“So, what’s your takeaway from this pandemic?” This question has been a recurring feature throughout this coronavirus-afflicted period and my answer has varied with each query depending on the timeline.
I have stumbled upon very distinct phases during this period. Just as the Kubler Ross Model says, there are five stages we go through during a tragedy.
First came the stage of “denial”. At the time the pandemic rose its head in Wuhan, I refused to believe that it could sweep across continents.
Probably the virus wanted to make us ponder and meditate upon what we have become as human beings
My son’s board exams were under way in the month of March and the parent’s Whatsapp groups expressed ominous fears about the exam getting cancelled or postponed.
Each day was a gruelling experience as I kept my fingers crossed that we should sail through the last exam without any hindrance. Gradually the month of March came to an end and we saw the virus spread akin to a zombie invasion.
World turned topsy-turvy
Our plans of travelling to India to see my father-in-law who’s suffering from cancer were wiped off just like that. My take away from this phase was life is never full proof. It just takes a nanosecond for the world to turn topsy-turvy.
Next followed the phase of “anger”. Flames of resentment were ignited within, a tiny virus built boundaries between us and our loved ones living in other countries. I could imagine that spiky virus roar with villainous laughter as people were unable to even say their last goodbyes to a parent, or watched helplessly at an ailing relative.
We saw a very close friend spend 28 days in an ICU on a ventilator, almost at the brink of death. His family looked on helplessly and so did we.
My brother burnt with fever, alone in an isolated room in UK, as the virus made its way into his being. We could merely look on and comfort him with tender words. My takeaway at this point was the best thing to do is to live in proximity to the people we love.
The stage of “bargaining” came on … we quarantined ourselves as best we could. I prepared to negotiate with the situation.
If the pandemic led to a plethora of ills like job-cuts, salary slashes and the ugly condition of human beings like the daily wage-earners back in India; there were ways in which we could make some difference in the lives of people.
Probably the virus wanted to make us ponder and meditate upon what we have become as human beings.
Time to come out of cocoons
It was time to come out of the selfish cocoons that we had sewn around us. A group of students, of Presidency College in Kolkata began community kitchens, the least I could do was to help them out and give back a meagre little at least to the world.
My takeaway at this stage was we can always strike a bargain with our situation at hand and try to make the best of it instead of cribbing and sulking over the same.
A pall of “depression” set in. We wondered if this condition would continue forever. Untimely deaths of some celebrities of the Indian moviedom and of many family friends. Then came the cyclone called Amphan, that hit my home state in India.
Shattered and bleeding, I saw my city recuperate gradually, each day. I saw spirits of “resilience” and “generosity” sweep across the community. Here, my ‘takeaways’ were, no matter what life serves you one has to take it in one’s stride and move on, sturdier than ever.
Secondly, Netflix is the best thing to have happened to mankind! Thirdly, there’s nothing better than books to do away with the blues.
Now I guess, I am in the last phase … the point of ‘acceptance’. Having made peace with the pandemic, with restrictions being relaxed, we accept that lives must go on.
We can do our best to keep safe, take precautions and be responsible. If the ‘spiky’ fellow finds its way into me, I will survive and gain immunity. A vaccination will soon dawn upon us. The world will be a better place for sure.
So, the model says that he who jumps from the first stage to the last is wise. However, if you remain stuck in any one of the phases in between you need to rewire and move on … “Today is the first day of the rest of my life,” croons John Denver in my mind, so let’s not allow “Spiky” to ruin it!
— Navanita Varadpande is a writer based in Dubai. Twitter: @VpNavanita
