The darkest Corona cloud has a silver lining

Gandhiji will be proud of us! In these Corona times, our life-style has been stripped to the bare-minimum. Each home is self-sufficient when it comes to managing the chores. In the absence of domestic-help, we willingly put out the garbage, clean the toilets and tidy-up the home. There are no cooks to lend a helping hand. We cook something simple and healthy each day.
Our lives are rid of all ostentation. The hair untidily curls up- it has been weeks since the last haircut. The clothes are worn un-ironed. There is a distaste to even reach out to the fancy-wear in the closet. Grooming takes a back seat, make-up kits lay untouched and designer slippers gather dust. Maintaining basic hygiene is enough. Our prayers are genuinely all encompassing. Sitting in the quiet of our homes, we pray for the affected in the slums of Dharavi as for our dear one in America. Both are equally important for our well-being. Who would have thought such a change possible even a couple of months ago?

The whole world is detoxifying itself. The aerial photographs of Mumbai's Marine Drive and Chennai's Marina Beach look like picture-postcards- spic and span and unbelievably beautiful. It is a throwback to the movies from the 1950s with that odd car plying on the road. It is as if we are living in those times. The haze of traffic-smog has lifted. When we hit the pillow each night, the incessant whirr of the traffic is replaced by a different set of sounds- the chirp of the cricket, the occasional hoot of the owl, the sounds of silence...all of which were non-existent for years! We see nature healing in front of our eyes.

No trips to the mall, no weekend party at a resort, no binging at a restaurant, no aimless loitering and no mindless shopping. They say, misery loves company. We have the whole world for company! It is no longer a misery! Each day we follow a disciplined routine and bring that day to a close. Weekdays and weekends, holidays and festival days blend into each other seamlessly. It is as if, in time, there is a continuum of sorts, where only that day has to be lived. We are reminded of Alexander Pope's lines- "Blest who can unconcernedly find hours, days and years slide soft away; in health of body, peace of mind, quiet by day." We can empathize with the lines so much more now.

A flood of social media posts - a friend on an Alaskan cruise, a relative in Paris and a classmate hiking in the Alps.  It was as if the whole world was enjoying out there, bubbly and effervescent, while we alone languished at home. It provoked us to embark on copycat trips to match them to an extent- at least a trip to the nearest hill-station and more importantly, to post those pictures. Suddenly, we are spared from all such compulsion. We know the entire world is at home. In one swish, the Corona brush has painted both the prince and the pauper, the party-animal and the loner in the same colour. Who can complain now? Even if they complain, they complain together!

It has been over 40 days of quarantine; in fact, we have lost count. However, these days are proof that we can adjust and live life in more Spartan ways than imagined. It has opened our eyes that so little is actually required for living. It is more fulfilling to tighten our belt, than allow the belly to expand continuously, so that no belt can match it! Strangely, it required the Corona crisis to instill this value of quiet contentment, the ability to say- "this is enough" from the heart.

When the Corona crisis is over, there will be a sudden spurt of exuberant activity. All the bottled emotion will explode in wild celebration. So let it be. Once that initial euphoria subsides, we will settle down to a more measured and meaningful lifestyle.
Adversity introduces a man to himself, Einstein said. In one stroke, Corona has introduced the entire world to itself. Even the darkest Corona cloud has a silver lining!