So, here we are, individuals, families and nations, brought together yet asked to stay apart. COVID-19 may be the first proper global experience of our generation. Be it SARS in China or Ebola in parts of Africa, most epidemics have always felt far away. We knew there were people suffering but were we really affected by the scale of their problems? I doubt it. Things like plastic pollution, bush fires, glacier melts, deforestation, coral reef deaths and whatnot happen to other people in other places and have not affected us Indian city-dwelling folk much. Weather getting hotter? Let's get new airconditioners, darling, one for the bathroom too, while we're at it.
Oh sure, India has suffered yearly bouts of dengue fever or chickenguniya but in my mind, the last scary epidemic was the Plague of 1994. While Surat was the epicenter, Maharashtra saw the maximum number of cases then. It's also seeing the highest number of coronavirus cases now, so I guess the state really does attract all kinds.
Jokes apart, I don't think it's the illness that may cause the most problems but the logistics of working from home. Unlike people in the U.S, remote working hasn't caught on in India. I'll try and explain it through the lens of my profession - advertising. It's not like my company or team is short on processes. But, we tend to ignore them. In the interests of convenience, shortcutting, bone-idle laziness or just plain "Iss mein kya hai?" apathy, most processes gather dust in some corner of our laptops and minds. Our legendary reluctance for casting things in stone by putting them down on email doesn't help. But hey, at least no one can be held accountable for their undertakings, right? Many important discussions are also carried on casually in water-cooler style. Basically, we prefer a lot of insidious face-time instead of traceable material. If you include the backbiting, politics and assorted skullduggery, John le Carré would be in source material for decades. I've already done more phone calls today than I've done in weeks and don't even get me started on the mushrooming WhatsApp groups and chats.
This is how COVID-19 is already changing the game. Today is the first 'work-from-home' day and by the looks of it, things are only going to get hairier. And, I don't mean in terms of virus spread either. There have already been a few moments in the past 7 hours that have made me seriously consider risking public transport to make it to the office. Why? Because home is/used to be my haven, the oasis of silence and peace I come/came back to after a long, BP-rocketing day. Now, that's gone too. Though we are to work from home till the end of the month before taking stock of the situation, COVID-19's spread pattern in other countries suggests this state of affairs is only the beginning.
These are adjustments we all need to make to work-life. I am quite curious to see how many relationships survive the virus. Not that I'm suggesting anything gruesome; just pointing out that people are not used to so much time together. Commutes and work patterns have ensured that many of you only interact with partners in short bursts. If absence made hearts grow fonder, will presence have the opposite effect?
To avert social catastrophe, perhaps Netflix will see a bumper crop of subscriptions. Maybe there will be a baby boom in early 2021. Or, will there be adult doom? On the other hand, couples may actually start talking and getting to know each other, more books will be read or online courses completed, fledgling musicians could start to practice long-ignored instruments (guilty as charged, milord), people might try new recipes and get healthier by exercising at home. Heck, more blogs may rise from the ashes.
In any case, the art of living (in the middle of a pandemic) is well and truly here. Buckle up.
Song for the moment: Vicious Circle - Lou Reed
Oh sure, India has suffered yearly bouts of dengue fever or chickenguniya but in my mind, the last scary epidemic was the Plague of 1994. While Surat was the epicenter, Maharashtra saw the maximum number of cases then. It's also seeing the highest number of coronavirus cases now, so I guess the state really does attract all kinds.
Jokes apart, I don't think it's the illness that may cause the most problems but the logistics of working from home. Unlike people in the U.S, remote working hasn't caught on in India. I'll try and explain it through the lens of my profession - advertising. It's not like my company or team is short on processes. But, we tend to ignore them. In the interests of convenience, shortcutting, bone-idle laziness or just plain "Iss mein kya hai?" apathy, most processes gather dust in some corner of our laptops and minds. Our legendary reluctance for casting things in stone by putting them down on email doesn't help. But hey, at least no one can be held accountable for their undertakings, right? Many important discussions are also carried on casually in water-cooler style. Basically, we prefer a lot of insidious face-time instead of traceable material. If you include the backbiting, politics and assorted skullduggery, John le Carré would be in source material for decades. I've already done more phone calls today than I've done in weeks and don't even get me started on the mushrooming WhatsApp groups and chats.
This is how COVID-19 is already changing the game. Today is the first 'work-from-home' day and by the looks of it, things are only going to get hairier. And, I don't mean in terms of virus spread either. There have already been a few moments in the past 7 hours that have made me seriously consider risking public transport to make it to the office. Why? Because home is/used to be my haven, the oasis of silence and peace I come/came back to after a long, BP-rocketing day. Now, that's gone too. Though we are to work from home till the end of the month before taking stock of the situation, COVID-19's spread pattern in other countries suggests this state of affairs is only the beginning.
These are adjustments we all need to make to work-life. I am quite curious to see how many relationships survive the virus. Not that I'm suggesting anything gruesome; just pointing out that people are not used to so much time together. Commutes and work patterns have ensured that many of you only interact with partners in short bursts. If absence made hearts grow fonder, will presence have the opposite effect?
To avert social catastrophe, perhaps Netflix will see a bumper crop of subscriptions. Maybe there will be a baby boom in early 2021. Or, will there be adult doom? On the other hand, couples may actually start talking and getting to know each other, more books will be read or online courses completed, fledgling musicians could start to practice long-ignored instruments (guilty as charged, milord), people might try new recipes and get healthier by exercising at home. Heck, more blogs may rise from the ashes.
In any case, the art of living (in the middle of a pandemic) is well and truly here. Buckle up.
Song for the moment: Vicious Circle - Lou Reed
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