Author: Vedavalli Ramanujam
When the rug was pulled this March 2020 from under our feet, most of us stumbled, became severely disoriented and lost for some time. As soon as we realised the new normal, we picked up gadgets and pushed the same into our kids and parents’ hands. It’s class time and window to the world. We all became tech savvy without even the cursory crash course, all because of a beast that is not even weighing an ounce even after 8 months of rapid growth.
We beat it mostly. We learnt to capitalise the resilience in us all, reached out, helped out, broke down, carried on and realised the Guardian angels that were crowding our paths in every step.
Personally my angels came in many forms - the doctor friend that explained things to me and walked the path without ever letting me realise she’s walking the same path too; my brother’s friend that stood by my sick aunt during her recovery in a rural town during lockdown; the bank officer that asked me to leave the phone number and data with her and come to Bank only when I receive a call from her because the account that I was enquiring about was that of a senior citizen and she didn’t want unnecessary exposure for me; the friend that picked up my call to hear me rant and rave about the unfair life and promptly calling me the next day afternoon to read the riot act and not to scare the daylights out of him the next time; and importantly the cheerful college grad that visits my mom everyday at 10 with a ready smile and infrared thermometer, doing her temporary job and unknowingly spreading the message of ‘you are cared for’.
We are still struggling to come to terms with the googlies served, some very personal some at a global level; but Beauty is beating the beast every day. Resilient all the way.