2020 — The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
By: Vikram Rajola
Tags: Education, Online, Impact, Coronavirus, 2020

The predominant story of 2020 will without a doubt be the Corona pandemic. Unprecedented in its scope and impact on humanity, unanticipated by the brightest minds, it jolted the rich and poor alike, waking humans out of their stupor forcing them to acknowledge their insignificance and irrelevance facing off against a tiny organism invisible to the naked eye. It has made us rethink our relationship with nature emphatically proving that humans are not the masters and our pretensions to being superior and in control of the planet is a myth. Hopefully there will be positive consequences that reduce the probability of recurrence of such diseases, redefining how we lead our lives, treat other life forms and the earth itself.

Not only is the coronavirus pandemic the single biggest event witnessed in recent history, it has probably directly impacted more people than the world wars and other major tragedies of the past 100 years. Nothing has so far brought life to a complete standstill as the coronavirus has. Besides the millions infected and hundreds of thousand’s perished, all human endeavours have been directly or indirectly dealt a severe blow — schools and educational institutions have remained closed for most of the year and remain unfunctional to date in most countries; offices and businesses were shut down, business as usual is still far off in the future, industries like travel & tourism, real estate & commercial renting, aviation and many more have all but been dealt the death blow with little scope for recovery anytime soon.

Routine tasks like stepping outside homes, meeting people, shaking hands, going to markets, malls and cinemas, visits to doctors, dentists and optometrists, visiting family, friends and relatives have all been rendered risky. If someone would have predicted early this year that life in 2020 would entail all this — s/he would have been derisively dismissed as crazy, paranoid or high. And yet this year we have seen all this and worse. Undaunted, collectively we keep marching onwards — that’s what gives us a glimmer of hope in humanity’s infinite capacity to overcome insurmountable odds, survive and thrive.

The GOOD

Me time: Clarity in the times of Corona — getting your priorities sorted

The most obvious silver lining this year is the resetting and reordering of priorities. The sudden and extended lockdowns left people with a lot of time on their hands. Time to reflect and ponder over what they really wanted, what they were doing and where they were headed. Time to think about what they value, what truly matters — health, family, friends, work, ambition, money, fame, knowledge, mastery, following your passion and so on; and to prioritise that over whatever else they had been so obviously busy doing thus far. It gave us all an opportunity to take up long forgotten hobbies or pursue new ones — singing, writing, reading, cooking, running and yoga among others.

Eureka Moment:

We also realised that we could do so much more without incurring additional expenditure by creatively utilising existing resources, with an unintended welcome consequence of a reduced ecological footprint. Choicest dishes could be made at home — tasty gulaab jamuns, yummy cakes, savoury momos and samosas and so much more. We realised that we didn’t need latest fitness equipment or gym memberships or even large outdoor spaces to keep fit — we could walk, jog, run and exercise within the confined space of our house. We could create games and obstacles for children with household objects for them to expend their energy on.

We were able to figure out that we could do very well without going to cinemas to catch the latest releases, rushing to malls for shopping, eating out, pubbing and clubbing every weekend. We didn’t necessarily get bored at home. We also didn’t need those new clothes and shoes every so often.

We began to understand and appreciate how incredibly fortunate we are — those of us who have a roof over our heads, food on the table and don’t need to worry where out next meal will come from.

We were able to acknowledge the true value and significance of that age-old cliché ‘health is wealth’.

Finally, we were thankful for the small pleasures of life, the everyday blessings that we so often forget to count and be thankful for — the love and comfort of family, the blessings of elders, those calls from friends, a warm smile, the twinkle in a child’s eyes, time spent well just chatting with near and dear ones and a million other small things we ought to cherish and always make time for howsoever busy we may be.

Breather for Mother Nature:

The most unexpected result of the halt in commercial, business and industrial activities was the improvement in the air and water quality around the world. Even the worst polluted cities, among them New Delhi the city where I’ve spent most of 2020, reported clearer skies and fresher air. Nature heaved a collective sigh of relief when humans took a break from their environmentally destructive and unsustainable practices.

Staying Connected:

We were all shaken and scared by the continuous media attention on the coronavirus — how highly contagious it was, the number of new cases, daily infection and death rates were discussed endlessly on television and in newspapers. All this made us acutely aware of our own mortality further underscoring the place and value of family and friends in our lives. People started calling each other more often to stay in touch and get regular health updates. Group calls to friends became the new normal. It became a habit in our family to connect over video call twice every day, once at lunch time (1:30 PM) and then during dinner (8:30 PM). This practice has been followed religiously for over eight months now. The technologies existed even earlier but we were all too busy in our daily lives to be able to spare the time for mundane stuff like making a call. That was for special occasions or whenever we needed a favour. We rationalised this behaviour by presuming that the other person too would be similarly busy, hence they too would consider a quick call to be nothing more than a nuisance, so why bother. Besides, we rationalised that we were fully aware of whatever was happening in their lives through their social media posts and updates.

