COVID – What will be the new normal?
What is your destiny? – this question is so relative in today’s global crisis. Few months back if any body asked me the same question, I used to relate it with my personal and professional sufferings gathering all of the thoughts for myself only. But, now? It’s an unanswerable question but makes us to think about the people around us and society where we live in.
When I see people playing jig saw puzzle
My MBA school gave a notice to vacate hostel due to the epidemic reasoned by COVID 19 at the last week of march. Students were so hurried in arranging masks, hand gloves, many more clothes to cover their body and luggage for travelling to home. I carried mask, one pocket sized bottle of sanitizer and promised not to touch anything at outside as less as possible by ensuring to sanitize hands if I do. I saw people covering full of their bodies, are taking breakfast in gathering. The scene was a jig saw puzzle to me. Those people did not know how to order or prioritize things in a messy life.
The words like social distancing, quarantine, isolation were the new normal. Once I had come back to Kolkata, kept myself in quarantine for 14 days. I used to check each and every piece of the jig saw puzzle in my life. The flood of Natural Selection were rushing from one country to another. My duty was to check each news daily to understand what the new normal is going to be. I prefer to check social media for entertainment where people have taken it as a time to stay with family, break from daily hectic work, time for looking upon the left hobbies in childhood, cooking delicious dishes and upload photo in social media and many more trends. Not only that people have been attacked by false panicking news. It is surprising to see another flood taking place in our virtual life till today.
Religion for benefit and politics – the ruling component in pre COVID world?
Who is the king to rule the human being? Pre COVID world was ruled by the religion and politics. I am not at all intended to deep dive into these two but would like to share a story what I experienced in few years back in terms of both religion and politics. I used to go for having medicine from a homeopathy doctor availing train. The place used to be heated always by clashing in between religions for the sake of politics. As usual I was returning back towards the railway station with my mom after taking medicine. While walking, we saw nobody on the road but gathered beside the gate of every house. One old man asked both of us not to go towards the station due to bombing and told us about the clashing between the two religions happened at that moment. My mom was headed by the thought to avail train as soon as possible and I agreed with her. Our good luck was that we met one lady returning back from the same medicine store with her baby and asked to walk up to the railway station with us because the time was fearful. After a while we noticed a gang rushing on the road by holding big knife. We stopped beside the road and was trembling in fear to see them coming in our way. They crossed us without noticing and we relived. Safety norms were different in Pre COVID world.
Who has become the ruler under the umbrella of invention?
Whistle blowing by the nature – Human beings are curious by born. Does they ride over invention or Are they ruled by the invention? In today’s world, the invention of bio weapon is the new normal. I am not intended to deep dive by talking about any political motive but must talk about the change of ruling authority across the globe. The world of internet was flooded by the news of natural healing process of the mother earth. I personally experienced the single sky between Kolkata, Delhi and UP getting same weather in photos sent by my friends. Can you imagine the down fall of the pollution rate comparing with past 10-15 year? Can you ever imagine how the nature catches the leak of bio weapon from China ignoring all the vital motives if any? Can you think about who is the disrupter in today’s world? All the first world country is noticing the flood of Natural selection in spite of having the world class amenities in health care system.
The process of natural selection ?
We were used to be in the automated robotic life in world wide. “Hacking” being a common word technology, was the only way to step into the rat race of globalization from business to personal life. It became the fundamental strategy of building a brand’s profit of any product in business. We used to buy NIKE stamped cap from any shopping mall being aware of the actual price to buy from the authentic NIKE store. The same JUGAD what we were used to do in our personal life too. We forgot to think about the origin from where we are. Don’t you think that the world is being dragged into the one selection and filtering process? Are we ready at all to pass through the filtering process by putting off extra baggage. If it is No ! Then Please look into own self. Listen to your body and mind.
Healthy habits – Personal Protect Equipment
We all are well known about the visible PPE used by the health worker. Can’t we bring this concept in our life? What could be the equipment in this regard? – Healthy food habit, physical exercise, Sanitizing habit, Networking, Household work, Office work, Sleep and meditation are basic tools to protect us. Our objective is to build up more immunity within body.
