#stay@home #stay safe

Hey. 

The Lockdown for the past two months has opened our eyes to many realities-visible, hidden, altering. There are also changes--some willing and some unwilling-- that are shaping our present and of course, the future. Many of us who refuse to be bogged down by this lockdown due to COVID-19, we talk of how Mother Earth is ‘system re-booting’. There were plenty of discussions about how the rivers and oceans, are now cleaner; fishes which were becoming rare have now revived. The safety of the aquatic animals was ensured with the lockdown of the industries. In fact, people shared photographs of peacocks and other rare birds- sparrows included in this category--on their Instagram / Twitter accounts or shared in on FB. The picture of a rare species of wild wolf spotted on the outskirts of the forest area was welcomed with enthusiasm by everyone who saw the picture. WhatsApp added its own share to the excitement in sharing the revival of nature. Another not scary, 'positive' of the lockdown is how this is an opportunity for the family reunion (not the ‘joint family re-union of the 20^th C) but the parents-children coming together in the same home at the same time, albeit with the laptops/PC's/mobile phones. This is the age of ‘work from home’. The Governments did their bit of service by ensuring that appropriate safety measures were put in place. Firstly, the Central Government and the State Governments ensured that employees continued to receive their salary for the ‘lockdown month’. Secondly, the house Owners were asked not to press for the tenants for rent; online payment of various bills was encouraged. Banks were directed not to press people for repayment of loans. Third, local- small grocery stores that had struggled under the Super Marktes, began to thrive during the lockdown. We all got used to the local products, even though for a short while. The Internet became our friendly neighbour. It had solutions for many problems. For the fitness-conscious ones too there are solutions available. Fitness gurus released several videos which, if followed meticulously, helped people to stay fit. They were encouraged to take 15 days of workout challenges at home. television has for the past three decades decided our time at home. Now, it gave us new addictions. Cookery shows with healthy recipes; repeat telecast of the two epics- just in case We, the people, have moved away from the cultural epistemologies. Regional news channels came up with innovative ways of connecting with people- corporate social responsibility in a new form. People could call the news channels, and share their problems and the reports in that area/region would be alerted about the requirement-medical and food packages, basically. They would be home delivered. Many people benefited from these operations. Medical fraternity and public servants were applauded for their selfless service rendered in the cause of humanity amidst the fear of infection. (We all clapped and blew our conch shells on a Sunday night?) The Paparazzi contributed their share by telling us which celebrity was cooking what and spending time with whose parents and their yoga routine and their enthusiasm to keep the garden clean. The daily newspapers too explored the history of the pandemic and reactions as well as preventive measures in the past giving its readers a literary perspective to the lockdown. Slowly, we all moved towards the ‘Atmanirbharta’ mantra. (It is a different issue that Bapuji talked about in simple terms, of ‘Swadeshi’) In brief, #stay@home#stay@safe. 

                       This reminds me of an anecdote my brother had told me. Dr U R Anathamurthy, the Kannada literary giant, was requested to conduct an interview to find an appropriate candidate for a top administrative position in Bangalore. As usual, many people were to be interviewed. Dr Anantha Murthy asked the candidates one common question--‘Look out of the window and describe the scene’. A simple task for the well-qualified and much-experienced officials. They all did. One candidate’s description got him the job—he described the skyscrapers as well as the slum that was seen next to these tall buildings. Dr Anathamurthy seems to have shared his views about it later. ‘Look, the city is a complex and complicated place. It is important for an administrator to first perceive this complexity. Then only the further steps of administration can happen.’

                          And today, in this hour of crisis when it was so important for all of us to stand together, I find that this awareness and consciousness is what is missing- a very simple acknowledgement of people, basic decency. The plight of the migrant labourers is evidence enough to show that the ‘system update’ has not even begun. Their struggle to reach#stay@home#stay@safe is a struggle for existence- not a farfetched dream. No wonder that they choose to walk for 300km and sleep on the railway track, unable to hear the train coming on them – only to be crushed under it. The city is heavily dependent on migrant labourers--for the inexpensive labour they provide as construction workers, housemaids, florists, and golgappa sellers. The expertise they bring with them, and the creativity they display in problem-solving is invaluable. Their contribution to the urban place and to the economic viability is rarely acknowledged. Today, almost everyone talks about the migrant labourer as a burden on the city, ignoring their multi-dimensional contribution to the everyday life of the urbanites.

