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“There is no full stop in India,” Mark Tully, a renowned British-Indian journalist who calls India home, once wrote. A few months back, Tully lamented that the India he was used to living in, the India he loved, no longer exists. India had poverty. India had several crises. Regardless, Indians had the knack of staying happy. In fact, had Swami Vivekananda been alive today, he couldn’t have agreed more with Tully’s observations. He had once famously labelled Indians as ‘children of immortal bliss’.
While the world has now turned upside down in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic, I believe that we Indians are inherently still the same — eternally in a blissful state. To drive my point home, let me recount a small story of a cycle-rickshaw puller from a remote village in Tripura. Goutam Das, a 51-year-old living in a mud hut on the outskirts of Agartala.
While Das used to make Rs 200 a day in the pre-lockdown period and had savings amounting to just Rs 10,000, that didn’t stop him from thinking about the less fortunate and those poorer than he was. In an interview with journalist Priyanka Deb Barman of Hindustan Times, the daily wage earner revealed that he had spent Rs 8,000 of his total savings till date.
He used the money to buy rice, which he organised in small packets, and distributed it among other poor families on his cycle-rickshaw. Just imagine. A poor daily wage earner, who had been finding it difficult to make ends meet, displaying such philanthropic a gesture. This is the power of India — the undying spirit of its people.
After reading about Das’ inspiring story, I couldn’t help but think about the so-called liberal intellectuals, their incessant whining against the government and their shedding of crocodile tears for the poor. That is nothing but rank hypocrisy. It is the poor who have the real survival instinct to cope up with any situation that life throws their way — COVID-19 dilemma being no different. Tully, born in Kolkata and educated in England, understands the psyche of Indian poor better than many of our decorated liberals. In one of the writings, he complained of how western ideas have distorted, and continue to, the Indian way of life, of which the veteran journalist remains an admirer.
During his interaction with the state chief ministers on April 11, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reformulated a popular phrase ‘jaan hai to jahaan hai’ (Saving lives is most important) to ‘jaan bhi jahaan bhi’ (Saving lives as well as our economic ecosystem). This could be an indication of the changing national objectives of the government, as far as tackling the coronavirus pandemic is concerned. The trying times that beckon us, as we emerge from the economic wounds of coronavirus, will definitely require innovative and strategic leadership.
The Indian industry will need to recast itself, as a massive churn is expected across the board. While certain industries such as tourism, aviation and hospitality will be facing the heat, there definitely will be opportunities for new industries and players to emerge. A revised risk assessment on part of different industries is the need of the hour. Like any other previous economic crisis, the COVID-19 crisis is sure to transform the face of the business environment, not only in India but across the globe.
But come what may, our younger generation shouldn’t be demotivated. Remember the Indian mantra of staying happy at all times, which will be more than important than ever.
On Sunday, Rajni Kumari, a mother to a class seven student at a Delhi government school, received a text message from the education department, calling upon her to dial a number for the ‘mindfulness activity’.
An automated message played at the other end, asking her to tell her kid to follow a sequence of steps.
Sit in a comfortable position. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. And focus on your breathing. Pay attention to the inhaling and exhaling process. Open your eyes after three minutes.
The recorded voice then asked Kumari to ask her kid about the changes experienced after completing the activity. The voice at the other end said that the activity was meant towards increasing happiness among children.
One might raise some questions on this quick ready-made methodology adopted by the Delhi Education Department, but it is an innovative thing, nevertheless. Similarly, it will be a new India after coronavirus.
Also read: Coronavirus is changing the world, but let's pledge to stay home and stay safe
