Preview of Things to Come...

Welcome to the ninth day of the twenty-one day countrywide lockdown announced by the Hon'able PM of India, to contain the spread of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic here in our nation. As it turns out, the single-day 'Janta' curfew I had talked about in my last article, was just to give a taste of the events to unfold in coming times. And surely enough with the global body-count piling up in leaps and bounds on a daily basis, the grim reality of the worldwide situation is here at hand. As of this moment, the deadly novel Coronavirus has spread to over two hundred countries and territories, claiming over fifty thousand lives globally, with the number of infected about to reach a million, that too only considering the officially released stats. But if the residents of Wuhan, the Chinese town from where the virus orginally emerged, are to be believed, the figures released by China itself account for less than a tenth of the actual Chinese death toll. So the circumstances might be even worse than what they already appear to be!

Just to give you an idea of the gravity of our present plight, this is the first time in history since World War-II that the Summer Olympic games, to be held in Japan later this year, have been officially postponed. Along with the cancellation or postponement of other prominent sporting, religious and cultural events and science and technology conferences around the world, including the likes of Wimbledon, the IIFA Awards, TED, and many others, schools and universities too have been shut down in over a hundred and fifty nations. With my firm implementing the work-from-home philosophy on alternate days for a day or two, and then following up with the same for all days until further notice, despite a majority of our job definition involving field work, the seriousness of the matter just got real. 

But even in the face of a crisis of this magnitude, not all is bleak and gloomy. On a lighter note, this real life apocalypse does have a lot in common with numerous eerie horror film plots, especially one particular 2011 flick I watched some time back - 'Contagion', to which it bears an uncanny resemblance! The rate at which mankind is falling prey to this mighty virus might as well lead to a new world order for the lucky surviving few... Who knows? As the virus runs rampant through entire neighbourhoods, dropping people like flies, a part of you is forced to think of what will be left of this world as you know it, while the other part contemplates the effect all of this will have on you, if you are left standing that is.

As for me, after helping take all necessary measures to protect family and self, along with surrounding folks to the extent possible, all I am left to think of is the unlikelihood of such a disruption actually happening to someone in their lifetime. Although my generation has already been witness to a lot of change in the way people live, including the advent of modern mobile phones, LCD & LED TVs and access of the common man to commercial aviation amongst a lot else, the present situation is truly something to behold. All the negativity aside, if the spread of the virus is successfully controlled and everything goes back to normalcy, then I dare say that these three weeks will probably have been a miniature version of retired life for most professionals who struggle day in and day out trying to contribute to society and make a living, who have to beg even for a single day's leave, and who can hardly ever imagine a phase as mentally and physically freeing as this. And while boredum is setting in for some folks, I have a sorted outlook. 

Anyone's life nowadays can be broadly divided into three phases of approximately equal durations, like that of a full course meal comprising of starters, main course and desert. The first phase refers to the period till about 30 years of age, in which one needs to get educated and take the first steps towards a career after figuring out the path he or she needs to tread, to help society advance professionally and personally, at the same time earning the means to a good livelihood and gradually settling down with one's family. The second phase extends from about age 30 to age 60, in which one has to execute the plans he or she has made in their first phase. And as you might well have guessed, the third phase of life refers to the stage beyond the ripe age of 60, which is like a bonus over, where one is hopefully content on having achieved almost everything one had planned for, and he or she is free to put on their thinking cap for something creative or catching up to some unfinished business or hobby which was previously left unpursued due to lack of time. 

So, for me this lockdown, which is akin to the summer breaks we used to have in our childhood back in the day, has been a preview to the aforementioned third phase, excluding of course the severe restrictions imposed on one's mobility, where I've invested my time in picking up some new skills like single-handedly preparing my first ever hot cooked dish in the form of chilli bread, albeit drawing a bit on the experience of my wifey's cooking expertise. And, while I'm currently about to cross over from the first phase of my life to the second, I hope I'm on the right track, being grateful to Indian Oil for providing a platform to put my competence to use, to aid in our industry's progress, while also trying to contribute on the personal front, through various means including this online journal as well as my other blog 'The Ultimate Comparo' (http://comparoindia.blogspot.com/) covering varied categories of articles from time to time, which different people may find useful.

But all else aside, I sincerely wish that the world is able to fight off the grip of the COVID-19 epidemic sooner than later, and all of us can get back on our respective tracks... 

ALL THE BEST!!!

Adding to my skill repertoire...