I remember watching a multi-starrer Hollywood movie – Contagion. The plot revolved around a deadly virus transmitted by respiratory droplets. The first death triggers a series of deaths and home-quarantine scenes of young kids and adults alike. Medical researchers & health officials could identify the virus in time and save the population from a major outbreak. Well, to be honest in 2011, this movie felt like an ‘act of fiction, but now we know it better. This all is so eerie to believe. A bio-weapon that can make or break the human species on its dispersal.
Just the other day, I was deep into my thoughts when my daughter broke the silence – “Are we going for the cycle ride, I am ready?” She was body covered and stacked with gloves, face mask, socks, jacket, and her own personal sipper. Who imagined just for an indoor bike ride we had to undergo an entire session of ‘getting ready‘.
Gradual Shift expedited with a super-sonic speed
We all were discussing work from home, climate change, carbon footprint, and redundancy of lower-value jobs for ages. But never imagined we will be thrown into the cycle of change such abruptly and unpredictably.
It has been more than 7 months since I have had an auto-ride, visited a nearby shopping mall, or got a haircut. Didn’t taste pani-puri or Mumbai’s famous sandwich from the street vendor, things that weren’t considered a ‘privilege’ before. Buying vegetables and groceries was a personal affair with vendors, that also moved to ‘amazon fresh’, and online delivery options.
Schools had two choices at the beginning of this academic year, prepare for a long battle with parents, or take school online. They smartly chose the latter, and as a parent, I was so glad about this. Growing kids are demanding, and managing them at home 24/7 isn’t a joke. Barely 4 hours of online school was such a happy breather in the beginning. But nothing lasts forever, nor was my happiness. Slowly, I too sulked into the vicious circle of school homework projects, etc.
It was like a life shifted from normal gear to a tech-based sci-fi movie, with the best satellite internet provider working behind the scenes all the time; keeping us all connected, whether to work, online school, or friends and family.
Offices are running with a minimum workforce offline, and my husband is working from home. It was such a relief seeing him home throughout the day, but soon it turned out to be a challenge. Well, honestly, this situation has shut the debate on ‘work from home‘ v/s ‘working mothers’ forever. Voila!
Nature takes its course – for a better
There are numerous changes that happened over the last few months, and we are generally being sarcastic with the year 2020. The lockdown and isolation have put human touch and feel on the back burner. As a society, we felt violated by the foreign virus, which brazenly confiscated our freedom. However, nature has the perfect balance of right and left. There are a number of possible futures around us, look around you – work-life balance, learning beyond horizons, co-existing with nature, global markets, cloud kitchens, and much more.
The change is only constant, we have heard and read this many times before. With the current scenario, change is the only way forward. Coronavirus may act as a deterrent for many new dynamics. Digital is the new horizon for marketing, education, finance, economy.
Education guided with technology – EdTech (educational technology) is the future of all education scenarios. A joint community of experts, teachers, students, institutions, and parents for better learning and educational products.
Financial sector going beyond the traditional modus operandi and inducing technology, FinTech (financial technology). Your birthday crowdfunding on Facebook is a very simple example of FinTech. Imagine the power of this technology in the coming years.
Health Technology is already making great progress across the world under the scrutinizing eyes of the WHO. Sensors and wearable medical equipment are the most common health tech. devices we use in daily life.
The affordable and viable concept of cloud kitchens helps those who can’t prepare their own food. We have seen these services in office canteens and single messes, today it seems a better option for home delivery of delicious food.
There are various expandable options for a better and viable future after coronavirus tainted the traditional working of the world. However, a few areas can’t be ignored like, mental health, socializing, leisure without worry, etc.
The biggest concern today is mental health and human-to-human connection. We as a society have changed forever due to this novel virus attack, but being hopeful for a better future is the way forward.
We as a society have to accept this change and act according to the new normal. Education institutes, healthcare facilities, financial institutions, retailers, and the entire economy has to reinvent themselves for better and good.
What we see today, is a deliberate shift in changing gears of the ‘cycle of change’. Do you believe it? Share your feedback in the comments below.
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127 Comments
I’m glad that you stressed upon the fact that the novelty of online classes and work from home has worn out over time exposing the need for us to have ‘real’ contact with people. However, like EdTech and FinTech, there can never be a technology that can make mental health easier to handle or care about. Good post, D! Thought provoking.
I absolutely agree with this, V. Thank you for stopping by.
