I was compelled this morning to write this blog when I found a senior journalist suggesting that the stress caused by this 21-day lockdown may even need psychiatric intervention.
My first thoughts were, how soon we tend to forget stresses caused by ravages of nature and war. Look at pictures from Afghanistan, where a blast a day is common. Syria, Iraq, and Libya have stressed populations. Here we are with freshwater, uninterrupted power supplies, global connectivity, 24/7 entertainment, yoga instructions, food, and medical supplies... I can go on. This is luxury for that segment which has all these. Yes, daily wage earners and millions of others may not have most of the above. But they do not whine like we do. A suitable package to service such a complex population is on its way.
My thoughts went back to Mumbai in the 1970s. It was common for water supply to be restricted for just two hours every day. If you were late to store water in a drum-just too bad. There was neither communication nor retribution when there was no water. Yet life went on with an occasional crib. For those of who were trained to live on a mug of water when needed, thought that water stored in a drum was 24/7 availability. The family including children were trained to live with what we had. Wives played a major role in disciplining the family.
When the cyclone Hudhud hit Vizag, I saw the generation we trained rising to the occasion. First, the family stood against the doors which were being blown away in the middle of the night and having survived when every standing tree had been felled to the ground they went through the real lockdown. No water nor power for the next two weeks. Rationed by limited water tankers and most shops destroyed, the city jumped back to normalcy as if nothing had happened. That is leadership. But the generation after that hopefully learnt how not to whine or crib but to think of solutions and innovate.
Let me record here and now that it is common in all parts of the world for the rich and privileged to whine and scream as they are untouched except when nature steps in or there is a war. There is misery all around for the most part of the year, but those affected don't scream or cry like the privileged do.
Parts of our country survive floods and earthquakes as if it is a calendar activity. Yes, they have learned to survive and bounce back. Nature has been kind to many other regions and hence the least inconvenience invites a disproportionate response. When the 1971 war started, the privileged occupants of Marine Drive and Malabar hill were tardy in implementing black-out drills but were the first to run out with their jewelry as soon as the air raid sirens were sounded. Not surprisingly though, decades later, I heard my Pakistani counterpart narrate this exact story about Karachi, soon after we struck them.
.Here is an opportunity for us to train the next generation to cope with adversities. Even if wars are avoided, nature would continue to punish us just to remind us of our misdeeds.
Perhaps making NCC compulsory in all schools and perhaps Military service before graduation may not be such a bad idea.
My first thoughts were, how soon we tend to forget stresses caused by ravages of nature and war. Look at pictures from Afghanistan, where a blast a day is common. Syria, Iraq, and Libya have stressed populations. Here we are with freshwater, uninterrupted power supplies, global connectivity, 24/7 entertainment, yoga instructions, food, and medical supplies... I can go on. This is luxury for that segment which has all these. Yes, daily wage earners and millions of others may not have most of the above. But they do not whine like we do. A suitable package to service such a complex population is on its way.
My thoughts went back to Mumbai in the 1970s. It was common for water supply to be restricted for just two hours every day. If you were late to store water in a drum-just too bad. There was neither communication nor retribution when there was no water. Yet life went on with an occasional crib. For those of who were trained to live on a mug of water when needed, thought that water stored in a drum was 24/7 availability. The family including children were trained to live with what we had. Wives played a major role in disciplining the family.
When the cyclone Hudhud hit Vizag, I saw the generation we trained rising to the occasion. First, the family stood against the doors which were being blown away in the middle of the night and having survived when every standing tree had been felled to the ground they went through the real lockdown. No water nor power for the next two weeks. Rationed by limited water tankers and most shops destroyed, the city jumped back to normalcy as if nothing had happened. That is leadership. But the generation after that hopefully learnt how not to whine or crib but to think of solutions and innovate.
Let me record here and now that it is common in all parts of the world for the rich and privileged to whine and scream as they are untouched except when nature steps in or there is a war. There is misery all around for the most part of the year, but those affected don't scream or cry like the privileged do.
Parts of our country survive floods and earthquakes as if it is a calendar activity. Yes, they have learned to survive and bounce back. Nature has been kind to many other regions and hence the least inconvenience invites a disproportionate response. When the 1971 war started, the privileged occupants of Marine Drive and Malabar hill were tardy in implementing black-out drills but were the first to run out with their jewelry as soon as the air raid sirens were sounded. Not surprisingly though, decades later, I heard my Pakistani counterpart narrate this exact story about Karachi, soon after we struck them.
.Here is an opportunity for us to train the next generation to cope with adversities. Even if wars are avoided, nature would continue to punish us just to remind us of our misdeeds.
Perhaps making NCC compulsory in all schools and perhaps Military service before graduation may not be such a bad idea.
Does more than strike a cord sir, being a Submariner the water analogy is powerful, agree we should stop moaning and spare a thought for the marginalised who go through lockdowns of various hues and shapes by the sheer enormity of their circumstances. Conscription of some sort may bring about empathy and discipline in facing hardships of scarcity and engender collective empathy for the hapless beyond the beltway. Much liked.👍
ReplyDeleteRueben, as always, you are one of the few who read my meandering thoughts. Agree, as the Fleet ASW officer I was despatched to board Shafi Syed's boat on a patrol. Clothed in disposables, I did learn to hot-bunk when the young Navigator Kumar was on watch. I was used to water routines, as in my younger days, water routine on ships was quite stringent. But it was no different ashore!! Thank you for your comments.
ReplyDeleteThe improvements in science and technology brought more and more convenience and comforts to human lives. If one believes there is no free lunch, then what did we pay for such convenience and comforts? Maybe the patience, it is what reduced. When my granddad went to US to do his M.S., my nanna would write letters to him which were carried by a ship, reached him 4-5 weeks later, then he would reply back that reached her another 4-5 weeks. My nanna waited almost 2 to 3 months for her husband's reply. Now if ther is no double blue tick or no like in the next 10 minutes, people get anxious. Reduced patience is the cost. I agree that some time in the military service or some kind of hardship where tough life challenges are to be faced be made compulsory to develop patience, which by itself is a virtue.
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