Page 12 - E- Connect 2021

is real. It has been further compounded by harder than the first one we need to ask
reduction in salaries, or worse, job losses. ourselves, what will it take to survive this? Do
Crores of people lost their livelihood and we have any way to ensure safe existence for
were pushed into poverty, while those who now as well as the future? There are currently
managed to retain theirs had to take pay cuts no easy answers for this.
up to 30%. Do we still wonder why India is
ranked so low in terms of happiness Index? Talking from self-experience, I was detected as
positive on 21st October last year and had to
In spite of this we showed a bit of resilience. spend 4 days in the hospital. I had to go alone
The Dharavi pattern, Islampur pattern, and during my stay there I got the news my
Malegaon pattern in Maharashtra became father-in-law had passed away. I felt helpless
shining examples of how social distancing, as I couldn’t even attend his funeral. In those
sanitisation and precautions could ensure four days, I contemplated the meaning of life,
us staying safe and combat Covid-19. The why did it choose me to survive and what if I
numbers reduced drastically and it slowly led had died? All I realised is the importance of
to a feeling of casualness about the same as our people in life, that money cannot be the
people felt they had learnt to coexist with the answer for everything and doing the things we
virus or even have trumped the virus. want to do in life is not a crime.

The new year brought in hope, in form of So, if you have lost your job/have taken a pay
vaccinations, but there is still scepticism cut, there’s nobody to look after the elderly/
about its efficacy and after effects and as a youngsters in your family, you have lost the
result only about 6% of India’s population is sense of freedom, or worse if you have been
vaccinated so far, beginning with the senior infected and recovered, what does it mean
citizens, followed by people with comorbidities to breathe freely? Ask yourself, has COVID
over the age of 45. given you the final push towards madness or
has it opened your eyes to the real meaning
But with the second wave hitting us much of life?

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2021-2021