So, they say public memory is short.
Once the crisis is over, we will zip back back to our regular pace, zooming around “business as usual”…
In many ways, that is exactly what we are looking forward to..
The daily labourerer to get back to his daily earnings.
The stranded traveller to get back home..
The small scale industries starting to roll.
Things moving a little beyond the “essential only” story…
Economy to get fact to its feet..
Life getting back to normal…
But what really is “normal”?

An adaptation to the circumstances that we all collectively get used to?
If yesterday “Normal”was to be busy with innumerable meetings through out the day, social networking through the evenings, going to sleep late, waking up early to go to the gym, a life high on consumerism, today “Normal” is to wake up to a plethora of domestic chores, cooking, cleaning, dusting, washing, managing official work along with the chores and networking some on the digital platform,

And what will ,” Normal” be tomorrow?

One can only try and hazard a guess…
Its up to each one of us really!
Its how much of today’s normal each of us decide to carry into tomorrow…
Will we carry the frantic near obsessiveness with hand washing and sanitation once we get back to “Normal”?
Hopefully things will ease out a bit.
But I remember my childhood days when we were repeatedly told to wash our hands ( elbows down) and our feet ( knees downward) when we entered our homes, to keep the shoes that we had worn outside the house and change our clothes, before we made ourselves comfortable or went about out home tasks.
Not a bad idea to keep doing all that in the Post Covidean days.
The idea of basic yoga, pranayam drinking haldi doodh or turmeric latte, as well sipping warm water or warm infusions may also be simple and a doable practice to carry forward.

So far so good!
The challenge is regarding going out into the outside world…
What would be our code of conduct there?
I suppose masks, gloves and sanitisers will be part of our lives for quite some time now.
Be it grocery shopping or any other interaction.
So will be a tendency to maintain safe distance and avoid any form of touch, be it a hug or a handshake.
Minimal surface contact could mean a preference for documentation in soft copy over hard copies and I am sure we will soon have sprays available in the market for surface sanitisation for any chairs, tables or areas that we may need to come in contact with.

As for organisations, “Work from Home” might be a very real possibility to consider. Some IT firms have already announced it , but the scope for this can be very widely explored across sectors. Meetings and conferences could now be transported to the digital medium, minimising the need for actual person to person contact.This could help in reducing carbon footprints as well as reduce organisational costs.
Similarly there could be a lot of socialising on social media be it friends catching up on WhatsApp, Zoom or Webex or Facebook or Instagram live sessions on talks, musical or artistic exchanges.
The wild parties could be rested for a while..

I would sincerely hope that a few lessons would not be forgotten easily.
Firstly the planet looks greener, the animals look happier, the bird songs sound cleaner and sky is more blue.
May we remember that Mankind is just another species amidst the million others that this planet hosts. May we actively seek to coexist with our fellow species and respect this balance of beauty.
Secondly may we respect each other as humankind above religious, caste, class divides. May the only division be between that of good practices and bad practices.. Let us never forget that the entire human race , was made captive by an invisible micro particle which did not differentiate on grounds of class or religion.
Thirdly may we never forget that ultimately the family unit held together in these difficult times, reinforcing that it is the basic building block of society. Hence the sanctity of family needs to be respected. Time with our family members and our understanding and supporting of them is very essential
Fourthly, we did learn that we can live without excesses. Excess of partying, excess of shopping, excess of outdoor entertainment
We looked inwards. We learnt to simplify life..and in doing so learnt to breathe and feel more…
Maybe, just maybe a simple life is a more balanced life.
Lastly, the focus on cleanliness all over hopefully leads us to greater civic sense. Sanitising roads, ban on spitting, clean practices will certainly be a good thing to take ahead.

In all of this I cant help wonder will the Phuchkawala now make the aloo paste with a spoon instead of his hands to blend the aloo, chole and masala?
Will he now serve us phuckas wearing gloves?
Will young sweethearts think twice before holding hands and stealing a kiss…
Only time will tell…

Copyright ~ Ipsita Ganguli

Notes:- Haldi- turmeric; Doodh- milk; phuchka- street food in India, aloo- potato, chole- grams, masala- spice