Page 27 - XITE Magazine 2021

Annual Magazine

earning merely seven thousand a month and Seema as a domestic cook for some families in the nearby housing
society. As the pandemic hit the town, Seema no longer had the work or the pay. With her pregnancy in full
term, the costs were rising and she had no answer to the unlimited questions in her mind; what will I do? How
will I welcome my unborn child in this world? What if my husband also loses his job what are we going to eat?
How we are going to pay the house rent? Soon, her worst fear came true and her husband too lost his job as his
company went for a major layoff during the nationwide lockdown. They somehow managed to tide over the first
month but the second month itself became a real challenge. So, Seema had no other option but to look for work
again even in her advanced stage of pregnancy. She managed to find work as a domestic help but being poorly
informed and equipped, caught the virus from one of her employer's guests. Sadly, Seema lost her child and
had to go for intensive medical treatment to come out of both the physical and mental trauma. Her lack of
awareness had cost her the happiness of becoming a mother.

Ravi's neighbour Ashwani Mahato faced the worst times his life during this pandemic. Professionally, a driver
of commercial vehicles, he is the sole earning member of a family of four. According to him, in the initial phase
of lockdown he was happy to have some time to spend with his family and didn't believe that it shall last long.
But when the lockdown extended, things gradually started to go downhill. By the first few months of the
lockdown the financial position of the family became precarious. They had to resort to borrowing, even for
food. The three times meal was reduced to two and the school fees of his two young daughters were overdue.
After another few months, even borrowing became impossible as nobody would lend him money anymore. The
few well to do relatives did little to help but nevertheless taunted him for being a worthless father and husband.
He somehow managed to cultivate some vegetables on the little land that he had behind his house and fed his
family. He confessed that in those crucial times he realised what life actually is and who his true friends were.
With tears in his eyes, he professed that he had felt that it was Lord Shiva who was with him all the time and
gave him his strength to fight and come out through of the seemingly hopeless situation.
Our interactions with these people put forward to us several deep rooted questions. We asked ourselves if this
pandemic has been an eye-opener to us, showing the changing mindset of the society and the selfish and self-
absorbing nature of us humans. We found that often, in the name of social distancing, we also distanced our
eyes and hearts from the suffering of our fellow humans, even when they were neighbours or friends.

B. Com. Sem. III

Volume-VIII, 2020 25