On 24th August 2021, the WHO's Chief Scientist, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, who's luckily an Indian, said, that the "Covid-19" which took a toll of lives and normalcy for almost two years is going to enter the endemicity.
What is endemicity? A term that's similar to the word "pandemic" and comes from the word "endemic" (which you've probably heard of) is now a word, almost everyone will
Endemic : Meaning
Endemicity is a condition where there is a low or moderate level of transmission of a virus, which is considered a situation lower to a pandemic. It's basically a pandemic condition when people have already learned to deal with the virus and that they have controlled the virus in their own hands. In very simple terms, during the pandemic, COVID was dominating us, now(if there's an endemic), we'll be dominating the "CoronaVirus". WELL, that's quite unlikely, at least at a stage when the world's gonna enter the third wave of the Pandemic, but this is for sure going to bring a light of hope to a large number of home. Now, the Coronavirus is going to be maintained on a baseline
History
If we scroll down the history, we'll find a number of known diseases to the world in the list. For example, Dengue, Malaria, chickenpox(varicella) are all endemics, which are still known to the world for causing problems to the general public. In fact, these diseases exist still now, yet we don't exclusively talk about them. Why? Because the world has forgotten it's aggressiveness. But, all these diseases have been known to once cause danger and pose a lot of threat to the world by spreading itself, just like the Coronavirus. So it's likely that one day, we also forget Coronavirus for it's hyperactivity and consider it to be a seasonal/occasional illness. Thus, it's worth securing hope from the history. There's a big likeliness that this Covid-19 is going to end one day. The pandemic itself went through a number of stages, before it's gonna change to the endemic. Here's a chart(source-WHO) of the journey we all went through. But the way we went, it's only us who can explain, not even explain in words. In general, there are a number of facts, unexplainable, but can only be felt. Loss of Lives It's not an unknown fact that the Covid took a toll of livelihood, and if not livelihood, it took away the interest of general public, by pushing us into our households. Above all, it took away the definite normalcy from our living and placed us into an incorrigible situation. Just imagine, how much the economically backward classes suffered. If they were outside, Corona killed them and if they were inside, poverty and hunger killed them. These hand-to-mouth people had no other way than taking up other jobs which made them toil a lot, but at least give them a living. But in India, it's generally difficult to get a job. So, most of them committed suicides, which was pathetic. But for the normal middle class, pandemic took away everything they had. Once, we were allowed to step out and at the very next moment, we were again pushed inside. Basically bestowing hope once and then again snatching it away. That's hard for any man to survive. But one thing that's true is, Pandemic showed us ways of inventing ourselves every new day, we started making our own bread, cared about living, and above all learned the value of patience, which is very critical for survival. This pandemic boosted our creativity and innovation; when no way was working out, we learnt to make ways by ourselves. We transformed to a Digital World, where each and everything today is online. So, there's even enough to learn from the pandemic, that there's never an end, even if we are at our worst, we at least make something out to make sure that there's still hope. "So, never give up. Fight till the last; probably life has bigger reasons for you". India and vaccination
India is now known for it's largest vaccination drive in the world. Among other things, India is busy in vaccinating people starting from the orphans to the senior citizens, while the ground report contrasts the statement. It's quite acceptable that the excessively big population in India is still a problem when it comes to vaccinating, yet India has achieved a lot more than expected in this regard. In most places, the government is supplying Covaxin instead of Covidshield, while most people support Covidshield for different reasons. This is the reason why there's a lot of hesitation around to take vaccines(among other causes) and in some places, the practice of forced vaccination has been proved. It's in a way, not wrong, firstly to boost India's health and economy and secondly, this backup is needed. But are people really free to choose to get vaccinated in their own ways? To all reasoning, the answer would be 'no'. The people who belong to the economically weaker sections and can't afford to have Covidshield(because that requires money), have to get anyway vaccinated with Covaxin, even if they don't want it, because the government-supplied Covaxin is for free. So, there's definitely no freedom of choice. Mostly aftereffects of vaccination have created a fear in the minds of the people, and that's the main reason people are hesitating to take the second dose. However, people have to understand, whatever vaccine it is, the ultimate protection of the body is their own responsibility.
