A pandemic with a climax and an anti-climax
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A pandemic with a climax and an anti-climax

It feels like a black hole for humankind, nothing less than a confused movie ending that is shuttling between a climax and an anti-climax. The question is: How long will all of this last?

Post by on Thursday, January 20, 2022

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2021 has come to an end and the city of Mumbai shuttled between feelings of joy and confusion. With the 5 pm to 5 am curfew imposed across Maharashtra, celebrations for the New Year were a low-key.

 

The pandemic has irrevocably changed one of the busiest and most vibrant cities in the globe. The entertainment juggernaut has moved from high-end parties to more low-profile, behind-the-scenes gatherings. Why? Because of an economic downslide that has paved the way for measured and less flamboyant adventures.

 

Minimalism has taken over previously extravagant lifestyles among the upper middle class. Businesses have scaled down considerably. The common man's vocabulary is plagued with despair, hopelessness and unending self-doubt. And to top it off, social media is adding insult to injury with constant images of (made-up) success at a time when jobs are hard to find.

 

What looked like a promising few months, especially after the second Covid-19 wave when small businesses had started to find their feet, now feels like landslide. This has increased levels of frustration across the board.

 

The uncertainty of the future is monumental and unsettling rumours about future lockdowns are flying quick and fast. The fear psychosis associated with the countrywide lockdown of 2020 has returned and people are scared about what might become an impending nightmare. This has done very little good to the already shaken confidence of people but the common man in particular.

 

People are frightened of what Omicron will unleash and cannot see the way out. It has left them devoid of hope and scared them with anxiety and especially, a trust deficit with respect to the governing bodies, which have failed miserably to bridge the gap between the masses and public institutions.

 

Those who began to believe in the possibility of hope prior to Omicron are now bowled over. If they felt like they didn’t have a security net earlier, now that feeling is cemented. The rich are getting richer, the poor, poorer, and the country is more unequal than it has perhaps ever been.

 

The last two years have been nerve-wrecking, not just for the lower-middle class and the working class, but for the middle class as well. Countless people have lost their jobs and countless lives have been lost too, with no sign of relief from the government. This apathy, incompetence and lack of preparedness of public institutions is detrimental to people’s physical and mental health. Things have gone from bad to worse.

 

Frustration is now seeing a mercurial rise! Mental health has become a huge public health crisis, and relationships all around seem to be crumbling. The number of divorces has gone up as have cases of domestic violence. It feels like humankind is sitting on an emotional pyre.

 

As far as Bollywood goes, shootings have been cancelled and investors are pulling out of various projects. This has dented the spine of a large number of families who are dependent on the film business for their survival. It feels like a black hole for humankind, nothing less than a confused movie ending that is shuttling between a climax and an anti-climax.

 

The question is: How long will all of this last?

 

 

 

(Tufail Khan Rigoo is an actor, writer, columnist and content creator)