We humans are a queer lot. During normal times — when masked humans at a bank was called a heist and standing six feet apart from friends was rude — we went about our everyday like tomorrow and the forever after that, was ours.
We refused to be locked in for the outside world was a dazzle of opportunities and the simplicity of being human had to wait. It took an unexpected twist to normality to bring out our resilience to light and the best out of us. I was in that crowd too.
Three days a week, the children ditched after school naps and play and we made long commutes to a sports academy that promised to make champions of them.
On the day Little Princess managed to hold the racket without dropping it, I had a mental draft of the champion’s-mother’s speech ready. The following week, we were in lockdown.
We humans are a resilient lot. If the pandemic threw glitches into our lives — some life-altering ones that caused losses, unimaginable heartache and pain, while others were those that involved children walking into meetings or disrupted networks — we supported one another to help move on.
The parents in my son’s school WhatsApp group, that usually springs to life during examinations, have shared so much more than just academic support.
During the summer, when Twitter was abuzz with #inthistogether and homebound parents had to juggle pay cuts, the anxiety of job losses and children, who for the very first time had little to do during the day, they decided to use the online platform to share their skills with groups of children expecting nothing but an active audience in return.
One parent put a start by volunteering to single-handedly teach the effective use of Microsoft Applications in batches through the summer vacations; a mother of two engaged tweens with life stories of influential personalities who live among us.
Most of us have not seen one another in person, but we have shared prayers, condolences, a helping hand and a virtual shoulder for those who needed it most, links for job vacancies, activities to keep bored tweens engaged and information to keep the vaccination drive going.
Surprised with our own humanity
Across the world, there have been innumerable acts of kindness that have surprised us with our own humanity.
Being human is a given, while keeping our humanity is a choice. I first got to know Dr. Ruchi because we shared a common love for the written word. When she was willing to use her experience in publication to help us wade through the technicalities of self-publishing, I was sure she was in the publishing business.
It took me a few calls to get to know that this doctor could wield the pen as deftly as she used her skill to help those in need by taking calls of help in the midst of a working day or clearing the fog of confusion in these rather different times.
When she was thanked for her efforts, all this humble doctor requested was that we treat doctors and nurses, who have been risking lives and livelihoods putting in long hours, with the respect they deserve.
We humans are a queer lot. Some things don’t change even during a Pandemic. When Little Princess was seen playing with her racket, that hasn’t seen the light of day for a while, I assumed she missed the sport.
A short while later, she emptied a bottle of the ‘forbidden’ glitter mostly on to every inch of the racket and the rest onto her and everything around her.
As I took into the shiny mess, her face shone with happy glitter as she displayed her handiwork, I wondered how I had missed seeing the great artist that resided inside of her. I was sure that this was how Picasso’s mom felt when she must have seen his first handiwork.
— Pranitha Menon is a freelance writer based in Dubai. Twitter: @MenonPranitha