Be part of the change management
The downfall in the economy is predicted to carry it’s impact in coming 5 years. GDP is falling near negative in 2020-21. All of these are making me crazy. We are well known about what the inflation is but it is much more than that. The people who are in the driver seats of every industries are driving to take part in the digitization. We will not be alive without gaining mental flexibility. I don’t know from where should I start to take name of all the industries because every one is there in.
· Let me tell you two stories in now a days. I knew one guy of my locality, working in a food app delivery job. He is young and bright. He is turning his business into delivery of necessary groceries from the grocery store in green zone to his personal contacts. Another one is about the local Kirana store where the owner has been affected by Corona on yesterday all of a sudden because my area was in green zone till yesterday. He was entertaining the gathering in his shop. If he hired a delivery boy as the business expense, he could earn more revenue. I have understood that the business modelling is getting changed totally in my locality too.
· Cinema hall, Art gallery etc what were the basic entertainment places, are running in loss. Few years back, we saw the online streaming was generating huge revenue in Indian market as internet penetration was flourishing due to disruption of Jio mainly. Post COVID era has introduced a separate revenue generation process for entertainment industry in LIVE mode. A lot of changes are knocking at our door in health care, insurance, bank, IT, manufacturing industries.
· Merger and Acquisition are the new normal to balance current economy and crisis. As a employee in IT industry, It’s surprising to me about how it is welcoming gig economy by amending labour laws at the month of May. How Automation, AI are becoming the ruler in the new world by opening up a lot of specialized positions of the new skill sets in the work places. Organizations are researching upon taking care of employee’s mental health too. Besides these, How to secure data from the cyber attack is the new threat in normalcy of IT industry and other sectors too in managing huge data.
· The disruption in data management forming new strategy is led by the incident of the deal of 10% stake in Reliance Jio by Facebook. Investment of $5.7 billion to capitalize Indian internet market is one of the biggest foreign investment in the Indian technology place. The formal interest of the Reliance Jio is to target near 388 million customers engaged with Jio since 4 years back by launching JioMart and other apps. Above all if we can go for connecting dots between Reliance retail, Jio and WhatsApp, it will offer the ability to access nearest Kiranas and grocery stores by providing home delivery products and services by transacting with JioMart using WhatsApp. Reliance will have the broad customer base of near 400 million to offer other products too having edge over its competitors in India. We are being taken into the new Indian’s internet ecosystem.
· India is going to adopt wifi 6 technology ahead of 5G network because it has the features of congestion free, efficient network, higher battery life of devices and cost advantage. 6G will be the best connectivity solution for indoor activities but 5G will be used in long range coverage.
· Now the bigger question is how to secure data of personal and professional life? Let me tell you that I saw many of my colleagues use the same network connectivity in checking social media, playing game and doing office work. I believe that there is much more to raise awareness about data as a liability for common people like us. Do we need new policy in terms security breaches? Do we need the initiative to aware grass root level about the permissions and policies coming up while installing a new app in the mobile phone so that people become cautious before installing unnecessary app and can create a safeguard in the era of digitization?
Bring more kindness
We get regular news of harassment, depression of people staying at home 24/7 in spite of having family issues. Although organization is researching upon employee’s mental health, bringing new labour laws for the ease of work staying at home and supporting other activities to get a healthy life style. So, why can’t we make it for our family members? Is it too tough to divide responsibilities in house? If, we can’t build up a healthy system in our daily life then we will get the call from nature to quit the platform very soon. I must say one example of my child hood. In hill side when a small bus takes a heavy turn, driver alerts to hold the seat tightly. I experienced it in my childhood. The move was too sharp to be steady in the seat unless you hold something tightly. If you are not, then not only you but many more will be affected due to mistake. Just think twice before passing the day. Aren’t you in the deep turn right now? Can’t we show more kindness to the human-beings and animals living with us?
Let's think, From where will we begin newly?