Hour of Greatest Need

I was at a loss of words. I am as heartbroken as anyone who has any connection with India or its people. Everyone is feeling the impact, directly or otherwise. It’s called Pandemic for a reason. Why weren’t the people warned? Why weren’t the authorities prepared? Why did it get so bad? Is there going to be some respite from the sad state of affairs in the near future?

As we search for answers, I remember seeing a wedding video shared from Instagram early this year. There were many such videos on social media. But this particular one was of a lavish wedding, where everyone was having a gala time. I was shocked at the utter disregard for social distancing. There were also pictures of people going to restaurants, shopping, attending events and going about their business. Was there really no virus scare there? The data seemed to say so, too.

Perhaps all those articles I had been reading about the mysterious ways India beat the virus really did mean something. After more than a year of distancing ourselves, here we were wary of socializing. India got lucky. I truly believed that and so did many experts before me. I heard that it might be because they had reached herd immunity or perhaps because of the weather. No one knew why or how.

Now that the vaccines were here, some of us even booked tickets to enjoy a summer trip to India. It feels so wrong to even say that after seeing the gut-wrenching scenario we are virtually witnessing. Also, it felt wrong to watch the popular IPL cricket matches, which has been suspended after Covid entered the secure bio bubble. Has it spared anyone?

All we can do is unite in humanity's hour of greatest need. Kudos to everyone fighting the battle!