Jai Corona Mata Author: Dr. K.S Kang

Jai Corona Mata             

           Author: Dr. K.S. Kang

            When any trouble become unsurmountable  Indian learn to adjust and live with it by granting it the status of a deity,. In ancient times they accorded this status to the forces of nature like fire, water, earthquake, rain, thunderstorm the Sun, The Moon and the Ocean. Then the same status was given to some seemingly unconquerable maladies like Chicken Pox,  Small Pox, Measles and typhoid. It is believed that my appeasing this destructive force through worship and offerings it will spare them and the peace and prosperity will prevail on the earth. It is believed by the Indians that by offering red clothes and bangles to a particular goddess the disease is cured as the goddess causing it is appeased.

            Similarly in the current crisis Indians have decided to adjust with it as it is going to stay with the human society atleast for some time. Though the scientific method of avoiding it is by wearing masks, gloves, using sanitizers and keeping social distance. But women of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and even Assam have created a new goddess Corona and even devised the system of worshiping it. They make offerings to its small idol made in the earthen lamp and then they take it to the bank of some river and bury it there and then hope that it had gone and now it will not return to harm them or atleast it will spare them even if it harm others. Perhaps with time some people may master some technique to tame  this virus in such a fashion that it will harm only their opponents and enemy and not their friends, family members and followers and then it will become a business that can withstand any shock of the share market and any depression in world economy.

            This pandemic seems to have infected not only human being but even Gods too and even non-living beings. So as to give message to the people on the importance of wearing masks and keeping in isolation a number of idols of Gods and goddesses in the temples are with masks. In Rajasthan even one God went into quarantine for a period of 14 days and He gave darshan to devotees only after the period of quarantine ended. Corona seems to have infected non-living mechanical things too. Administration machinery is considered as mechanical, impersonal and insensitive and some times even ruthless. In the hurry to be the first India became one of the first nation of the world to impose lockdown. Though elsewhere the Curve of the number of Corona Patients had flattened and gone down in India the number of patients kept on increasing till date. Instead of flattening the curve of number of corona patients it appears that country has succeeded only in flattening the curve of economic growth. Due to lockdown the wheel of economic growth came to stand and still with the closure of industries and factories and unemployment spiked due to loss of jobs causing hardships to the poor and resourceless people of the country. It appears as if India has repeated the history. After independence India has chosen the path of mixed economy in the hope of reaping the benefits of both Capitalist system and Socialist or Planned Economy but it has ended in getting the demerits of both the systems rather than its advantages. It seems we have again tripped between the two stools first of hurriedly called lockdown and now premature easing of restrictions that may increase the number of cases with the movement of the people across the country.

The Pandemic seems to have infected even the Indian Railways, that were known world wide for its excellent services and punctuality. But only God knows what happened to the special Shramik trains that were run by the Government or Indian Railways to ferry the migrant labourers to their native states. First of all these trains these trains stopped at number of unsecheduled stops for such a long time that by the time it reached the destination after a journey of 90 hours they were late by twelve to fourteen hours. Secondly the original route chart handed over the drivers was laid aside, only God knows at whose orders that trains were diverted and digressed so much that the train that was bound for Ranchi reached Huderabad. It is true that India is a land of miracles but such a miracle had been seen with Indian Railways for the first time. Finally since railways were plying only goods trains during the lockdown so they seem to have forgotten that railways are also meant for human beings so they did not care for the food and water for the passengers as a result of which Railways made its own humble contribution to the toll of this pandemic as railway has killed sleeping people under its wheels as well as the people traveling in it due to lack of food , water and even air. One theory that was in the air behind this rail mismanagement was that the industrialist and capitalist lobby deliberately did this so as to discourage the labour to go to their native states other wise who will run these factories and industries once the lockdown is eased. Though people also believe that this muddle could have been avoided if the drivers of these trains had begun the journey with a loud shout of “ Jai Corona Mata” equally echoed by the traveling passengers.