                              I was net-surfing to read something when I came across Kaifi Azmi's poem Makaan, He is a poet and a popular lyricist for Bollywood. He is also awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award. He was one of the 20th-century poets who were recognized as belonging to the  Progressive Movement group of poets. Their work can't be categorized as 'Propagandist' but it surely is for social justice. It is said that he wrote this poem when he stayed with the construction workers who were building his house. It is written in Hindi; I have attempted a translation of the poem to Kannada. (Maybe because, after all, Kannada is my language of dreams) 

                   

ಈ ರಾತ್ರಿ ಬಿಸಿಗಾಳಿ ಬೀಸುತ್ತಿದೆ, 

           ಈ ರಾತ್ರಿ ಫುಟ್ ಪಾತ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ನಿದ್ಡೆ ಬರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ,

           ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಎದ್ಡೇಳಿ, ನಾನೂ ಎದ್ಡಿರುತ್ತೇನೆ, ನೀ್ನೂ ಎದ್ಡಿರು, ನೀನೂ ಎದ್ದಿರು, 

           ಈ ಗೋಡೆಯಲ್ಲೂ ಒಂದು ಕಿಟಕಿ ತೆರೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತದೆ 

         

          ಈ ಭೂಮಿ ಈ ಮೊದಲೂ ನುಂಗುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಸಿದ್ದವಾಗಿತ್ತು, 

          ಕಾಲು ಮುರಿದಾಗಲೂ ಕೊಂಬೆಗಳಿಂದ ನಾವು ಇಳಿದಿದ್ದೆವು 

         ಈ ಕಟ್ಟಡಗಳಿಗೂ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ, ಈ ಕಟ್ಟಡದಲ್ಲಿರುವವರಿಗೂ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ

          ನಾವು ಗುಹೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅವಿತು ಕಳೆದ ಆ ದಿನಗಳು 

        

         ಮತ್ತೆ ಕೈ ಎರಕದ ಅಚ್ಛಾಗಿದೆ  ನಮಗೆ ಸುಸ್ತಾಗುವುದು ಹೇಗೆ 

        ಒಂದು ನಕ್ಷೆಯಾದ ಮೇಲೆ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಹೊಸ ರೂಪದ ನಕಾಶೆ 

        ಈ ಗೋಡೆಗಳನ್ನು ಭದ್ರ, ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು ಭದ್ರ, ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು ಭದ್ರಗೊಳಿಸಿ,

        ಮೇಲ್ಚಾವಣಿಯನ್ನು ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟುಸುಂದರಗೊಳಿಸಿ, ಬಾಗಿಲುದ್ವಾರವನ್ನು ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು
        ಬಲಗೊಳಿಸಿ 

       ಹಚ್ಚಿದ ಹಣತೆಯನ್ನು ಗಾಳಿಸೋಲಿಸುತಿತ್ತು ಸುಲಭವಾಗಿ

       ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ವಿದ್ಯುತ್ ದೀಪಗಳನ್ನು ನಕ್ಷತ್ರಗಳನ್ನಾಗಿಸಿದೆವು 

      ಮತ್ತೂ ಏನಾದರು ಕಡಿಮೆ ಎನ್ನಿಸಿದ್ದರೆ, ಕಾವಲಿಗೆ ಬೇರೊಬ್ಬನ್ನನ್ನು ಕೂರಿಸಿದ್ಡೇವೆ 

       ಈ ದುಷ್ಕ್ರುತ್ಯ ಮಾಡಿ, ಈ ಅ-ಸಹ್ಯವಾದ ನಿದ್ಡೆಯನ್ನು ಹೊದ್ದು ಮಲಗಿದ್ದೇವೆ

      ನಮ್ಮ ನರ-ನರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ದುಡಿತದ ಸುಸ್ತಿನ ಅಶಕ್ತತೆ, 

      ಮುಚ್ಗಿದ ಕಣ್ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅದೇ ಅರಮನೆಗಳ ಚಿತ್ರಣ, 

      ಇನ್ನೂ ದಿನ ಕರಗುತ್ತದೆ ಹೀಗೇ, 

      ಕತ್ತಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬಾಣಗಳು ಚುಚ್ಚುತ್ತಲಿವೆ ನಿದ್ದೆಬಾರದ ಕಣ್ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ 

      ಈ ರಾತ್ರಿ ಬಿಸಿಗಾಳಿ ಬೀಸುತ್ತಿದೆ,

      ಈ ರಾತ್ರಿ ಫುಟ್ ಪಾತ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ನಿದ್ಡೆ ಬರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ, 

     ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಎದ್ಡೇಳಿ, ನಾನೂ ಎದ್ಡಿರುತ್ತೇನೆ, ನೀ್ನೂ ಎದ್ಡಿರು, ನೀನೂ ಎದ್ದಿರು, 

     ಇದೇ ಗೋಡೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಕಿಟಕಿ ತೆರೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತದೆ