The post covid world will never be the same as the one we have been living in until today. Humanity has been tested through ethos, perseverance, and mental strength to our socio-political structure. We have had tales of heroism, selfless love, and care for those suffering; the commitment towards the oath of serving mankind taken by our frontline warriors and a common man doing his bit to fight the unknown enemy. But this extraordinary effort from all around is being constantly hampered by some of the selfish creatures always lurking to take advantage of the vulnerable. Life saving drugs are being hoarded, frauds and conning people in the name of helping are rampant, oxygen cylinders and critical medicines are being sold at unbelievable prices. The whole episode seems to be a portrayal of a superhero movie with all the frontline superheroes fighting against the villain – covid – operating hand in hand with real life zombies trying to suck the blood of helpless humans.

The situation that we are currently in, is sending chills down our spine with so much uncertainty looming around every corner. Each beeping message and ringing phone, things which used to excite people, make us nervous and the mind somehow remains in the clutches of negativity. And in the ongoing circumstances and bizarre state of affairs that is pretty obvious too. How many times have we seen in our lives people running around with oxygen cylinders or the atmosphere filled with depressing ambulance sirens? I guess for most of us, this is the first ever experience and would pray it to be the last. The transformation of humans from being a social animal who loves to interact with each other to a virtual animal who hardly meets people in the real world as the space is being eaten away by the technology, gadgets and various other advancements is further expedited manifest with this catastrophe. Now, however mentally close we may be, we are not comfortable sitting closer to each other, leaving apart sharing a crowded bus or metro seat. But then again, for the time being, the wisest way is to lead a solitary life without venturing out, with a hope that ‘yes things will be almost normal if not completely normal in a few days’ time.

The mutating virus is everyday rising, like a rakshasa from Ramayana, with invincible power and ready to devastate the very existence of humanity. Its predecessor was a lot more forgiving and gave everyone some time to find their footing, but the new demon is a lot riskier and deadlier, as if he has somehow found new found powers achieved through some intense yagna. As suggested by scientists, the new variant is way too infectious and doesn’t give you any time to prepare yourself. India got a lot of pat on the back due to its strategic fight against covid last year, and we became so overconfident that we ignored the new signs coming from the other corners of the world. History has repeated itself again. We were so lost in bragging that we couldn’t see the tsunami coming towards us. And the countries who had learnt from us were able to manage much better. Going by our Upanishads, Vedas and granthas the same feeling runs through my mind that we were so advanced, and then, somehow, we lost all our advancement and knowledge to become a country of mere snake charmers. To be looted and exploited by foreign invaders. Ram may have killed Ravana physically, but he was there to stay inside everyone in the form of the devil inside all of us and would guide us towards self-destruction.

In these testing times, staying sane is really becoming next to impossible. Depression and sadness seem to have taken over the normal cool and calm state of mind. The more we try to get hold of the situation the more difficult it is becoming increasingly difficult to manage the situation.

So, the future that we are headed to will depend a lot on the kind of nurturing we provide to the younger generations. If humankind wants to sustain and thrive in the coming future, the only way forward is to inculcate the lesson of humanity in all of us and also our deeds towards ensuring a sustainable atmosphere. Not only our nature needs to be preserved, but the very core of human life. Social animals can only survive and thrive by caring and sharing with each other.