That’s how one knows when a guest arrives, right? They ring the door bell, they knock at your door, inform you in advance that they will be coming. We had a guest too for almost a month but this one came unannounced, crept into our home and took away a family member too! Forever…..

Yes, we too experienced Corona, so closely this time that we will never forget for our lives what it is capable of doing. I remember there were times when we switched off the TV or changed the channels, infact boycotted the news channel at our home for a few days when everything sounded scary and depressing about corona on the TV but, when we ourselves were infected with it, what could we switch off or boycott?? We had to live with it, live through it, live to defeat it !

The two weeks in quarantine did give me some time to introspect though. Sharing with you all a few things that crossed my mind, my very own take home lessons and experience gained from corona-

1. Jab khud par ban aati hai tab hi baat samajh aati hai – Despite of it being the end of April and Delhi being as hot as it can be, we didn’t switch on the AC. Not once in 15 days. No, not because corona transformed us into some sensitive and responsible humans who thought for the environment and global warming but because our own lives were at stake due to fever and fear of corona. We learnt it in our younger days at school that air conditioners emit greenhouse gases, a class of chemicals that scientists believe depletes the Earth’s ozone layer, it increases global warming, but did we bother? Ever applied what we learnt? If only we could be a little considerate for the preservation of environment and our planet without having our own selfish need involved, how different things could be.

2. Bhagwan bharose duniya kayam hai – No matter the scientific advancement or infrastructural development, it didn’t even matter that we lived in the capital city of our country, at the end of the day amidst this crisis we experienced that there is only on Mr.G on whom we can rely. No I don’t mean the Government, it’s only God whom we could look up to….after all with no oxygen, no bed, no hospital, no medicines and black marketing of all of these on the high whom can we complain about and whom to? The promised Ram Rajya that we were actually looking up to has in reality rendered us Ram bharose !

3. Paani bottle me, saanse cylinder me, aage aur kya ?? – During my quarantine one of our family friends shared a very meaningful message that when the purified water started selling in bottles we didn’t realize the direction we were heading to, rather we thought ourselves to be privileged and classy claiming, “I only drink Mineral water!” No wonder we landed into a world where even the oxygen that one breathes is now sold in cylinders. Jago Mohan pyaare, jago! Look what we are landing ourselves into.

4. Hum toh Rajnikant ke desh se hai, corona humara kya bigadega..? – Last year Corona came across as a surprise visitor but this year it’s totally our fault that this unwanted guest has taken the liberty to bash our senses out! For the entire year the Government had been playing the recorded message before the caller tune on the phone ‘ Jab tak davai nahi tab tak dhilayi nahi’, ‘ Do gaj ki duri mask hai zarori’. We gradually learnt to turn a deaf ear to what was being repeatedly highlighted for us over the phone. Lack of COVID appropriate behavior on our end is responsible to a great extent of getting us where we are. Take responsibility man, abhi toh jaago!

5. Mr. India dikhta nahi par maarta hai…! – So does Corona!! With each negligence from our end the virus is mutating itself, turning powerful, dodging tests, infecting and damaging lungs within a short span of time. The increased number of mortality in the middle age group is enough of an eye opener for us to understand what we are dealing with. The families who unfortunately lost their family members have been devastated for life by this virus, a loss which nothing can compensate or cover up.

6. Proning se nahi darna hai sahab panic se bachna hai – With oxygen level dipping even before one can understand it is very important to have a pulse oxymeter handy. Keeping a track of the vitals on two hourly basis is helpful. Sleeping in prone position helps to increase oxygen levels naturally and panic will cause your heartbeat to increase and oxygen to drop! So stay calm and keep doing breathing exercises, drink lots of water, keep yourself positive in thoughts and eat healthy nutritious, protein rich diet.

7. Munna Bhai MBBS ki nahi Dr. Asthana ki suno – Please do not share your own medical prescriptions, or follow social media medical advises and medicine names even if you are tempted to do so. Not every patient requires HRCT scan, not every patient needs to be on steroids, everyone’s medications will differ as per their individual case and remember this time there are post COVID complications too. Consult only a qualified doctor who knows his job to help yourself recover out of this with ease and confidence and encourage any one else having COVID to do so too.

8. Hospital ya Ghar ?? – Even though corona can cause severe damage to one’s life, it is also true that maximum people affected by COVID are having mild or moderate conditions and will majorly recover at home with proper care, diet and timely doctor’s advise. Not everyone who has COVID needs to be hospitalized.

In fact corona also made me realize that one’s life journey, is in reality, only one’s own to live, to take responsibility and to manage as once infected not even your own family or friends can come close to you or physically be there to help you recover.

Lastly, it also taught me that as much as the world needs humanity to survive through this pandemic so also does it need gratitude and humbleness in our behavior and character. Its time that the ‘social animal’ of this universe tamed himself to fall in line, take responsibility of his existence and learn to mutually co-exist with this virus which has turned larger than life and is probably….here to stay !