In his famous novel ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, Charles Dickens describes the scenario of 18th century Europe during the French Revolution. His particular focus was undoubtedly on the trouble times that had befallen England and France, the two most powerful European nations during that time. Dickens starts the narration by mentioning that it was the best of times and the worst of times and it certainly was. The French Revolution was an unprecedented event in the history of Europe. It was a bloody affair wherein the lower strata of the French society who had been oppressed and suppressed for centuries by the well-to-do finally rose in unison against the monarchy and aristocracy and uprooted it. Those people who experienced or witnessed this bloody revolution in one way or the other had indeed witnessed something extraordinary and awe-inspiring which would go on to change the history of mankind.
Likewise, there had been events in history which were unprecedented in nature and those people or societies who witnessed such events and somehow came out alive were changed forever in their mindset, thinking, culture and way of life. After such an event, things may seem to slowly move back to normal but the people and societies who experienced and witnessed it will never be the same again and it would result in drastic changes spreading far and wide. Apart from the bloody French Revolution, unprecedented events like the two world wars, the disintegration of the USSR, the death and resurrection of Christ, the American civil war etc were all unprecedented events the effects of which can still be felt today. Closer home, the Kohima battle of 1944 and the Indo-Naga war of the 1950s were unprecedented for the local people and its effects can still be felt today.
Likewise, undoubtedly the most unprecedented phenomenon which the world is witnessing since the end of world war two is the one we are experiencing now – the outbreak and spread of the Corona Virus. This has spared no one and no country and has literally brought the whole world down to its knees. It is nothing short of a world war. It first started in the Chinese province of Wuhan and spread all over the world. As the virus broke out in China, China was the first and one of the worst effected countries initially. But as it spread the world over, countries like Iran, Italy, Spain, USA and Britain became the worst hit. These countries were apprised of the looming danger but they failed to take the needed precaution on time and had to pay a heavy price for it with the lives of its people.
On the other hand, a country like India, the second most populous nation in the world has been doing a commendable job in containing the epidemic thus far. India is the second most populous nation after China but as it is geographically much smaller to China, the density of population in India is much higher than that of China. Therefore, it was feared that if India was unable to effectively check the spread of the virus, the catastrophe would be much severe and disastrous here in India. As the virus made its entry into India, all eyes were on India as it had the potential to become the epicenter of the virus. But fortunately, India was able to learn valuable lessons from what happened in countries like Italy, Iran, Spain and USA and did all that was necessary to contain the spread of the virus.
And yes, you knew you were witnessing something unprecedented when all sorts of travel were abruptly stopped. When all aeroplanes were grounded, when vehicular movements and trains came to a standstill, we know we were witnessing something unprecedented. When you were asked to make your contribution not by venturing out in the streets but by staying at home, you know you were witnessing something unprecedented. When the most powerful person in your country appears on your television screen and literally begs you with folded hands to stay at home, you know you were witnessing something unprecedented and extraordinary. And in these unprecedented times, some were once again literally made to relive and re-experience the biblical exodus when they were forced to gather all their families and earthly belongings and walk hundreds of miles back to their native places or shall we say Promised Land. Who would have thought that we would see something like this in this 21st century after all our technological achievements over the centuries?
The outbreak of this pandemic was something which certainly caught the world off guard. By the time the year 2019 was about to come to its end, reports about the outbreak of a new virus killing people in China surfaced. And from that time, it was evident that it would spread all over the world sooner or later given the close-knitted nature of our world wherein millions of people travel round the world every day. So it was just a matter of time before it reaches you and me and you and I were sure to be a part of the fight.
But it was to be a fight like no other. It is a fight wherein our guns and bombs upon which we have spent enormous resources, energy and time over the past decades were of no use. It is also a fight against time as it is spreading very fast and a vaccine for it is yet to be made. It is also a fight against the ‘it will not happen to me’ syndrome and ‘it will never happen in my lifetime’ syndrome. Many people saw what the epidemic was doing to people around the world but they considered it too good to be true when it came to something like that happening to them in their hometown. And thus, they continued to be in a mode of denial and pretence fooling only themselves.
Considering that the most brilliant minds in the world are currently engaged in creating a vaccine and other means to tackle and contain the virus, it may be sooner than later that we are finally able to limp back to normalcy. But 50-60 years or even 20-30 years from now, when the future generations hear and read about this virus and what we went through, they would at once realize that our generation indeed witnessed and experienced something which was unprecedented and extraordinary in nature. Like Dickens, they might say ‘it was the worst of times’. Like the world learnt many valuable lessons through unprecedented events, the future generations will also learn many lessons from this covid -19 episode and realize many things. They would realize more that humanity, instead of fighting one another, would have to come together somehow. They would realize more that no matter what the color of your skin is, you are someone created in the image of god and that life is indeed precious, priceless and a gift from the almighty and that it is meant to be lived to the fullest. They would realize more that it is not just about themselves but also about others as well. They would realize more that we live in a rather contagious world and that what affects others is ultimately going to affect you also. They would also realize more that humanity would have to stand together for better or for worse and that life on earth is indeed very short, fragile and unpredictable and that anything can happen anytime. The covid-19 episode has also taught all of us that there must be a greater force and power out there controlling and watching over all of us and what we consider normal today may become abnormal and absurd in the times to come…..
