To live or die

Almost all religions speak of the day the world will end and go on to describe in detail the spine chilling events that will unfold before it happens, and almost all of us except the doomsayers strongly believe it is somewhere in the distant future when we will all be dust. However, for the Indian middle class doomsday seems to have come slowly and silently and now has them firmly in its grasp with nowhere to go except wait out the end.

Everything was going good till March when the first cases of Carona virus were diagnosed and the Nation along with the rest of the world went into a collective shock fearing imminent death in hordes. Then the lockdown was announced and we all breathed a sigh of relief and entrenched ourselves in our houses and went out to fight the scourge with clapping, singing and burning diyas. While we were waiting for our victory over carona, the virus first stuck us from the rear which no one anticipated not the Government nor the high ranking economists  or the advisors in their ivory towers, the first casualty were the migrant workers who in a few hours lost their livelihood, their shelter and also the means to go back home. While we were still grappling with the humongous tragedy unfolding before us, we dug deep into our pockets and donated what all we could spare to the PM’s and CM’s relief funds little knowing that son we will need aid and have no one to help us.

Even as we were trying to make the best of the unfolding pandemic, the second blow hit us when we received our salaries taking a cue from the Government many of the private companies cut back our salaries citing there was no income. And we learnt to do with less and folded back our wants and needs to adjust to the smaller pockets. A small relief was with the lockdown the petrol and other incidentals were reduced which along with our fortitude to take all setbacks in stride we managed to make do with half our income making do with rice and dal with the occasional novelty of vegetables thrown in. And thanked God that we atleast had food in our plates.

As we got used to frugal living and were getting comfortable in our near borderline life, the Government surrendered to the might of Carona and relaxed the Lockdown and opened all establishments. We went back to the workplace happy with the tought that though we may be exposed to the virus atleast with going back to work our families will be spared from the slow death of wants and needs. However the aftershocks of the lockdown have hit us with a knee breaking blow, though we were now going to work though only thrice a week the salarybeing doled out was still a fraction of the full some. And to top it off with the easing of the lockdown the first to come were the men from the Electricity department with their bills for 3 months of electricity consumed all calculated at the highest bracket and for most of us it was equal to six months of electricity bill which had to be paid in full at one go.

Even as we withdrew from our savings to pay the electricity bill and were going back to our frugal comfort when the next whammy came from the portals of learning and knowledge. The childrens school the nightmare started with an innocent watsapp message asking the school fees be paid, and the school administration was magnanimous in stating the annual fees could be paid in 3 or 4 installments instead of at one go. As we were trying to find out what we could sell or pawn to pay the fees when the reminder came that failure to pay the fees will mean the school would not be able to apy its teachers, now we were in a moral dilemma and taking the bold decision pawned a few tolas of gold to pay for the children’s school fees when the school again sent a reminder for the payment for the books. And even as we were dreading how we could generate this cash when the school messaged that due to the covid problem the school will be taking online classes and to organise for a computer for the children. And now here we are dreading how to survive a week leave alone a month on a curtailed salary, we have stopped using the TV and have just one light switched on at any time and the whole family sleeps in a single room so as to use just one fan, but all the money we save in electricity today is swallowed up at the petrol pump tomorrow with the daily increase in fuel price, when I go to fill my bike’s tank with its daily dose of half a pint. Like my family my bike too is living hand to mouth.

Where a few months back a couple of cases of corona in the city were enough to send the entire family into panic today we give just a cursory glance to the 1000 plus cases a day and putting on our mask go out into the world trying to make ends meet while keeping up the façade of middle class respectability and wellbeing. It is very well for the CM of the State to say don’t go to private hospitals but what other option is there, the Government frittered away precious time that we had since January to ramp up the medical infrastructure and recruit doctors and nurses and support staff in publicity stunts on showcasing preparedness that spoke of capacity to treat 1000’s of patients but which crumbled when the cases increased to a just few hundreds leave alone the 1000 and more that are being diagnosed everyday. And as we struggle in our fight against the virus and the avalanche of financial woes, the Government has wiped its hands off the people, and is busy demolishing buildings and closing down hospitals making money and filling up its coffers, leaving us to the mercy of God and fate. We do not know how many of us will survive this virus and can only pray that if we are afflicted to make the end short without putting our families under a financial burden that will take decades to overcome.