Coronavirus effect: Preparing for Life 2.0

With his neighbourhood temple in Noida closed, Ramesh Bhidoria, a businessman, has been struggling in his “tryst” with god for the past few days. “I find the sight of the locked temple pretty disturbing; I feel as if even the almighty has abandoned us in these times of crisis,” says 40-year-old Bhidoria, standing in front of the temple which was closed a week ago, his hands folded in prayer and a disposable mask covering his mouth. “ A lot of people who come to me say they are going to stop overspending to stay afloat during a crisis like this.” Arun Bhardwaj, an avid reader and a Supreme Court lawyer says that in this age of technology, our cities are much better prepared for ‘the plague’ than the fictional town of Oran in Albert Camus’ The Plague, as social media apps like Facebook, Facetime, WhatsApp lessen the emotional cost of social distancing, allowing people to remain connected. I do not shop much online, but in the past few days I have bought everything—from garments to groceries—online just to avoid going to markets, and it might become a habit now.” His recent online purchases include, ‘Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity’ —a book by Toby Ord, a young philosopher and a senior research fellow at Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute. “ Touching people is a taboo these days, and I am afraid verbal guidance to the blind will become a norm, making our lives more difficult.” Doctors, however, feel the pandemic might have some unintended benefits too, thanks to the government’s mass awareness campaign about the need for washing hands and maintaining hygiene.