The Four Letter Word

I was excited seeing grandpa at home after school everyday. I ran and hugged him. He rightly sensed that something was wrong. "What is it", he asked. "I am bored with school. I wish I could stay with you all day at home", I said. "Come, I'll tell you a story" he said with a grim look. We settled down in our usual story place.

"When I was a small kid just like you. The world froze and stood still" as he said this his eyes became big and wide and I could literally see the story come live in his eyes. "Everything came to a halt. All of us stayed inside. We were all scared of it. All the people were hiding in their homes for a long long time." "Was it a dinosaur or a big monster" I asked , the story just got interesting. "It was a tiny virus. We cannot see it with naked eyes. But it was all over. It spread from person to person. 

When they sneezed or coughed, it traveled in the little droplets. It was there wherever it landed. If some person touches it, it sticks to their hands and if they wipe their face with the same hand, it gets inside their nose or mouth and they fall ill. It was like a chain process. It was going on and on. So, people decided they need to break the chain and they stayed inside." He said. I asked, " So, what about schools. Didn't you have to study at all." " I was very young. My mother taught me stuff at home. I remember having a lovely time. My father stayed with me and we all spent lot of time together. We did gardening, we played games, we cooked together, watched movies, read books it was like a fantasy. None had such a time ever before that or after that. It was a tough time but still we made the best out of it" Grandpa said.

" The whole world had a great holiday then?" I asked surprised. "Oh no no. Each of them faced something different. The doctors and nurses were working hard. The sanitary workers ensured hygiene. The police maintained law and order and kept everything under control. The Government was running heading it all. The essentials were supplied by shops and the people helping in delivery did an exemplary job. The scientists were busy finding ways to identify the infected people and worked to find vaccines to prevent and medicines to treat the infection.  They were the main frontline warriors in the war against the virus pandemic. They were our super heroes. We kids wanted to become one of them when we grew up. I wanted to research and discover a cure so badly" he said.

"Wow, so that's how you became a scientist grandpa. I am so proud of you. Hmm Tell me more about the war" I said. " Yes. Each family, each person fought his own small war admist the big virus war. What do we do for food if we don't go out. I thought we could always get food delivered but that was just not it. My father was working in the computer from home so we got some money to buy us things. The shopkeepers had money from the goods they sold. But the people who worked for daily wages had no work, had no money. The farmers, business persons, workers, fishermen, drivers so many people suffered. One day we also did, they said shops don't have things to sell. That day was when even the rich could not get food though they had money. So we all had our part in the war, every single person" he said with a sigh.

"Grandpa, that would have been very hard. What happened then", I asked. "We learnt to share and care, love to live, respect and treat all as equals, lead life with bare minimum essentials. Nature taught us many lessons. After months of quarantine, the warriors took control over the situation and we won the war over the virus. We did lose a lot of people in the battle. We lost warriors as well as people. We still think of all the sacred souls and we salute them" he said teary eyed.

"It is getting dark. Come let's go inside. Your mom will be here to take you for your first COVID all vaccine. Its discovery is one huge milestone in human history. Did you know that COVIDV20 found in 2020 is the father of the COVIDallV vaccine that we scientists found out sometime back for all of the Corona virus diseases? It is like a magic potion for the virus that was, is and yet to come. Scientists made sure none of the future generations suffered as we did way back then. That's why even if there is a COVID90 in 2090 at present, we don't have to worry dear" he said enthusiastically.

Mom took me to the doctor and he was poking the injection. Ouch it pained a lot. So I screamed in pain and opened my eyes. My five year old son was standing with his toy syringe. "Ma, look I found a vaccine for Corona virus. I am a great scientist" he said and jumped all around. Was it all a dream? 

I sat up and looked at my phone it was still 20th April 2020. My son dragged me to the living room..The news on the television showed increasing stats of Covid19 victims. My son looked into my eyes turned my head with his hands and showed me all the four letter words he had formed in the game he played. I could see hope, life, love, care, help, live, fate, stop, stay, safe, home.

Let's spread HOPE. LOVE all. CARE for each other. HELP those in need. After all we have one LIFE. Let's all LIVE till the end. STOP worrying. STAY HOME. STAY SAFE!

Aruna Dhanapal

A Budding Writer

BEHIND THE SCREEN DURING COVID 19

I love vacations, it gives time to travel to new places away from the city where I can connect with nature, meet new people, learn a new language and taste new food. Luckily, as far as I remember I’ve utilized all my vacations for the last 6 years to explore new places on the map which in return holistically taught astonishing lessons for life. People living around a natural environment similar to trees and plants, mountains and forests, rivers and waterfalls, animals and birds reflect great human qualities as like as Nature. Once I reach my home, I would cherish the memories and implement the lesson learned for life. Mostly it makes me wonder how diverse the earth is and the relation between everything around me.