Now, because the COVID, pandemic, quarantine and all are a completely new experience to the people of this generation, there are certain stuff that occur very unknowingly and there are certain untold stories during the pandemic, which will surely draw your interest and inspire you on your own lives even if you're not interested. I'm quite excited to share with you one of them and will be sharing many more in the other blogs. COVID Stories
When the entire world was suffering under the insolent hegemony of Coronavirus, there, in the core of a small village in West Bengal lived a girl, Shaurya (name has been changed due to privacy reasons) whose pathetic and tear-jerking journey will mesmerize you. Shaurya was a school-going girl, who lived with her parents, a small brother and her aged and ill grandmother. While her grandmother suffered from a severe illness which the doctor said he wasn't able to recover her from, her father was diagnosed with 2nd stage cancer just the last year. Because, their economic condition wasn't good, her mother took to cook in people's houses and her brother was put into a garage to repair cycles, even before he entered his schooling. Shaurya was a bright kid and was the only one to continue her studies, because her parents wanted at least Shaurya to complete her schooling and make a stable future for the family. Shaurya was fifteen years old, and because she belonged to a very remote village where girls get married within thirteen, most of the villagers wanted Shaurya to marry the son of the Gram Pradhan because he probably had a crush on her. But her father always wanted her to study and thus, he repeatedly denied the offer even after the family promised him that Shaurya will be allowed to complete her schooling as well her further studies from her father-in-law's house. Her father never believed them. He knew they would never accept their household to have a daughter-in-law who's more educated than anyone in the house; that also a girl from the lower caste. He knew, they would only treat her like a servant in the house, just after the wedding night. However, his authority wasn't accepted in the village and he was removed from his job in the school wherein he used to work as a dust-sweeper amid the pandemic. His medicines and other facilities ceased to come. Poors don't live when they can't. Even if the family didn't afford to lose him, circumstances made it happen and her cancer-affected father was bedridden within a few days, and one fine day, his health deteriorated; the doctor said, he was affected by the corona virus. Now, even if not willing to, Shaurya had to leave her school and join her mother in doing other household chores in other's houses.
One day, when the Gram Pradhan came to their house, straightaway asking her hand for his son, her mother couldn't deny him. She didn't inform her father due to covid protocols and confirmed the date of their marriage. Shaurya accepted everything silently. Her grandmother passed away that night and now the helpless mother had no other option than getting her daughter married rightaway. They preponed the date of marriage and without even informing Shaurya said 'yes' to the conditions of the groom prior to marriage. Shaurya didn't have a discretion herself to cancel her marriage, even if she didn't want it to happen. She couldn't even approach her father to inform everything because of the covid protocols. One day, one of her teachers in her school, Mr. Dasgupta called her up to offer her free tuitions and requested her to at least, first give her matrick and then get married. He said, "I'm pretty sure Pradhan ji won't allow you to study after marriage. Shaurya you have this discretion to choose it yourself. Let me tell you there are a lot of opportunities you'll get outside. You're born to shine. Don't get married. I shouldn't tell this, but that boy isn't good." Shaurya knew he was right, and that she also know, she was helpless. She has to support her family first. Yet, she told her mother that night about what she wanted.
"Maa, how about I'll study and at the same time I'll work somewhere. That can suffice our family, naah? This marriage means an end to my life."
Her mother knew and understood what she was thinking and after a minute of silence she said, "Samdhi ji says, he'll take up the responsibility of educating you as well as your brother. He'll also give him a part-time job and will also find me a well-paid job, if you marry his son."
-"and baba?" Shaurya asked her invading her statement.
Both stayed quiet for a few moments and then her mother said, with a lump in her throat, "you've never done anything that I asked you not to do. Just for once more, I'm asking you, requesting you, please, for the sake of the family, get married."
Her eyes turned watery seeing her mother in such a helpless condition. "You believe that imbecile?", she asked.