In 2011 I watched Contigen as new release unreal drama , who was knowing in 2020 this unreal drama will become the reality of life. Very true Dipika this deadly virus has turned our lives upside down in many ways, though at some aspects like in terms of Nature purity, this human confinement worked as. a boon. What to say about Kids the level of sincerity n patience they have shown indeed it is at par!
This Pandemic has changed us, irreversibly, whether we accept it or not. It will be better to go along with these changes, as even when the Pandemic ends things will not be as they were.
Yes, the pandemic has changed the society forever. There isn’t any doubt in that, as human kind we have no other way but to accept it and make amends with the way of living. Thanks for stopping by.
At first I was just not ready to accept this change, but then with constant self talk and introspection I have come to terms with the new normal
Yes, it was tough for everyone. Thanks for stopping by
As a working mom, Nowadays I am getting more time for my daughter and cooking. I think people are spending more time on social media also.
Time management is getting mixed up into various angles, so hopefully we will be able to shift gears for better work-life balance. Thanks for stopping by
The pandemic brought about the best and worst of people.On one hand people donated enthusiastically to the PM cares fund as soon as it was announced, while on the other hand, people resented their own neighbours simply because someone was sick, and societies blocked covid warriors and non-covid health workers too from entering their own home. Ironically enough these could be the same set of people.
That’s the irony and we can’t deny that. Thank you for stopping by.
Contagion was a brilliant movie! And this pandemic has brought about many changes that are likely to reverberate for quite some time.
Yes, that’s pretty evident. Hope the changes are favorable to humanity and future generations. Thanks for stopping by.
The pandemic has completely changed lives globally. I saw contagion only after the pandemic was taking rounds in news. April was panic, slowly we learned and now we are still hoping, praying, and adjusting ourselves to the changes around us and in our lives.
Yes, we adapted for good and for our own survival. As they say, survival instincts kicked in. So, let’s hope for good to come. Thanks for stopping by.
This pandemic will definitely leave the world a lot different, economically particularly. But human nature won’t improve. Sorry to sound pessimistic or even cynical. Pandemics have come and gone in the past too. Our species never learnt any worthwhile lessons.
You are right, only if we learn to mend our ways and not interfere with the nature. Let’s hope for better sense to prevail. Thanks for stopping by.
Contagion is so relevant to current pandemic time. Life has had a paradigm change during this lock down.More importantly,we have realised the importance of people,family and how fragile the material world is.
I absolutely agree with the sentiment, this pandemic has actually shaken our belief of living in materialism. Hope this is a change for good.
COVID pandemic has forced us all to break with the past and imagine our life anew. I doubt we will ever return back to the old normal. The new normal is going to be completely different.
I agree, new normal is going to be completely different. Thank you for stopping by
The pandemic descended on mankind, affecting every aspect on Earth. Nature smiled while it took the lives of many and affected people and economies around the world adversely. As humans, we have an innate spirit to adapt and take situations headlong. Since the turn of 2020 to today, each one of us has learnt to make adjustments to the best of our understanding and we will continue to make shifts till the pandemic ends.
True, this is probably the magnum shift that all were talking about. However, the pendulum is still hanging.
This pandemic and lockdown has changed many a things , I doubt things will be like before , most important mental health.
I agree, the time has changed forever and so are our perspectives. Thank you for stopping by
I think we are giving nature the time to heal itself 🙂
Very rightly pointed out the repercussions of the current pandemic on human existence. With all the wrongdoings done by humanity over the decades, nature has taken its course for the better. Hope we sail through this, imbibing all the learnings and accepting the cycle of change.
Yes, that is the way forward. Thank you for stopping by.
I watched Contagion in March sometime, a few days before the lockdown and I was amazed how closer it had come to reality!
This post is like a capsule of things that happened in the last 7 months…and it is amazing how nature has thrived while humans restricted themselves. Btw I am waiting for a hair-cut too!!
Life has changed so much. However, it gave us time to take a pause and reflect. I am actually enjoying my time indoors else I would be running around the clock since morning 5 to evening 9. Everything for me had to be on a particular time and as per schedule. I would be out from 2:00 pm to 9:pm and would be rushing in the morning to prepare all three meals and then work. After 2, I would have to brave mumbai traffic , eat dinner in a rickshaw ride back home. Now I can plan the day better, no pick up drop, no running around as per other’s schedule. I can make my own schedule because everyone is at home. I get more help for household chores from hubby & daughter since they are at home. So I guess I feel less stressed Out & I actually have more time for myself. Though I want this pandemic to end and back to pre Covid times, I am worried if I will adjust to the fast paced life again. I am too comfortable at my hometown with help around me and my strong support system.
