Social Distancing: A view Point

 

 

In view of Corona Virus Outbreak we all are and will be undergoing complete lockdown for next three weeks. The COVID-19 virus is totally new to this sphere. It is further observed that there is no exact remedy for this virus yet, while the medical fraternity is also clueless about how to treat it. The best way to get rid of corona trouble I think is to prevent it before it goes to level 4. Meanwhile, ‘Social Distancing’ now-a-days is a widely used terminology. Unaware of whether this is newly coined term or have been in use for long in this context, I wonder, does social distancing mean only maintaining physical distance between two individuals?

 

 

As far as I remember, it was only after 1991 that is post globalization, when more and more people from India started shifting to abroad for work, especially to the United States! Slowly after that the scenario changed. The distances between individuals began reducing. The freeness in between men and women of various social and economic classes magnified. People here changed their behavior, dressing, eating and thinking too. We went on opening up more and more to the western world and the social distances notably reduced! Financially enabled people in India doubled. Typical middle-class people were suddenly elevated to higher middle class. All dreams, inspirations, aspirations, habits, addictions percolated to not so fortunate class, which was traditionally instrumental in social distancing. This class also adopted that freeness and reduced social distances.

 

The scenario takes me back to my childhood days! When I was a child there were many things happening around, certainly that I used to dislike, revolt to and retaliate. Extreme unhappy expressions I would hold up to! Waking up for the day, my mother used to send me straight to the bathroom (in local words, Mori - It used to be a one eighth part of our lavish, one room bhk, all in one!). She never allowed me to touch her unless I was clean. There was no lunch served unless ‘Naivedyam’ was served to the God during ‘Pooja’. No dinner served unless we recited evening ‘stotras’ and prayers!

 

We played with our sisters then, of course, before we grew into our teen ages. They gradually stopped playing along once they began catering to their menstrual cycles, and we were not even allowed to touch them during. Further, it is in my college days that talking to a classmate girl was nothing less than a heroic deed! ‘Who spoke to whom today’ and ‘which girl smiled at which boy’, remained usual gossip tale throughout the day at college! To befriend a boy or a girl by opposite sex used to be news and was widely assumed and considered as an affair! In my class, (fortunately or unfortunately!) there was only one girl amongst 30 students. She liked food from my lunch box. We used to share it. But, again, by maintaining necessary distance! Later, when I was about to marry, I was in dilemma for some days, whether I should hold hands of my ‘would be’ before wedding! But then we truly decidedly kept distance till we got married!

 

 

Growing up, I’ve seen many families then, where even youngest of the family members were called attaching socially respectful prefixes. My mother always pointed out to me that “The wife of your brother or friend should be called ‘Wahini’ (Sister-in-law).” Not just that, she told me, “Respect your sister-in-law the way you respect your mother.” When I was about to travel abroad for job, my father pulled me aside and said, “When you go abroad, you may notice modern and free relationships. But always remember, Indian women are Indian women, whatever they speak, behave or wear! Always make sure to keep distance”. I really don’t know whether there is any connection between discipline in personal life, individual distancing and social distancing?

 

Every human being has its own aura. It is nothing but a distance below which an individual (A Person or An Animal) should not be approached socially. It is scientific and measurable. There are electronic instruments which can measure every individual’s aura. There is spiritual reference to this too, and that is every individual transmits positive and negative energy in its surrounding area. Now corona virus situation is bringing to our notice that it is hygienically (medically) important also! Reduced social distances can actually cause pandemics. Safe distance between every individual should be kept to maintain social distance too! After all a society is a well-knit structure of individuals. A healthy society must have healthy individuals with respectful social distance in between its individual members.

 

When I say this, I do not mean that caste difference, gender bias, lingual bias, social hierarchy, racism etc. etc. should prevail! I nowhere mean to restore all previous things status quo! I simply mean to again adapt to an inherent system in Hindu society, being to give respect to every individual inspite of its age, gender, language, social, financial or any other status! We should inculcate habit of respecting each other, not because the other one is superior or inferior to you but he/she has equal right to be respected.

 

Indian society especially Hindus are conventionally very cultured, respectful and respect giving persons who always offer admiring space to every individual to keep proper social distance. Hindus have faced many terrible attacks by various brutal invaders, many social and cultural turmoil. It has also faced many viral epidemics, pandemics over and over for centuries and still survived. Poet Iqbal has very well said, “कुछ बात है की हस्ती मिटती नही हमारी, सदियो से है दुश्मन दौर-ए-जहां हमारा”. If we decide to respect everyone in our society, we will surely be successful in keeping desired social distance to face the challenge raised by corona virus in front of our beloved Nation!