Contagion in a connected world

I am not writing this in Mumbai - I managed to fly out just hours before CM Uddhav Thackeray's new restrictions on Maharashtra kicked in. Domestic flights will stop tomorrow. It really was the nick of time.

It takes something like this to make one realise how connected the world is. Every item you own has passed through so many hands. So many people had to work together to produce your breakfast. And of course we need each other in ways that are less tangible. We need to come together to celebrate faith, or our favourite teams, or protest injustice. And we understand the value of these when they are gone. 

And of course, one comes to understand which services are absolutely essential. Which kinds of labour we label "unskilled" but cannot do by ourselves. I really, really hope we come out of this with a new respect for these people and that ensure their lives are henceforth easier. Even if that means upending the present way we do economics (and politics).

Well, this is a blog about Mumbai. As you probably know, the city is under full lockdown, understandably grinding to a halt with trains halting their wheels. The roads were empty on Friday itself, we even passed smoothly over the Sea Link, on the way to the international airport that seemed a shadow of its usual buzzing self. 

My institute has basically suspended its functioning, with classes happening over Zoom and less formal interactions taking place over Skype and Hangouts. There are some adorable moments like random domestic noises in the background, that many people are relating to worldwide. (Yeah, I don't know how I would get through this pandemic without social media.) It is a new not-normal, and I'm sure we won't go back to an identical old normal. I hope it is the right things that change.

Wash your hands, stay home if possible, treat people with kindness, hope I can get back to Mumbai-related posting soon!