As people in India and the world become the victims of boredom caused by the coronavirus lockdown. This article analyses the way our lives have and will change post one of the largest lockdowns in modern human history. 

The Industrial Revolution changed a lot of things for humanity. And the postindustrial world not only gave us every amenity within the reach of our hands but also took away our most prized resource, time. As we finished the 20th century and moved into the 21st century numerous technological advancements took place. Even though the world is closer than it ever has been but communication between humans isn’t at an all-time high.

Thus more people today are socially awkward as they just can’t put their thoughts into fluent communicative expressions. The only reason to blame, lack of communication. People avoid any effort to communicate with their peers and choose to delve into their virtual realities, just because it’s easy and as humans, we always want to do activities which require minimum efforts.

This pandemic has shown us how unprepared the whole was to deal with this pandemic. However, on the positive side, this pandemic will be a life lesson for many nations about the importance of medical readiness when the global focus was only on military readiness.

The Broken Myths

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Image Captions: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation in a televised speech about the coronavirus outbreak on March 19, 2020. 

Image Source: Ajit Solanki/AP

Not only communication but this lockdown has also changed many other perspectives that we had built up in our minds.

Eating out had not only become a part of our daily lives but also was thought to be inseparable. I used to think in this manner but since the beginning of March, I had to desist from doing so and so far so good. Most of us had some kind of domestic help for daily chores. But this lockdown has let people understand the importance of labour as now when we are doing all the household chores. This has led many to understand the importance of labour.

Indians themselves assumed that we just can’t abide by the rules and that we do not care about punctuality that much. But this lockdown and various activities related to it suggests otherwise. Not only are the people understanding the importance of rules but abiding by them. People have become so responsible that they are not even shying away from reporting of their family members of misconduct.

For instance, a man in New Delhi’s Preet Vihar recently reported about his son. When he learned that his son had evaded medical screening at the Delhi airport he took immediate action and called in the authorities.

Furthermore, Indians are now more sensitive to public hygiene. People now are conscious of their cleanliness not just at their houses but also on their streets. Hopefully, we see lesser incidents of people spitting, littering and urinating in open public spaces. Thus understanding the importance of hygiene.

Image Caption: New Delhi police officers provide hand sanitizer to a homeless man on the third day of India’s national lockdown.

Image Credits: AJ K RAJ/HINDUSTAN TIMES/SIPA USA

The Indian Police has had a history tarnished with doings like third-degree torture, lack of readiness, corruption, etc. However, the police around the country have been doing a tremendous job. Going as far as entertaining people in different ways to motivate them to stay at home. Additionally, the medical profession which till some back was seen as a money-making field but now people are understanding the courage it takes be a medical professional in times like these.

Mrinalika, a DU graduate and civil services aspirant, on the issue says, “I have now started socializing with more people. I am connecting with my school friends with whom I had not spoken for years. Not to forget about increased family times. I am trying new dishes and personally have started liking home-cooked food more.”

While the lockdown is helping us to reconnect it also puts a huge strain on us mentally. Psychiatrists around the world have pointed out that mental health issues, including anxiety and depression, are spiking among patients as well as those who have never faced any such issue.

Image Caption: Health officials check temperatures of drivers at the Tamil Nadu-Andra Pradesh interstate border on the outskirts of Chennai, on March 24, 2020. 

Image Source: Arun Sankar/AFP via Getty Images

With uncertainty on the future events related to the lockdown and the coronavirus pandemic, this situation keeps getting worse. In most of these situations, doctors say, the prime problem is the absence of socializing by the patient.

Numerous people who were mostly on the move before the lockdown are facing obsessive anxiety and fear which has led to acute stress reactions.

The Classic Reruns

The rerun of famous daily soaps by the state broadcaster, Doordarshan has seemingly brought back the 90s. After seeing Indian sitcoms like Dekh Bhai Dekh, Office Office, Sarabhai vs. Sarabhai, etc. I cannot help but think about how versatile and unique the Indian television was before it was invaded by rather senseless ‘saas-bahu’ shows that not only lacked depth but also were short of creativity. These Indian classics also showcase about how original their concepts were.

It is because of this, that classics like Ramayana could amass more than 546 million impressions, even though this was the daily soap’s rerun. It would be amazing if present Indian daily soap producers could understand the importance of originality and hence work towards achieving it. As is being done by various OTT series like Panchayat, The Family Man, Special Ops, Made in Heaven, etc.

Work and Studies from Home

Image Credits: An empty road in Mumbai, Maharashtra state, the country’s financial hub. The state shut down nonessential businesses and trains until the end of March.
Image Source: Imtiyaz Shaikh/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

One of the biggest changes that we are witnessing, especially in India, is the surge in the popularity of work from culture. This practice has not only made it easy for the employees but is also proving to be beneficial for the employers. As Tata Consultancy Services’ COO NG Subramaniam, puts it, “We do not need more than 25% of our workforce in the office to be 100% productive.”

To add to this, Rajesh Gopinathan, the CEO of TCS, said, “We will now be following the model of 25/25 or 25% workforce will be in the office for 25% of the time. It can also be 25/50 but the matter of the fact is that now it will never be 100/100.”

Sweta, an HR employee based in Gurugram, says, “I have become more efficient while working from home. The amount of time is the same but the efforts are lesser and the results are better.”

Various universities including the Delhi University have been forced to notice lacklustre condition in using and operating electronic and internet-based mediums. Be it online classes or the talks of holding semester exams online, varsities have faced a lot of hurdles. However, it has also made way for better and more technology-based educative mediums in the future.

In a life so fast paces this lockdown has given us a lot of time reflect, reconnect and reinvent. Thus, even though the lockdown is a result of a horrific pandemic but still it has changed and will keep changing our lives in many drastic ways. Whether these would be beneficial or not is yet to be seen.

Featured Image Credits: Getty Images

Aniket Singh Chauhan

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