When I read a tribute to
a 53-year-old colleague who lost her life 2 days after her husband's,
When my cousin lamented
being unable to meet his mum, not knowing when, and if, he ever would,
When my friend lost her dad
a day after she reached out to me for help to find him oxygen, and caregivers,
When I saw a 65-year-old
gingerly cradling an empty oxygen cylinder as she walked swiftly away from an ICU, her fear writ in her gait.
Today I cried.
That day I cried,
When I realised, India’s steep climb of cases would mean I would miss my niece's wedding,
When 1.3million people decided to dip themselves in the divine nectar of immortality while condemning 100s to a breathless lonely death,
When rallies garnered
support from the people whose health, livelihood and life meant less than
the paper on which they vote,
When the injustice to
millions of children forced to learn online for 14 months is balanced by adults unwilling to campaign online for a fraction of the time,
When I saw the plight of
millions of migrants walk 1000s of kilometres home, abandoned by those who should uphold their rights and welfare,
That day I cried.
I cry for
The daily wage earner who
begs for money from our homes, to feed her children,
The household helper, who
can't visit his dying mother, to hold her hand one last time,
The helplessness, despair,
and tears of our healthcare workers who appeal for common sense and self-preservation.
I cry with them.
I cry out in anger,
At the reactionary
emergency meetings
Held too late in the
corridors of power,
When what we desperately need is swift proactive action.
As I realise, we are
in a perfect storm of
A deadly virus,
A huge careless population,
and
The deliberate negligence
of governance.
Lovely. You've said it so well and so poignantly.
ReplyDeleteWe are indeed in dark days of misery... hope they don't last... hope I'm right for our nation's sake..
We need more than hope. We need action. Swift action. Sadly we are seeing more action by NGOs and citizen action groups vs the people in governance whose role is to act. Maybe there is action and I am not seeing it
DeleteAm feeling frustrated, sad, helpless locked in at home watching tragic events in our beloved Motherland.
ReplyDeleteMillions of honest citizens, educated Indians, paying taxes for welfare of our country are appalled to see the games of Politics, Religion being played with no accountability by the folks we vote for!!!
Seems like we are being used as a cash generating Aadhar + PAN linked gullible entity taken for granted to benefit the inefficient political system!!!
I do think there was a gross underestimation of the fact there would be a second wave and how much worse it could be. There was not predictive analytics done at all, even when the signs, data, experiences, and trends were staring us in the face. Some times I wonder why governments can't be run like corporations (taking the good things from running large companies and not the bad)
DeleteDifficult times and very challenging for the ones who lost there loved ones.
ReplyDeleteYes. For many of us the Covid-19 pandemic has moved from being a set of numbers, to being something that affected our localities to now being something that has barged into our safe homes. It is frightening.
Deleteit's all about our opportunist thinking which includes all, till the time we will run away from our responsibilities, it will work like this
ReplyDeleteYes. Not only do we need to take personal responsibility for the tragedy we are facing but also demanding responsibility from others.
DeleteWe are a generation of weak and timid people.... we can only cry and share our helplessness. We will shut us off from news and other negative content and await some kind of divine intervention rather than shout against the system. I too cry everyday and take my frustration out on people around me. Yes, I am part of weak and helpless generation who can only cry !!
ReplyDeleteGod helps those who help themselves. But at a more fundamental level, I believe that laying anything and everything at God's feet is a mistake. We, as careless & thoughtless human beings have caused this pandemic and we have to solve it.
DeleteThis was so so touching. You've voiced what most of us are feeling. Very deep and sincere. Stay safe.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ekta. Hope you are safe and well.
DeleteYes this reflects succinctly all the emotions and frustrations many of us are experiencing!Take care Stay Safe
ReplyDeleteThanks Jaya. It has been, and continues to be, an emotional roller coaster. Dealing with it all is tough.
DeleteCompletely eco your thoughts... We all have lost close ones to this pandemic. A combination of indiscipline and irresponsibility
ReplyDeleteYes Saugata. We are responsible for this devastating attack.
ReplyDelete