After the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan city in late 2019 no one predicted it would become a global pandemic which let the entire world into quarantine mode for months. Followed by the lockdown global economic and stock market slowdown, breaking news and popular leaders addressing the nation, lack of medical resources and fear of increasing causalities around the globe, poverty and mass migration, family time and work from home trend, emerging rumors and conspiracy theories.

In-between all theses, there is one thing which made me so happy and gave hope to millions who think similar to what I’m thinking right now. Yes, it the nature recovering from a century of human exploitation. Yes, I was able to breathe clean air since there is no road and air transportation, able to see the empty forest without human disturbance due to lockdown, zero noise pollution, no plundering of earthly resources and a pause to violence against animals and birds.

Surprisingly I was able to see new birds around my house, wild animals roaming around without hesitation or fear, Massive drop in the greenhouse gas emission, quick healing in the ozone layer, quite an ocean floor with flourishing ocean life, the earth was actually glowing from the international space station. This is how an idea of balanced life looks like.

In the last three years I only use public transportation which reduced my carbon footprint level, started to carry my own cloth bag when I go for shopping, I stopped using plastic pen and began to use a fountain pen so that I can stay away from plastic ending up in the ocean, I buy my grocery from small scale vendor, never allow light or fan to run when I’m not in my room, Learned basics of waste segregation, and started to carry a handkerchief instead of tissue paper.

Well I should admit this, in the beginning, it sounded very strange and Impossible but after a month I feel like giving up but with a lot of practice in living a conscious life, I was able to reduce my carbon footprint. What if we learn to live a need-based lifestyle with a lot of consciousness where we won’t disturb any other life forms like how no other life forms disturbs us. Why not we adopt a sustainable lifestyle from a small step and live a life full of positivity. Three years ago, it looked impossible yet a small try brought me this far. This lockdown has shown the beautiful color of nature and how it’s striving without human disturbance. Let’s help the nature and help the future generation to enjoy the beauty of the earth. I’m not stopping here, I will find more ways to reduce my contribution in bringing down my carbon footprint and help planet earth heal, join me!

Mr V.M Ebin Navis

Dept of Sociology

Loyola College

HONEST SHOP-THE NEED OF THE HOUR

To all of You! Who have been in traumatized by the situation around globally and who are still finding out and recovering and praying to global humanity and to a lot many of our brothers and sisters around the world who are no more with us at this hour!!!

In the recent days of being in Quarantine and understanding that every day seems to be a fortunate that we still live, I was having a lot more of observations to accept the situations around and desperately contemplating when this will change.

I was observing a lot more drama, happening in and across cities, where many public, hanging around to buy a lot more of emergency stuffs in need and many who don’t know, are still outside their homes despite severe information and warnings passed.

I came across this interesting aspect of a Honest shop, where way back in 2011, while on a visit for a student’s training program, I was introduced to a concept of honest shop (Nērmaiyāṉa kaṭai/sabase achchhee dukaan/ satyasandhamāya kaṭa/negozio onesto/boutique honnête)and the concept is very simple to understand, articles will be displayed and lot more of confidence in oneself personally he/ she who picks up whatever he buys needs to drop the money respectively and needs to step out.

I realized and observed that, this aspect which made to accept honestly as a greater value and helps to pick only what I needed and not what is not and made me to accept a perspective of global citizenship to a greater call, and realized that amidst our global pandemic that’s erupting, why not experiment this concept which can reduce a lot more of manual laborers in shops and there by helping to reduce the spread among all.

It is only by these where we realize that a sense of belonging happens and we serve for the purpose and not for the benefit of everybody, this is the hour to express solidarity and maintain common good for the whole of ourself and the one around.

By happening like this we help ourselves to earn a greater value and look up to the society to grow together.

And humanity expressed gratitude for the common good! Amidst the situation it’s here where we express what we need and what we want.

If you ever come across such a shop in the future, be happy, we are growing in to a better world, and to my personal belief, all around the world many practise this but this may be a solution for the need of the hour.

Stay Calm, Stay Safe!!

Beat Corona!!

Joseph Kamal Francis

Shop in coimbatore that explored the sense of humanity and honesty,

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/pick-your-daily-bread-just-leave-cash-in-the-box/article31251295.ece

A little bit of Google and Wiki that shared me some ideas of what's been a honest shop