2020 so far and I….
I live in a very posh locality…where people are very affluent and hardly do they get time for greeting each other. People are busy with their own work and they are least bothered about others' life. Just at the back of our neighborhood, there is a small lane where mostly slum dwellers live in.
In this pandemic situation, I had witnessed something very touching which changed the perspective of my life. Ajay Kumar, The Secretary of our complex called in a meeting in our community hall. All the residents were very curious to know about the agenda. He said, “ I have thought of providing all essential grocery items to the needy people residing at the back of our locality, during the lock-down period”.
Initially, all eyes met each other with a question in their mind and surprise but ultimately all agreed upon the proposal. As most of our maidservants came from that area our neighbors were seen as compassionate towards helping them. Nitesh Ji said, “ I would take up the responsibility of supplying milk, biscuits, baby food, and fruits to the children”. Mani sir shouted “ I will be in charge of providing vegetables to the houses.
One by one everybody took up their part of responsibility in helping the people. It astonished me to believe that those people who were very much engrossed in their own lives have extended their helping hand in these tough times.
Though 2020 had all the bad things happening still I saw a silver lining in the dark clouds. It gave us an opportunity to make our bonding stronger with our neighbors, family members, and also strangers. In a week's time, with all the planning, we started distributing the items to the underprivileged people.
“ No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of others” quoted by Charles Dickens.
“ No one has ever become poor by giving others”, said by Anne Frank.
New Challenges for Me
My daughter's school closed down, no maid was allowed, sanitizing everything that came from outside, I barely had a clue what was happening. I tried my best to cope up with the situation by accepting the new normal. My primary challenge was to keep my family safe especially my little daughter. All of a sudden my father was diagnosed as Covid positive.
As he was an aged person I was really worried. I cooked meals and purchased medicine for him and kept the tiffin carrier at the doorstep. By God’s grace, he recovered in a month. I felt very happy when the neighbors at my father's place came forward to help us. Did you have a similar kind of experience like mine?
Acquired New Skill
Though I am not a bad cook, I took the opportunity of exploring new cuisines during the lock-down period. My family members loved the new dishes prepared for them. Secondly, I was not at all tech-savvy but applying for home-based teaching and writing jobs I gathered some knowledge during the training session. Zoom, Google Meet all were very new concepts for me but now I am confident in handling them. To add another feather to my hat, I have learned how to teach students on an online platform. Would you like to share your newly acquired skills with me? Would love to hear from you…
Experiences Good and Bad
A patient lying on a footpath for long hours and her wife pleading for help had gone viral on social media. The man was supposed to be carried inside the ambulance but unfortunately due to the panic created by Covid, nobody helped him. Finally, the man died. It sends shivers down my spine when I think it could have been my father also. How can we be so unsympathetic?
On the other hand, I have seen policemen donating blood for sick patients. Many police personnel has donated blood for cancer or terminally ill patient in emergency situations. I have experienced neighbors helping others and coming together to fight the pandemic. We never forgot to thank our milkman, green-grocer, maid-servants security guards to stood strong with us to make our life comfortable.
Conclusion
We will feel relieved bidding adieu to 2020 as it took away our loved ones from us. Would it be only remembered, as a bygone era ?.. Certainly not. It has taught us many important lessons in life. How to remain united in tough times, how to strengthen family ties, and share a thought for others. Being grateful to others is another virtue to be cultivated in us…. Do you feel the same way as I do? Come up with your share of experiences…..
