Thursday, March 26, 2020

Silver Lining

The total lockdown mandated by the Corona crisis has led people to stand in long queues in front of the grocery store for essential commodities.  People equipped  with mask and lessons on social distancing stood quietly maintaining a distance of at least three feet between each other.  People were let in only one at a time for purchase.  As I stood in this queue revising my shopping list and planning   how I would go about picking up the vegetables and groceries I require from the store where each shelf can be recalled by memory by familiarity, so that I spend minimum time shopping, and giving some sense of relief to those waiting in the queue ; a thought sneaked in. The crisis has forced people to enforce discipline on themselves!  People stood in queues at mandated distance between them without having to be monitored.  Some helped out the elderly by offering to shop for them. Most amazing looked the fact that people, most usually always who are impatient which has now become the new normal way of behaviour, were somehow infected with Patience! Everyone had to wait at least forty five minutes for their turn into the store and this new infection caused people to  suffer patience quietly. Some of them also had this additional symptom of a calm face with a smile stuck on it.  This, as I observed, was spreading over to those exposed as the symptom started to show on them! 

Is Patience an intrinsic virtue in a human being which has been suppressed by other vices and habits, which surfaces only when faced with a crisis ?  So,  are we discovering good old patience again in us humans?  Is this the silver lining to the dark grey cloud?

3 comments:

Suman said...

Lovely reading this. Visualized the scenario. Very well written.

oshovachana said...

Savi, the silver lining I see is Savi having found time to do something that she loves to do. Along with others you too have slowed down, hit the "pause" button from your hectic routine and come up with your usual, well written piece. Irony is, all of us, won't give time to something that brings us happiness and joy untill circumstances forces us away from our "duties" and "responsibilities" as if our happiness and joy is not one of our responsibility.
Hope that your writing will continue and not end with the lock down.

Unknown said...

Savithakka, your blogs are a treat for me...me the nin writer has always enjoyed savithakka the writer's blogs and writing