to raising voices against a cruel act like racism. Also, some of us have applauded Christina Koch for her record of setting the longest single spaceflight by a woman and some of us got inspired from the US Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris as well.
Now, here’s a question. Why is it always restricted to ‘some’ of us and not ‘all’ of us?
Let’s hold that thought. Here comes the most important event of 2020 which banged the world in innumerable ways. Of course it’s the COVID-19 which originated last year yet turned everything upside down this year. The most common thought developed about it is that it has wreaked havoc which is undeniable. Also, people talk about the lessons to be learnt from this outbreak which are acceptable indeed. But my concern is, just continuing to talk...is that going to change everything? Certainly not!
Once, there was this news about a next country citizen who died of a disease. Believe it or not, I could remember the channels being switched to Bigg Boss then! But I myself witnessed hours of watching the news with the eyes wide open during the pandemic. Ironic, isn’t it?
So, people care about ‘others’ only when there is a possibility of their lives being impacted by these ‘others’. Let me tell you a fact which I speculate to be an eye-opener. Imagine a person falling down from the roof in a remote village of some country. This might appear as an incident concerning only the people around him. What you fail to notice is that it would not even take seconds for the train of events to reach you. Bam! This occurrence is no different from the pandemic except that we did not realize it. So, ‘helping and caring for everyone’ is not something to be done out of goodwill alone. It is as mandatory as we care about our own selves. About a year ago, I would have been mocked for writing this but I’m sure it makes much sense now.
Self-realizing this truth and making others too – This is what 2020 has taught and meant to me.