Online works:

The slow pace of change towards digitisation has accelerated exponentially due to the pandemic. And thankfully it is working, mostly if not always perfectly. Businesses and education, government work and policy making all moved online though with a few hiccups. As with any paradigm shift, this changeover too was marred by call drops, disturbance, disruptions and issues affecting seamless connectivity. “Am I audible”, “is the screen visible”, “please mute yourself” and similar phrases were probably heard as often as one hears good morning or thank you. This transition will influence the way things are done across several sectors once the pandemic is over and things are back to ‘normal’.

As an upshot of this nudge to move online, our NGO too discovered a new strategic direction. We are now working on cost-effective technology solutions that bring the benefits of digitalisation to government school and rural students helping enhance their understanding of curriculum subjects and improve their academic performance.

Courage and Honour:

Humans have generally exhibited something of the divine in their nature when passing through trying circumstances. The initial months of 2020 were definitely testing times when no one knew exactly how the coronavirus spread or how it could be contained, the symptoms to watch out for, or what medication to prescribe for the sick. At that time the courage and sense of duty displayed by frontline workers in the face of tremendous risks and uncertainty was commendable and gave hope to the rest of us. Medical professionals who treated corona patients and nursed the ill, still not 100% sure of how to effectively protect themselves, working overtime without adequate protective gear demonstrated a truly noble spirit showcasing all that is good and virtuous in humankind. Their unflagging service, dedication and splendid performance in saving lives under duress is what elevates them to the status of gods, universally loved and respected.

Ably supporting them were police personnel, sanitation workers, suppliers and storeowners of essential food and medical provisions, electricity, water, telecom and waste management service providers and many others who helped keep our homes, cities and nations running. Their positive contribution during this difficult period is worthy of applause and admiration.

This in turn stirred common citizens to step up to the occasion, organising amazing individual and community efforts to procure and distribute masks, food and other relief items for those in need.

The BAD

Suffering and death:

More than a year since the first corona case appeared in China, we have reached a stage where all of us have watched friends and relatives fall sick and suffer. Several have been left grieving close family members, near and dear ones. The untimely and unfortunate manner of their demise was shatteringly sad, but it was made worse by the thought that it could probably have been avoided — if only, they had been more careful; shifted them to the hospital earlier; consulted another doctor; wishing in futility for a scenario where this horrible virus itself hadn’t been unleashed by whoever is responsible for this scourge.

Loneliness:

Those who found themselves stuck alone, separated from family and friends for an extended period were prone to bouts of anxiety and never-ending frustration that led some of them to take up intoxicants as a replacement for reduced human interaction.

Not only those left alone, children and young adults locked up inside homes with busy, sometimes unresponsive and insensitive adults, also bore the brunt of desolation. They sorely missed meeting, hanging out, conversing and playing with their friends, classmates and peers. Their emotions and feelings were bottled up inside them as they perfunctorily kept up with online classes, studies and assignments unfeeling as zombies. The earliest stringent lockdowns when no one was allowed outside were a particularly rough period for young adults who need that peer connection to open up, feel secure and alive.

Screen time:

The shifting of work and classes online has left most of us staring at screens almost throughout our waking hours — first for work, then leisure. The outcome is that some have already started feeling and others will soon have sore eyes, vision impairment needing corrective lenses, pain in the neck, back, shoulders, wrists and fingers.

Children are the most vulnerable, once exposed to the screen it becomes increasingly difficult to separate them from it. Having devices, that they are the sole masters of during online classes, switching on and off cameras and microphones, typing greetings and goodbyes to interact with teachers and classmates has made 5–6 years olds proficient enough to browse the Appstore for games and search YouTube for videos. This ability, seems cute and is admired at the beginning, but it also exposes them early in life to an addiction so fatal, it is difficult even for grown-ups to be entirely immune. The sullen response or angry outbursts from kids when taken off screens is a cause for concern for many a parent. How shall we ever be able to handle them when they approach the rebellious teen years.

Zero Year

Educational institutions in most parts of India have been shut down since March 2020 due to Coronavirus. For most rural and government school students across the country this has put a complete stop to teaching and learning activities further exacerbating the Education Deficit & Digital Divide. When schools do reopen, there will be a huge reduction in course curriculum, instruction time and assessments further lowering the standard of education. Given this dismal situation, for most rural and government school students, even though they may be promoted to the next class in March/ April 2021, the current academic session could actually turn out to be a zero year with No Learning perhaps even active unlearning.

