BENGALURU : For the last eight months, I have been cooped up in my flat. I have stepped out for essentials, but never gone beyond a general radius of 10 sq.km. As someone who had avoided the 9-to-5 path in life, I was always the kind of person who pounced on every opportunity to travel. Being cooped up in my flat had begun to take its toll on me. When YouTube recommended the climax of the film, The Shining, I knew it was time to go. Somewhere. Anywhere.
A few discussions ensued on the safety of public transportation, and it was decided to go by car. I was curious to see the many ways in which the pandemic had affected people. It didn’t take long to notice that the pandemic has crippled the hospitality industry. Large hotels that gloated about being sold out across platforms, now carried signs offering huge discounts. Private buses, that once proudly hissed their way through peak traffic, lay idly simpering in groups. When people weren’t wearing masks, they had customised another piece of their clothing as a mask. Shawls, the ends of sarees, lungis, beanies, towels – were all creatively fashioned to stop the spread.
Once we left the city’s grasp, the roads seemed wide and deserted. We could only imagine what the sights must have been a few months ago, during the peak of the lockdown. I couldn’t help wonder if animals noticed something was up!Human beings – who have captured land and worked their way to the top without being apex predators – suddenly being locked up in their homes! Humans, who had staked their claim to land, forests and the seas – rendered immobile by a virus. I suspect it took a few days for the animals and birds in cities to grasp the concept. As we stayed indoors, they must have gingerly stepped out – only to be startled back into their homes by plates and spoons banging against each other!
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I imagine birds and animals in urban spaces enjoyed half a year of peace, away from human beings. Crows, sparrows and pigeons – birds who are constantly subjected to our interference – must have flown through empty highways feeling like stars of a BBC Documentary. Squirrels, constantly scampering away from everything, must have experienced what life is like for the rest of us who aren’t constantly watching out for a predator.
And what does one say about cows and bulls! Having already coexisted with human beings, they must have enjoyed the freedom enjoyed by kings of the past. They must have squatted in the middle of the road and conducted townhouse meetings at traffic junctions. Or stray dogs, who must have walked about like kings of the urban jungle. And think of the sea -- fish and sea-life must have gingerly stepped out into the waters without the fear of a hook or a net. I wonder if other animals thanked the bats for forcing human beings into their homes for months at stretch.
One of the side-effects of the pandemic was that fauna around us got a teaser of what life would have been like, if human beings hadn’t worked their way up to dominate every other species in the world. As news of the vaccine arrives and human beings begin to step out, I wonder if animals and birds have got the message. Sooner or later, we shall be back. To conquer land, forests, and the sea. Till then, enjoy your honeymoon period!