I am doing a similar theme but in hindi. Good to be here from My Friend Alexa
The effects of corona are huge. Few things have changed for good and few made us more adaptable. Nature had it’s own way of expressing.. “Do not take me for granted “.
I so agree with you…human to human connect has just gone out of the window…text messages can be so confusing…I am yearning for things to go back to the way they were…maybe one day they will.
It’s a life changing experience for all of us. I just hope we learn and act accordingly and not repeat the mistakes.
This year is the year of so many new normals. Sadly, it takes a pandemic to realise what are the things that mean the most to us. I hope we don’t go back to earlier ways once the things are back to normal. Contagion makes so much sense post the pandemic. I wish the movie had a better crisper ending but nonetheless very relevant.
#MyFriendAlexa #ContemplationOfaJoker #Jokerophilia
The pandemic has changed us whether for good or bad. It’s time to have to accept and change ourselves. You have listed it correctly
In a time where we all are dealing with, this is a wake up call so we can plan for a better future. Also, the movie Contagion seemed exactly what we all were dealing with.
Yes, an eerie replica of our current situation.
Such a thoughtful and enriching piece Dipika. The world indeed is changing n it is evident buddy
The pandemic has not been easy but it does have brought in some really good changes at a lightening pace, the entire virtual work culture has brought in so many benefits in terms of reduced pollution levels, less time spending in commute an dmore family time.
The pandemic has altered our lives tremendously. And it is here to stay. For longer than we had imagined. It’s only with time that we shall understand the long term effects.
Yes, I absolutely agree with the thought. Thank you for stopping by.
Mental and eye health is something which will definitely take a toll. Already we have started seeing glimpses. And with work from home, the distinction of office hrs vs at home hrs us totally blurred. Companies expect you to work 24*7 now. What’s do you feel
Yes, I agree. This is a new shift and we were not ready for this. Employers/organizations have to work it over to build a better eco-system of work-life balance.
This is the new normal, although a lot many continue to throw caution to the wind. Something that was quite a regular thing a year back seems like a luxury now.
Thank you for stopping by, glad you like it.
Truly this pandemic has taught us such a lot. It has mainly made it very clear that all the things in life that we take for granted are actually privileges granted to us by the Universe. This situation has changed our perspective towards life manifolds. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and views.
Yes, I agree. Thank you for stopping by, glad you like it.
my thoughts are that nothing lasts forever, i know that pandemic has changed our society we all would bounce back. i’d be glad if our society still keeps few good hygiene habits out of this whole scenario.
I have a long list of positives from this pandemic. It has given earth time to heal, brought about family bonding, time for introspection and mainly realise that health is surely wealth.!
I completely agree with you Dipika. The year 2020 has been a year of introspection & contemplation. It has certainly helped us pause and understand life from a different angle. I loved the article but I am just craving normalcy to set in.
I don’t like this word “new normal” coz it’s not normal, it’s just that we are adjusting ourselves to it,.
I agree with the sentiment, however, this is going to change the way we live. Thank you for stopping by.
The pandemic has turned lives upside down, made us stop from rushing around and actually made all of us wait to take a breath (with a mask on). It showed us what really mattered were people, our relations with everyone around us and above all, that it was important to be human. I think it was a much needed reset that we all needed, but the impact was a little too much, and the effects will be with us, for a while. Hope everyone manages to pull through…
This should act as a deterrent to act wisely and look away from the materialistic goals.
We knew evolving was a part of life but this drastic change has surely made us to turn the events around 360 degrees.
I swear with this pandemic situation so much is changed in our life and glad we learned also so many new norms !! Happy to read your post which covers all!!
Completely agree. Pandemic and the current situation has changed everything. As you rightly said, change is the way to move forward. A thought-provoking post!
Thank you, Deepa. Glad you like it.
It is true that the pandemic has changed our lifestyle and made us face our deepest fears. Now it is up to us, what we make of it, I do hope we all incline towards the positive aspects of it and draw learnings from our experiences.
Thank you so much for stopping by, glad you like it.
Indeed it is a cycle of change, few things are for good, and for a few, we need to adapt to it! Well articulated post
The world is surely changed and its very evident.. love the way you wrote everything on this.
Thank you, glad you like it
It is indeed a great change, but we have started living with it. Life is the most interesting puzzle game.
