A new year is reserved for new possibilities. A perception of the times ahead; a hope for things to get better than the bygone year. A crude understanding of one as an individual and how one can modify oneself, solely based on the same circumstances in a mortal created fresher time. The emotions are profoundly high during this time and you are at the peak of your self-awareness. In order to compensate this feeling, you are drawn on making resolutions, which in all fairness have little to no effect. As time gets to its mundane self, nonetheless, it has to be done, otherwise, how are we to survive with all our insecurities lurking around? Like any new decade, the usual milestone celebration and all the expectations for the coming year were traditionally apparent.
2020 started like any other, with the regretful amount of alcohol flowed by a little more the next day, just to balance things out. While the entire country’s foundations were being tested, so were mine. I was surprised by how ironic life can get and how painful it can taste. I had never seen it coming and I took it on the chin. I had my days, I got blocked out of ten-year relation, which to be fair, I had also contributed towards the outcome. It was a rough break emotionally, something that was so alien that made me question my integrity and my outlook on life. These were some of the hardest months I had spent under the blanket, also some of the most profound moments ever. The more I mourned about it the more it made me realise how selfish and self-centred it made me feel. I snapped out of it and got back on the saddle, but that did not take long.
I crashed on my mountain bike, dislocating my left shoulder. It was my first day out on a bike, after completely recovering from a serious injury that I received from a mountain biking related activity in September. To add insult to the injury, it was a beautiful bike that I had got from Italy, which I wouldn’t be able to touch for another 2 to 3 months. The pain from the crash was more bearable than the emotional trauma. I was once again the victim of my fate and pitifully under the weather. But within a few days, it only enriched my understanding of how the time is getting testy and may be one of many more to come. It isn’t the easiest, but also not the hardest. You tend to laugh the loudest for the silliest things and you get used to it.
A hard process that I am still undergoing but certainly in the progress of coming out of it much stronger. As I selfishly felt sorry about my self, I couldn’t help but think of the real suffering that was plagued all over the world and my friend who was going through much worse.
I just needed a big distraction to get out of it and no sooner it was everywhere. New Delhi was on the brink of going the Gujarat way, but fortunately or unfortunately there was something more pressing that finally made its way towards India.
COVID 19, the Coronavirus that was declared as a global pandemic and the media made sure that everyone was scared enough to pay attention to it.
Ladakh was no different, it was one of the first states to report a positive case of the virus and left everyone on the edge.
There were two confirmed cases reported, who had contracted the disease during their pilgrimage to Iran and people from my immediate family were getting a little unpleasant and disturbing in the matter. It had sparked newfound hate towards them and had potential ingredients of evolving into a communal catastrophe, which was a very sad and insignificant thing to even bother about, especially during times like this.
COVID-19 is just the start of something that could potentially wipe out half of the global population and as history would suggest, a similar pandemic has managed to be one of the deadliest that humanity has ever seen. It is in these times that the human spirit should shine the brightest, it is in times like these that the ordinary should become extraordinary because it is a test of times, where humanity should rise above everything. Everything sounds a cliche now unless it becomes a reality and this is a reality which is better left untouched.
It is important for everyone to prepare for the worst and work towards making it better. It is critical to be cautious and well informed of this virus. A little consideration for others would go a long way. I know it is easier said than done, but this is the moment where we are being tested on a humanitarian level. I have learned from my personal experience, you only get a few chances in life where you can thrive upon and we have got just one. Let us be kind to each other.