Living with the Virus - A New Beginning or Revisiting Olden Way of Life?

The Facebook was swathed with memes about learning to live with the corona virus. One meme said it is like getting married, first you try to reign in your wife but after numerous attempts, you just learn to live with her and her ways - adapt. The same is said about the virus.

A vaccine or even cure seems very far away, countries are trying to contain the spread - some going into lock down, others have started living with it from the beginning - Sweden.

Sweden did not shut down its economy and ask people to stay home. No, life goes on as usual. Number of deaths was third highest in the world during the last count. But the economy did not shut down probably because someone had the foresight that humans on planet earth will have to learn to live with the virus until some kind of vaccine or drug is found.

That's precisely what the Indian government has advised it's citizens - learn to live with the virus.  Though now a Muslim, I was a Hindu once. Hindu - does not relate to any religion, in fact Hinduism is a way of life, which I am accustomed to since birth. There are norms within Hinduism (way of life) that have now been adapted since the onslaught of this virus.

We no longer shake hands - just hand to heart or both palms together - Namaste - would do. This is to avoid touching the other person be it male or female. In Hindu way of life physical touch is kept to a minimum, had been like that always till the Western modernity arrived.

Diners at restaurants are advised to sit tables apart, minimum 2 metres. There is a practice in Indian way of life where the plate or banana leaf of one person should not touch the other, there must be ample distance between one diner and another and food was partaken while sitting on the floor. Floor means ample space for social distancing. Today, with modernity dominating our lives, we have become accustomed to many types of practices including sitting shoulder to shoulder at the dinner table. Everything touches - shoulders, elbows, plates - well, if not corona, just any virus or bacteria can spread. 

The other thing that I am accustomed to is the washing of hands and feet as soon as I enter the house when returning home. In the West, they walk in with their shoes, sometimes up to their bedrooms. I am not going to comment on this, I am sure you can think. As a Muslim now, I find Wuduk is the most comforting time for me as the washing up gives me satisfaction that my personal hygiene is well taken care of in the Muslim way of life. Perhaps, there is more but I have just embraced the faith, so I have much more to learn. 

In the work arena, many of us will be working from home to avoid exposure outside the home and to crowds. This is nothing new. I remember my growing up years. Many women in my neighbourhood sold cookies, cakes and local fares while staying at home when their husbands worked full time. That had contributed to healthy family life ( and family economy) where children grew up with their own mothers, had ample bonding at home and importantly, time was spent interacting among humans, and not with devices. Growing up with own parents meant that value system was preserved to a large extent. On top of that, the lesser we have strangers into our lives e.g. maids, the lesser we spend, expenses, too, can be reigned in. And with this work from home becoming the new norm, one can expect some stability to return to family units. More importantly, there will be lesser people outside adding to the pollution of the world which had reached alarming levels so much so that some countries measure company performance using carbon footprints as one of the criteria. 

Of course, there is the mask issue. People are encouraged to use face mask or cover when they are ill and need to go out. But these days, almost all establishments require patrons to don mask when they enter their premises. Gloves are optional. This would be an entirely new norm. The onus is on the human being themselves to safeguard their health. One can choose to be gregarious and leave fate to chance or can choose safety and health by being more vigilant. In any case, whatever the virus has brought about, it just means that we need to learn to live with it. Learn to live with the virus and its repercussions and the onus of staying alive is on each of us.