It definately will bring a change in our lifestyle however, now its getting into our nerves. It’s getting gloomy and makes us feel so helpless…i hope things get better soon..
I agree a lot has changed in the society and one more old thing these technological advancements are used and that thing is gossip. Something about society will never change that it will always be gossip seeking.
Yes, hope this is for good.
The biggest change I saw was that Indian parents are not asking their boys to cut their long hair! 😉 Other changes like bosses agreeing to work from home, uninspired students finding interesting online courses to learn etc are things that everyone knows by now. This invisible enemy has changed many things all around the world in such a short time!
Yeah! Thanks for bringing into this fun element.
Truly technology has been the savior of the day making in-roads in every aspect of our life now
Pandemic has changed the way we see and experience life, starting with simple things to getting more digital and with that comes being more careful as that leaves a chance for frauds to happen.
In addition teaching my son the use of technology at a age when we knew nothing other than doordarshan and regional channels airing songs / movies on weekend! World suddenly flipped with no warning 😐
I agree, let’s just hope this change is for good future.
That movie left me with a question- what we show on screen can become the reality??? I am afraid..moving to mars, climate change and much more creates a kind of panic at the back of my mind. We may come back to normal but with some permanent changes
#lifemarblesRead
I watched contagion just before our lockdown. I never imagined that we would be holed up like this. I really wish we gett back to pre Corona days. #tmmreads
I agree, but sometimes we need a deterrent to change the way of living.
Very true. I completely agree with each and every line in your post. It has been such a mess past 7 months. Our lives, outlook of the society, everyday living etc. everything has changed so abruptly. Hope this “so-called” “new normal” goes off soon and we go back to “old normal” – Old is Gold 🙂
Totally agree. Pandemic has changed us individually and also as a Society. We can never be what we were before in the old normal.
Some of the changes are good. Hope they are irreversible.
Yes, I absolutely agree. Thank you for stopping by.
This is so nicely written piece about today’s situation. This can be looked up for the social change caused by COVID 19 after decades if not centuries
Glad you like it, thank you for stopping by.
The world as we know has changed in most unexpected way.
True, that.
Even on health front it has changed us. Less exposure to sun, less Vitamin C. I didn’t know about the term cloud kitchens..
Children no longer play outside. Meeting friends is forbidden almost. It’s sad.
A change is always tough to adapt,I hope we see a better tomorrow. Thank you for stopping by.
There are many TV Series and movies based on similar virus, but there it all ends well. It gives us hope. In real life life is not like this. Instead of living in denail we should accept the new reality and look for ways to accept it. Home is not only our home now but office and school aswell. It surely double the work, stress and responsibility. Human nature is to adapt and I am sure we will soon. We will all survive through this together. Thanks for writing and sharing this.
Absolutely, we can see the change and how well adapted to this change.
These are indeed testing times for all of us. The pandemic has changed our lifestyle completely. Our lives have come to depend so much on technology. This is indeed a double edged sword. EdTech, FinTech we have technology for everything. But at the same time for the simple pleasures of life like a bicycle ride we have to go through a process of preparation and have lost our freedom. Let us hope the situation eases soon.
I feel this pandemic has changed humanity in more ways than one can imagine. And many of these changes will stay on during years to come.
True that,thank you
Sure. Initially everything was a novelty. Work from home sounded nice and safe, online classes were a good option and all that…… but as you so rightly mentioned it’s a reality check now. And we’re all missing the hands on experience of everything.
Neatly expressed post.
Thank you, Radhika. Glad you connected with the thought.
Life is changing post-Covid and positive write-ups like this can make the transition comfortable:)
Good post, Dipika!
Loved reading your article. True there have been many challenges during this pandemic, but there have been silver linings too!
Yes, I totally believe in that too. Thank you for stopping by.
One of the things that the pandemic has forced me to do is to take a pause and to just be in the moment – something which I had forgotten. I hope to keep continuing this practice 🙂 And I really hope the discussion on mental health continues and doesn’t fizzle out.
Although this pandemic has brought families closer (as many of us have travelled to our hometowns, thanks to work from home facilities), but it has somewhere made people feel lonely and more depressed as well. As there is now no differentiation between your work space and “home” space, children don’t have a playground to run around in or we no more have coffee dates with friends. I don’t really know whether “work from home” is a boon or a bane here.
Dekhte dekhte 7 mahine poore ho gaye! There are so many things that I haven’t been able to do either, once we wanted to work from home and see, and today it’s over half a years we’ve been working from home and want to go to work now.
