The Corona Shift

When I wrote my last article on the corona outbreak, little did the world realize that it will suffer a pandemic at a scale which is unprecedented, will bring everything to a stop and kill thousands. It started in the Wuhan province in China and now has spread across the globe in no time. 

Since the beginning of modern times mankind has never had a chance to look back and take stock of where it was headed. The so called progress kept on happening and man just went along with the flow because all seemed to be hunky dory.

Progress in Scientific, economic, sports, business, technology spheres have accrued a lot of gains and we started to take the world for granted. Never in our wildest imagination did we ever expect that the world as we know it will come to an end. That actually has happened. Investment plans going forward months and years have come to a naught overnight. The stock market, the economy, the epidemic situation all are crying out for solutions which are just not forthcoming. There is no precedent. It seems nature has called a halt to the breakneck pace at which mankind was traveling.

Even at the best of times man on this planet hardly knew where he was going. The analogy of a car traveling at night at high speed with weak headlights comes to mind.  Suddenly a pandemic has come into view and now there is panic braking all over the globe. Markets tumbling, washing away billions of dollars overnight. Businesses coming to a grinding halt, supply chains getting disrupted. Humans never have experienced such a situation in recent history. No person alive can remember such a calamity in their lifetime.

As a race on this planet we were so used to having our way that it is extremely frustrating to see that we are not able to go about living our normal lives. As mankind progressed the pace of innovation increased, which added fuel to the fire of economic progress. This exponential growth in world economy and the inherent confidence in our ability to solve all our problems using technology, lulled mankind into a sense of false security. This confidence has now been shattered. Perhaps nature has called a halt to the entire madness that was happening. The breakneck pace has been slowed. 

 Mankind was obsessed with trade, commerce, margins, profits and stock indices. Its onslaught on nature is a known fact. Issues like greenhouse gasses, pollution were discussed and debated but no drastic steps have yet been taken to prevent potential natural disasters related to pollution. Mankind was not ready to take a hit to conserve nature.
This outbreak has caused a lot of economic/financial hardship. We have finally taken a hit, inadvertently. Perhaps this will bring to the worlds attention the bigger and urgent problems that it faces regarding the environment and make it realize that the world will have to sacrifice its profits, and incomes if we are to really make any progress in tackling the environmental issues.
Amidst all the chaos there are some bright spots. Nature seems to be claiming some of its spaces from our civilization. Dolphins were seen very close to the Mumbai coast as well as in Venetian canals which is not in anyone’s memory today. Air pollution in several cities across the globe has gone down due to lock downs. Though the world will take a big financial hit, nature will get a bonus. One other thing is becoming obvious. Contrary to the received wisdom, it seems the earth can heal itself. This was not unknown to scientists, but it is now becoming clear that all man has to do to clean up the earth is stop all his activities.When mankind retreats, nature takes over and starts the process of healing. Man need not spend billions of dollars in research to heal the earth. 
There have been some upsets in the conventional hierarchies in the economy. All the high rollers of the economy like actors, business community, high profile sportsmen like footballers, cricket players have taken the back seat. They are remembered remotely. Those who have taken the center stage, are the run of the mill people. Sanitation workers, healthcare staff, and those engaged in work which keep big cities running in lock downs. They are the new celebrities. 

The lesson to be learnt from this outbreak is that man cannot forget that nature is all powerful and it will assert itself in no uncertain measure if it does not get the due attention and respect. This cognizance will have to be at the back of our mind as we pick up the pieces and move on. 

The Corona Shift