-"He's going to be your father-in-law. You'll have to learn to respect him."
Wedding day approached. Just a night before her wedding, her father's health improved a little and he called her up. As she went, her father said to her, "If I were in a position to do so, I would've struggled day and night and made you study so that you were able to complete your schooling. But look at me. Even if I haven't touched a cigarette or even a bottle of alcohol ever in life, life gave me this punishment which I can't afford to anymore. Trust me, I wanted this life. I don't want it for you either. Always be positive. Never think yourself unfortunate. You'll definitely shine one day. Show these people you're not worth marrying but you are a ten thousand times better than them. I trust you, I know you'll make me proud, even when I'm not there with you."
Although she cried a lot, she found something very strange in his words. It was different. It sounded like a farewell speech, especially the last sentence, "I can't allow my family to take a burden of me on their heads even in such tough times. I can sacrifice anything and everything to see my family happy." She cried and cried, but it made no sense. The next morning, she was married off, yet all the time, she was thinking about her father. She missed him. She wanted to hug him, once for the last time. Covid didn't allow her. Finally she was proved right. Her father passed away that night and the family couldn't even see his face for the last time.
Now she got the real taste of her marriage. She found out, Dasgupta Sir was right. That man was an alcoholic sociopath. He used to beat her up every night, rape her brutally and tormented her in every way he could. He even used to spell alcohol on her body, forcefully made her taste alcohol and cigarette. When she tried reporting this to her father-in-law, she found out, everyone is the same. He said, "He's young. How can he control over himself? He will have to do this. Everyone did this in their youth, even I did. You cover these marks (whipping marks on her body). No one should know about this in the village. Rest, he's your husband, you'll have to tolerate him."
Her innocent protests were crushed inside the house. For months, she tolerated that torcher and finally one day, she gave birth to a baby-girl, which was the only reason she was happy for. But, it seemed, none was happy knowing that it was a girl. And one day, the very inevitable happened. One night, when the alcoholic husband returned late night, fully drunk and furious on the fact that the entire village was slamming him for giving birth to a girl child, he entered the room and furiously broke the glass-bottle on the little girls' head. She was shot dead. That day, Shaurya couldn't take it. He snatched away everything from her, he didn't know the consequences of snatching a child from her mother. All the anger and fear inside her now burst out. She burned in anger and whipped her alcoholic helpless husband up, thus leaving him to a half-dead condition. She then fled the village with her mother and brother.
There wasn't even any police case registered. The villagers knew, all was an accident. During when the lockdown was repealed, she fled to her aunt's house in another village and reportedly married a man she fell in love with thereafter. She also continued her studies and is still now doing so. Most people call her a murderer in the village, after they know the truth, but in reality, she is a hero. Because she chose to stand up against injustice, fight against the wrongs and whatever people thought about her, she never made them realise what she went through, never tried to prove to them that she was innocent. She know, her own acknowledgement was enough. In my opinion, her courage was enough to crush the wrong-doers and that she chose the path of truth and patience. She suffered for months, years, also got the taste of poignance when a mother loses a child. Yet, she fought till the end. So, the essence of life is to fight and get justice for ourselves. In Mahabharata, when Arjun wasn't willing to kill his own teacher, Pitahma, whom he regarded with great respect, Lord Krishn asked him to still fight, because who takes the path of adharma(wrongdoing) is considered wrong, irrespective of what relation he/she makes with you. With the culmination of adharma(wrong) comes dharma(right) which leads us to the path of eternal peace and happiness. Thus, don't remain silent, learn to fight for your ownself, believe in the survival of the fittest. Take help of whatsoever means available, but make sure that wrong doesn't go unreported and unretaliated. If you're silent today, you'll have to face the bigger problem tomorrow!
Also if you've read it till here, you are free to comment, what your opinion says, Shaurya was right or wrong? Ethical or Unethical? Legal..acha let's leave the legal perspective, it's INDIA anyway!😂(people are held liable even when they don't commit a crime, but here she has committed a crime; so forget it :))
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