True! totally agree with you
Whether the virus goes away or not, our lives have changed for good.
In a sense, yes. Thank you
So true! Covid has changed our lives completely. Eating pani puri or sandwich from a street vendor has now become a novelty and we do not know when we will have the chance to be that carefree again. But it has also taught us to be self made and we have started learning a lot sitting at home. Thanks to online classes atleast the students wil not suffer.
I absolutely agree, seeing the efforts to revive the economy and growth is a +ve for us. Thank you for stopping by.
You are so right in saying that normal things from the past now seem like privileges. I had to move from one city to another amidst this pandemic and I can’t even describe how helpless I felt. Awesome post, Dipika
The pandemic may not be totally a bane but a time for introspection and we need to adapt accordingly. We need to work on lessening the carbon footprint, deforestation, increase hygiene to lead a happy life. The lockdown showed us a different side of life where one could experience the beauty of nature minus pollution, spend family time, eat hygienic food and take a pause from the rat race
Absolutely, and it is for better good to find our way to co-exist with nature. Thanks for stopping by.
Life has changed a lot indeed. I am one of those eunlucky people who don’t have the liberty of working from home. So things have almost gone back to normal for me, only with masks and sanitizers. I still clean myself, my clothes and anything on my person when I get back home. I still stay away from cabs and public transport but slowly I am returning back to what used to be the norm.
Dipika this post mirrors my emotions so clearly. I felt for a moment my emotions and feelings of these 7 months have been penned by you. I so agree initially the online classes seemed so nice as I got breather from one child for sometime. But later on the vicious cycle indeed got on to me. recently when I got the opportunity to get an threading done I was like it was the best day of my life.
I hope things change soon for us.
[…] Also, read How Corona changed us as a society here. […]
The pandemic has indeed changed our lives in a different way but I think most of the things are trying to return to the “new” normal today… let’s see what the next few months bring us…nice post!
Thank you for stopping by, glad you liked it.
Yes along with nature, we are also accepting other things for the better. We have tortured nature enough. And its amazing how people can shift when there’s a crisis and otherwise they behave so rude.
We have lost a lot during this oandemic and I can truly realte.
Yes dear I could co relate with each and every sentiment you had expressed in this post. since beginning, just like you, taking my girls to evening bike ride seems like a so much stressful thing. we have to keep so many things in mind while just going out for routine shopping or just walking. this pandemic has taken the peace of our normal lives and honestly like all others, I am just waiting for vaccine for this disease. hope everything gets normal soon and we get back to our normal lives.
The year 2020 actually showed us that ‘change is the only constant’. There has been a paradigm shift in almost every aspect of our lives. We have to follow the ‘new normal’ now so that we can get back to ‘normal’ as fast as possible. The only way to deal with all these changes is to keep an open mind. A very thoughtful post.
I absolutely agree with you. Thank you for stopping by.
SOme food for thought! We have definitely learned that there are things which are possible in a way we never imagined. But I am not really sure how sustainable these ecosystems are in the ling run!
This is so true! All put out there in your post in black and white. The WFH is fine for a while but the lack of human-human contact is what I dread. Slowly the society is growing apart. When nuclear families set in, families grew apart but friends were there, neighbours were around. Now all are stranded, and think twice before inviting or going over to a friend’s/relative’s place.
Just like you the entire corona saga reminded of the contagion movie. The similarities are uncanny.
Absolutely, thank you for stopping by.
The best change I saw was the fact that most of us our back to basics. Teaching, cooking and cleaning on our own. Spending time with our family and paying more attention towards our inner growth.
Hahah, I agree! That’s definitely the best thing that happened in this phase.
There were some hard hitting points in this post and I am sure many of us would relate to these. The pandemic has brought major changes in our life and we all are coping with it in our ways. Slowly we trying to get back to life but we know it will take time and patience 🙂
I’ll add this aspect knowing things from the inside – the medical sector struggled badly in this pandemic and had to adapt too. We had to relearn skills that had stopped being relevant to many specialities, we had to deal with lack of equipment, not having a fixed treatment protocol and yes, even salary reductions which had affected so many sectors.
As you mentioned, the mental stress has been one of the worst of it all… Exhausting us most.
The Lockdown and the new normal made me appreciate my loneliness and made me adjust tot he new normal with a more positive frame of mind. I have also jotted down my positives from this pandemic.It’s good to accept change rather than fight it, Isn’t it?
[…] Also read, How Corona changed us as a Society? here. […]