World simply has changed in front of our eyes in a matter of
days. Sitting in Houston, the energy capital of the world, space city of USA
with the largest medical complex in the world, we see the growth of a global
epidemic. The city also boasts of the Tagore grove, built after the first Nobel
laureate in literature from Asia – Rabindranath Tagore by the Tagore Society of
Houston. Statue sits right in the heart of Energy corridor, the hub of energy
activity.
The most developed nation in the world who put man on the
moon, the home of NASA or designed electric bulb or computers is powerless. We
cancelled my family’s vacation plan to Australia; all four of us including my
son, a college student, are all back home together, not venturing out.
We observed as the virus which first made its ugly head in
China, spread to Iran, South Korea, Italy, and western Europe. All along, we, in
America, thought that yes, we need to be careful but will not really affect us.
Then, America started seeing specific cases of travelers from other countries
or cruise passengers or in a nursing home. Then, over the last couple of weeks,
number has skyrocketed from a few hundreds to more than 260 thousand on March April
2nd. That is truly an exponential release.
United States has now mobilized on war footing. Most
international travel is pretty much banned. There is a nation-wide lockdown
with only emergency personnel allowed to roam; no public gathering allowed;
bars/restaurants closed; school/colleges/universities shut down Washington, New
York, California and other states have done a complete shutdown.
In reality, the numbers have skyrocketed in New York City.
Doctors are scrambling to get Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). There is fear
of hospitals running out of enough respirators. NY may use one ventilator for
two patients for now. Donald Trump has revived a war act to make manufacturers
produce critical medical equipment, protective gear and ventilators. There is
also a tremendous effort for biomedical companies to come up with corornavirus
tests, drugs and vaccines.
Coming back to our lives, we have settled down to a life of
work from home. I am on Skype calls all through the day. It is a great
opportunity to have breakfast, lunch and dinner together with four of us. With
my son away for college normally and my daughter about to join college in
August, this is good family bonding time. Being NRIs from Bengal, all our eyes
are also on India and Bengal. We keenly follow what is going on in our
motherland.
On the social front, there is a complete shutdown. There is
no gathering or dinner with friends and family. We exchange phone calls, WhatsApp
messages. Social media is our outlet. The constant barrage of negative
information is distressing. Houston Durgabari had major plans for Poila
Baishakh. All such events have been cancelled; the Bangla school has been shut
down for now along with the temple. Our priest does the daily Puja alone. Ma
Durga still gets worshipped in the temple as we send our prayers to rescue the
world from the menace.
A somber thought to consider is may be nature reset itself.
Now, there are dolphins in the streams; sea and rivers have cleaned up; there
are birds chirping. That is for the future. Right now, the focus is to maintain
social distancing, wash hands, maintain hygiene and follow the rules. It is
trying times all over the world. The virus does not discriminate between rich
and poor, developed and undeveloped world. What we are facing in America has
been faced or will be faced around the world. It is time to join together in
the fight against the virus, to love the fellow human being and show our
responsibility by following rules. May we, get back to our beautiful earth
soon. May we celebrate the victory of human spirit all across the world, from
our adopted homeland in America to our motherland India and our beloved City of
Joy, Kolkata.
No comments:
Post a Comment