BENGALURU: A social media spoof using scenes from a popular song sequence in the all-time favourite Hollywood movie, The Sound Of Music, perfectly captures that one emotion that emerges from the human mind over this raging pandemic – fear.
In that, resounding coughs replace the claps of thunder and the Von Trapp kids rush into Maria’s arms every time cough is heard. The lyrics of the original song, These are a few of my favourite things, too are changed to adapt to the flavour of the pandemic, but the scene is the original one from the movie.
It is natural to fear a pandemic, but we seem to have taken it to the next level, and it is almost like we are back in the days when the ridiculous and preposterous ‘untouchability’ was practised. We are treating the infected and their family members, or even those suspected to be infected by Covid-19, as ‘untouchables’. Maintaining a safe distance from people, whether infected or not, is a safety measure to avoid getting infected or spreading a possible infection.
But when we take up cudgels against them, blaming them for getting infected or facing the threat of infection, maligning them, or driving them into a corner to make them feel like villains of society, we are actually following ‘social distancing’. We threaten social links and bonds by doing so. We hurt more than comfort, when the latter is the need of the hour.
We, in fact, are doing complete justice to the term ‘social distancing’, while ‘physical distancing’ – the more accurate term – is given a go-by. In a recent interaction over an online platform, Prasanna Heggodu, renowned theatre director, playwright and social activist, lost his cool when one of the questions was about social distancing.
He questioned the very usage of the word ‘social distancing’, which in our country has been practised for centuries, victimising entire populations belonging to certain caste denominations. Now, we seem to have taken to it like fish to water, that too with the government giving us the licence for it by encouraging more of it.
Questionable acts of sealing residential apartments where people have tested positive, blaming neighbours who have got infected with Covid-19 for area lockdowns and stigmatising them, blaming an entire community for the infection spreading in different areas after a congregation took place without following the safety norms, have only ended up ensuring more ‘social’ distancing.
This form of distancing has given rise to bitterness among people, riding on the fear of contracting the disease. It is understandable that fear rules when lakhs of lives have been claimed by this disease, but Covid-19 is not the only cause for death. The pandemic notwithstanding, people continue to die daily due to various other diseases, due to accidents, heinous crimes and wars, and even due to negligence, as seen in Beirut last week.
The Kozhikode air disaster may be a perfect example of how a tragedy diminishes all man-made divisions. Soon after the news of the crash-landing spread, people converged on the area to take the injured to hospital, and children whose parents had perished or critically injured were looked after like their own until relatives arrived on the scene to take care of them.
They helped, rescued, and ensured that a maximum number were brought to the hospital, ensuring their treatment and survival. Covid-19 was not on their minds, nor caste, creed or religion – only the thought of saving people and to help them survive. Especially in times such as these, amidst a pandemic, we need to remember that there is a huge difference between being a mere human being and being human!
Nirad Mudur
Senior Assistant Editor niradmadur@ newindianexpress.com