BENGALURU: Greta Thunberg is winning — this round at least. The skies are blue, the grass is green, the rivers are sparkling, birds are singing, and the Himalayas are visible; all is well with the world, it seems. Until we are let out again. Until then, Greta needn’t strike school, or thunder ‘How dare you?’ For those who dared, chiefly, are busy nursing sick nations. 

Keepers of the universe, commandos, Nature’s arsenal and the deadly corona-tipped arrow.... watching a Hollywood sci-fi film is all very well, but living the script can be surreal.Life, as we know it, has changed tectonically. And so has our value system. Time, wealth, freedom, food, people — their values have changed and so has their meaning. Bucket lists have been revisited, as life in the face of a silent scythe seems more ephemeral than ever. 

Locked in, locked down, we now know the true value of freedom. To move freely, travel, meet people, dine out, party, rejoice... somewhere in the distant future, maybe we will taste this heady brew again. And the next time we cage a bird or animal, we ought to think again of life behind barricades.Those of us who ran after elusive time, who complained that 24 hours were just not enough, now have an abundance of it. We grabbed every minute to treasure it. There were things to do — read books, watch movies, reconnect with old friends, pick up old hobbies, enjoy family time during this godsent break; you could spend time or kill it.

We also learnt to live frugally, a far cry from our reckless consumerism. We realised that all the money in our pockets could buy but few things – whatever the local grocer had stocked. No fancy cheeses and desserts, just the bare essentials. We hoarded and scrimped and saved, for tomorrow could bring more insecurities. The value of wealth, too, changed -- the rich saw their savings being shaved off, the poor didn’t have much to begin with.

For many, hunger became a reality. In our topsy-turvy world, the maid got a paid holiday, while those with fancy jobs and designations waited with trepidation for the next salary.  

Most of us now know, deep within, that faced with possible imminent decimation, caste, class, creed, religion, race, riches and all man-made borders are flimsy and even laughable. Untouchability has acquired a new meaning. The pandemic respects neither denomination nor demography.

People are no longer just people, but part of humankind, up against the same enemy. We are learning to give and forgive, as a wave of evolution passes over us. Is this what Darwin spoke of? The survival of the fittest, and the wisest. The ones who adapt live to see another day, while the weak, the aged and the helpless are given no option, they are collateral damage.Or is it a new beginning? Clearing the deadwood, cleaning the world, balancing equations, building fresh ecosystems for a new world order. For life will go on, and it must…