Raju Korti
The Corona pandemic has been playing a spoilsport across the globe. With rising casualties, declining economy, stuttering jobs, overstretched health care services and bruised psyches, there has been little to cheer for in recent times. The virus has, however, a flip side to offer. Rarely before humour has been a more effective anti-virus as a defense mechanism to soothe the collective anxiety. In my part self-imposed and part forced quarantine, I have been trying to mutate some harmless humour and positives that the puniest of viruses in Universe has unleashed along with its brutalities.
Forget all the free-flowing bile and vicious barbs on the social media, the world has also been united to some extent. And of all things, it had to be a dead bug to bring life into the cynicism-filled humanity. The virus didn't exist during the times of American political scientist Samuel Huntington who argued that future wars would be fought not between countries but between cultures. The tiny bug has taken a sadistic delight in knocking the punch out of the Clash of Civilizations theory at its very roots. How do you explain the fiercely unrelenting and culturally guarded westerners forgoing a handshake "Hello" in favour of the equally jealously guarded old-fashioned Indian "Namaste"? If you thought there was a meter to measure the cultural value of both, don't forget the cheeky virus that has sharply outlined the difference between the both. Watch the likes of Trump looking smug and wearing a smile that looks more like a grimace while they fold their hands in a theatrical Namaste..
People freaking out on their daily tipple are now being coerced into abstention realizing to their disconcert that it is possible to survive without alcohol. Those who aren't sick are beginning to see the funny side of the self-isolation, keeping people's spirits up without the customary "Cheers!" Texting people and eat low-calorie snacks are the healthier diversions.
While boozers have been submitted into self-restraint, most people cutting into their daily meat have been denied their indulgence of non vegetarian food and compelled to eat "ghaasfoos". Through its versatile repertoire the virus has made it expedient to turn non vegans into vegans and exercise within the confines of their homes even as gymnasiums slam shut and its equipment gather rust.
In the limited scenes I have been privy to in the present lock-down, I have seen people holding on to their shrinking wallets and being frugal like there would be no tomorrow. Austerity is being learnt the hard way with Corona fear refusing to unlock the wallets and handbags of even the well-heeled. It is chastisement under house arrest.
We laugh then, perforce, to take back control and to connect two things we are losing in the battle against Corona virus. Not only we look helpless in stopping the tidal wave of infection washing over us, we are also being forced to endure this stark reality alone in our homes with perhaps the occasional show of solidarity by banging thaalis and blowing conchs. Powerless and isolated, we find the humour is now our most reliable shield and also our coziest blanket. So what if the humour is inadvertent and unintended.
People want jokes partly because humour is a relief and it takes the edge off the danger. When circumstances about which you can do precious little are thrown at you, humour becomes a therapy in itself. The only consistency in the entire story is a genetically modified virus has resulted in genetically modified cultures. As cultures reboot and synthesize, the Corona becomes its own anti-virus. The bats will agree.
The Corona pandemic has been playing a spoilsport across the globe. With rising casualties, declining economy, stuttering jobs, overstretched health care services and bruised psyches, there has been little to cheer for in recent times. The virus has, however, a flip side to offer. Rarely before humour has been a more effective anti-virus as a defense mechanism to soothe the collective anxiety. In my part self-imposed and part forced quarantine, I have been trying to mutate some harmless humour and positives that the puniest of viruses in Universe has unleashed along with its brutalities.
Forget all the free-flowing bile and vicious barbs on the social media, the world has also been united to some extent. And of all things, it had to be a dead bug to bring life into the cynicism-filled humanity. The virus didn't exist during the times of American political scientist Samuel Huntington who argued that future wars would be fought not between countries but between cultures. The tiny bug has taken a sadistic delight in knocking the punch out of the Clash of Civilizations theory at its very roots. How do you explain the fiercely unrelenting and culturally guarded westerners forgoing a handshake "Hello" in favour of the equally jealously guarded old-fashioned Indian "Namaste"? If you thought there was a meter to measure the cultural value of both, don't forget the cheeky virus that has sharply outlined the difference between the both. Watch the likes of Trump looking smug and wearing a smile that looks more like a grimace while they fold their hands in a theatrical Namaste..
People freaking out on their daily tipple are now being coerced into abstention realizing to their disconcert that it is possible to survive without alcohol. Those who aren't sick are beginning to see the funny side of the self-isolation, keeping people's spirits up without the customary "Cheers!" Texting people and eat low-calorie snacks are the healthier diversions.
While boozers have been submitted into self-restraint, most people cutting into their daily meat have been denied their indulgence of non vegetarian food and compelled to eat "ghaasfoos". Through its versatile repertoire the virus has made it expedient to turn non vegans into vegans and exercise within the confines of their homes even as gymnasiums slam shut and its equipment gather rust.
In the limited scenes I have been privy to in the present lock-down, I have seen people holding on to their shrinking wallets and being frugal like there would be no tomorrow. Austerity is being learnt the hard way with Corona fear refusing to unlock the wallets and handbags of even the well-heeled. It is chastisement under house arrest.
We laugh then, perforce, to take back control and to connect two things we are losing in the battle against Corona virus. Not only we look helpless in stopping the tidal wave of infection washing over us, we are also being forced to endure this stark reality alone in our homes with perhaps the occasional show of solidarity by banging thaalis and blowing conchs. Powerless and isolated, we find the humour is now our most reliable shield and also our coziest blanket. So what if the humour is inadvertent and unintended.
People want jokes partly because humour is a relief and it takes the edge off the danger. When circumstances about which you can do precious little are thrown at you, humour becomes a therapy in itself. The only consistency in the entire story is a genetically modified virus has resulted in genetically modified cultures. As cultures reboot and synthesize, the Corona becomes its own anti-virus. The bats will agree.
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