It should be quiet, but no it’s not; everyone is talking and up to one thing or another. Business never stops, no matter what the ferocity everyone is facing, it must go on. Anyone may feel that working in this severe situation is as if calling out to death itself, but many others will disagree because some of those in the “many” are day-to-day earners and they would suffer a lot if they have to be stuck at home. It is incomprehensible and understandable; it all depends on how big a toll on your earnings can take.
Well, I’m working on a roster or rotation or whatever you call it; I get a day off after every two days, which seems doable. The work is less hectic and there are people who are toiling away more; here we are amid lockdown that’s going to be tougher than last year. And the day before it all starts, the roads and offices are as crowded as fish market; so packed that it violates every restriction that this lockdown supposedly would ensure. Back on Tuesday, everyone was in a hurry because from the day after today the banks and many offices were to remain closed for at least a week; a week of barely any monetary transaction could put halt to some other activities; just some. But today was a different scenario; everything was open, which basically ensured that everyone had some way to earn a few bucks no matter how small it was.
Do you remember last year’s lockdown? That started around 27th March as the infected cases went higher. The relief was getting distributed among the poor; the ones who were well off stocked their homes with enough supplies to last about a month. I remember a TV program where an NGO or some sort of organization was distributing aid to the middle class and lower-middle-class families; these people don’t fall on to the category that gets aid through regular channels, and fearing that people would pity them, they couldn’t ask for help. While the show was ongoing, there were several callers; one of them was a woman who burst into tears and she was describing how she got the aid for her family and the group revealed no identity of the people who got it; these people have never gotten looked down upon by the society, nor they starved.
Then came the time when the relief stopped coming and people could barely work, but the news of welfare getting distributed was still in circulation. Many reporters were gathering news about people not following safety protocols and working. And that that time a video went viral where a journalist was accosted by a worker while the question of relief was asked; the worker got angry and said “What aid? I don’t get any aid and my family is starving. Who’s responsible for that?” If he didn’t go to work, then he and his family would starve to death; the options on the table were being either sick because of pandemic or malnutrition, and the choice was easy.
These were all last year and this year’s picture is slightly different; being out of work and money is off the table, and survival by any means is necessary. The citizens need to work; you, me and everyone need to work. Many people have lost their jobs or got their salaries reduced and they can’t afford to be in that situation once again; they’d bravely take their chances with the virus if it means that their loved one’s won’t have to face the harsh circumstances they faced last year. They can’t afford to being closed off with no incentive coming their way. The reality is like Rubik’s cube; but jumble and assemble the outcome may differ.
I cannot state my personal opinion about it mostly because the situation in every way is understandable whether acceptable or not. Whether I feel outrageous or sympathetic, it’s fathomable. You can say, I have mixed feelings about this but who doesn’t! I thought if I could compare it with crossroads but it’s not; it’s a lottery where the options are stuffed inside a box and we get to pick one each and oftentimes the results are similar.
