A New World: TimeLapse 2020

A lockdown-time meme said " Year is 2020, but life is like Test" Indeed, last year was undoutedly the biggest game-changer of human history in recent times....2020...the year of Pandemic...the year of Corona...& how it has led us to a "New normal!". But it has remained hardly a temporary affair. We are already into 2021 , & still in partial restrictions...awaiting complete vaccination...plus apprehending a 3rd wave with terror & uncertainty. On a personal front,initial phase of lockdown didn't bother me much, being already used to staying in a remote township, ...rather i was curious about how my urban friends react to the ordeal. But, yes....a lot changed. MNC's realized that WFM is more productive,....layoffs/ salary-cuts re-implied security of Govt jobs, ...........e-learning industry got a boost, while tourism sufferred....& Mask/santizers became the new Gold/silver. & of course, Health Care Workers reaffirmed themselves as the real Gods. But, what did we learn from the entire scenario...& its sheer unprecedentedness? 1. We can stay indoors & still have a good time. 2. Never take time for granted & postpone plans. 3. The skeptical are actually realistic, not paranoid. Well...easier said than done as after all,"Man is a social animal". Even today as I see pics of religious gatherings...irrespective of community...in respective festivals...from the eid-crowd to counting days for Durga Puja...we can never live alienated....at least in a country like ours. So, even as I myself miss weekend outings,fortnightly home-visits via train , yearly trips,....yes, I do feel claustrophobic....but then I keep nurturing the pending parties, travel plan, meetups...very secrelty...somewhere inside this exhausted heart.