More disconcerting is the lack of concern among the authorities. The quality of education received by its children and youth has the most significant bearing on the development of any nation and society. When a fundamental issue like the education of our children is in disarray not being in focus or getting the attention it deserves from policy makers who ought to be working extra hard for a fast resolution to this task, we are only jeopardizing our own future.

The UGLY

Homeless and hopeless

In the immediate aftermath of the first lockdowns to contain the virus, millions of people lost their livelihoods. Inevitably the poorest felt the economic squeeze the most. Suddenly rendered helpless with no savings to bank upon, individuals and entire families left big cities and metros where they worked to go back to their ancestral towns and villages. With public transport completely shut or drastically reduced, many had to make this long trek back home by walking hundreds, sometimes thousands of kilometres. Hungry, thirsty, tired, dragging their meagre possessions on foot, children in tow, they went with a heavy heart dejected at being abandoned so spectacularly by the rest of us. It was as if they never existed and their lives did not matter at all. Everyone in the government machinery at all levels — central, state and district, elected representatives and the administrative departments all are collectively responsible for this colossal tragedy that was man made. It would be unreasonable to expect that the pain could have been avoided altogether but better management could have alleviated it to some extent.

Go Figure

In an age where data — facts and figures — are the new oil, it was really sad to not know so little about the trauma and turmoil caused by the coronavirus. All we got from the authorities was fudged or missing data, incorrect information on numbers affected and dying, suppression of infection and mortality rates, improper monitoring and sharing of numbers. It can be attributed to the genuine desire to conquer public fear and panic, but in this connected age where misinformation runs riot on social media platforms like WhatsApp and Twitter, withholding of factual information is more dangerous than being forthright and honest with the public. The citizens would surely have been comforted with the actual facts, even if those were scary — on how many health professionals and police personnel were infected, where to get tested for coronavirus, who should get tested and how much would it cost, how many beds in hospitals were dedicated for the sick and what was the mechanism to access those, how many ICU beds and oxygen masks were available at a given time. Whether quarantining was mandatory, and for how long, what was the procedure for travelling from one place to another, what permissions were needed and how to get those. Similarly, how effective was each state and city in controlling the disease with different control measures in place, how many persons were being tested, how susceptible were children, women and persons above 60 particularly those not venturing outside their homes, and what was the basis on which large political gatherings were permitted when personal functions like marriages had limits on the number of attendees.

With a little more attention to detail, honest sharing of precise information by authorised agencies, most of the wild rumours that led to much confusion, uncertainty and alarm could have been avoided.

The New Untouchability

Being a contagious disease spread through close contact with infected persons, the fear of coronavirus was so terrifyingly real as to make most of us irrational and insensitive. Forget helping others, people were afraid to be close to family members who were infected — to take care of them and serve them. What is most awful about this disease is that when someone passes away even their immediate relations are not allowed near, to touch or see them for one last time. To watch the disposal of those dead from corona, corpses lying unclaimed and unattended, burial grounds overflowing beyond capacity and crematoriums refusing to accept bodies turning away people was enough to fill with horror the most hardened amongst us. One of most frightful scenarios imaginable was the thought of self or dear ones dying of corona. That dread made most of us dead inside, with neighbours and friends sometimes misbehaving with and turning on each other. We heard of cases where people behaved nasty with doctors living in their neighbourhoods who worked in hospitals treating Covid patients. Our attitude towards those who had recovered from the infection and others suspected of having contracted the virus that practically included anyone coughing, sneezing or running a temperature was callous to say the least. We started treating them as pariahs casting off the last shred of decency and civilization left in us.

Worst demons of our nature

Several NGOs and media reports brought home the ugly reality of dramatic rise in incidences of domestic violence targeting women and children. Crowded in small spaces, unable to follow regular routines or meet people who gave them company and comfort, the home became akin to a prison for many ill-fated women and children. Men became beasts, some of them having lost their principal source of livelihoods and unable to resort to their favourite rituals of stress release, they vented their pent-up rage on hapless family members. The National Commission for Women validated this drastic increase in domestic violence cases during the corona pandemic.

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This pretty much sums up my thoughts on the year gone by.

Those of us who have miraculously gotten through 2020 unscathed — friends and family not falling sick or succumbing to Covid 19, all their loved ones coming out of this phase healthy, happy and safe should be thanking their lucky stars no end, as this is nothing short of a boon.

I pray that 2021 has something better in store for us than did 2020, that coronavirus loses steam and ceases to be so lethal soon, and that we never have to face another episode of a highly communicable diseases disrupting our lives leaving in its wake a trail of misery and destruction.