The Vaccine..

And the inevitable happened.

Early morning, a few weeks ago, my mobile beeped, it was a call from a dear friend who stays in another time zone.

“Are you not sleepy?” I asked playfully in an animated tone.

There was a pause. I asked again.

“Bhai, I am tested positive for covid19.” the voice from the other end said in a solemn tone.

For once, I thought that he is playing a vicious prank but then he confirmed.

There was a pause again, this time from both ends. The animation had choked. Perhaps, most would concur that irrespective whatever happens around us, we feel immune and unaffected by it till the time it casts its shadow on one of our loved ones.

The next few minutes that summed up to more than an hour, he narrated his ordeal from the time he felt a bit feverish to the time he voluntarily went to the test centre and then, the time when his worst fears came true. Perhaps, most would concur that it is much easier to deliver dollops of motivational gyaan to those whose consequences may not be related to you but when it comes to one of our own, the dollops of motivation is more required by you than the other one. Anyways, we ended the call on a positive note and I wished him a speedy recovery; a wish that turned into a prayer.

He was advised two weeks of self-quarantine at home. Over the next two weeks, we remained in frequent touch and his condition improved as the time passed by. Infact, he started showing signs of recovery much sooner than anticipated, however, one thing lingered on, the paranoia. With no one around in an alien land, it became more potent. While the days passed by speaking to family and friends (though only a few knew about it) and doing the office work, the nights were hard to survive as the mind would invariably spin a web of menacing thoughts. Any change in body or the slightest ache or cough would transform the thought into a herculean gloom. Even the temptation of watching a movie that was on his wish list for quite sometime lost its sheen. It was tough especially the initial days.

Amidst all these obscurity, there was a tiny spark of luminosity.

“Bhai, aaj chole bhature khaaye hain.” he said joyfully one day.

His friend who stays with his family a few blocks away had brought the food for him. Infact, he did that for the next few weeks on a daily basis. His next door neighbor with whom his only interaction was a mere greeting and that too, not on a frequent note, which led him to believe that his neighbor was arrogant and snobbish got him a bag full of groceries (mostly snacks) twice in two weeks. Another one on the same floor gave him a handmade card wishing him a speedy recovery. There was no element of sympathy or melodrama exhibited by anyone of these but a pristine emotion of empathy that truly made him realize that he is a part of their lives.

Early morning, today, my mobile beeped, it was a call from a dear friend who stays in another time zone.

“Are you not sleepy?” I asked in a sedate tone hoping that nothing bad has happened.

There was a pause. I asked again.

“Bhai, I am absolutely positive that Anjali (name changed) had a huge crush on you. Tu baat kar abhi.” the voice from the other end said in an animated tone.

And the laughter erupted, after long.

While the world struggles to find a vaccine to cure covid19, I am convinced about a vaccine that has its efficacy against any virus/ailment: the vaccine that has its ingredients in kindness, empathy and emotional support. Please follow social distancing but not social ostracizing. If you have to make something contagious then try humanity. Take care and keep smiling always. :)

#LifeLessons #Covid19 #LetsBeHumanFirst #TheVaccine