Dilemma

Standing in the balcony, I can see the empty roads and parks, and hear the calming sound of dry leaves blown away by winds on the road. It’s pin-drop silence today. Answering the call of Prime Minister, everyone is avoiding travel and staying inside the house to practice social distancing.

But just one block away, I saw a very old person standing outside the house, and he looked worried. Lost in his thought, he was quickly moving between his house and the adjacent house. Realizing that there is nothing I can do, I came inside.

I started watching something on my laptop, but I couldn’t take my mind away from what I saw. Maybe he needed something urgently, and our neighborhood market is closed. But even in that case, it doesn’t make sense for me to go out, interact with a stranger, and then probably get his work done. To get my mind away, I called my girlfriend, we spoke for a couple of minutes, and then I started watching some videos on Youtube.

Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door. The aged uncle was standing at my gate. I opened the door and said namaste. He also greeted and told me his wife isn’t well, and he isn’t able to get a cab to the hospital. In the last few weeks, it has become almost impossible to get a cab in Bangalore. I had a car, but I wasn’t sure whether it was worth the risk to take to a hospital. Further, shouldn’t I stay away from people? That was the whole point of Janta Curfew today. I tried a couple of times on Uber, and then I said, “Sorry Uncle, there is nothing I can do!”.

I came inside. I was clear that driving to the hospital at this time with a probable corona patient is like walking into the corona trap. I can’t take that risk. While I convinced myself that I made the right decision, I wasn’t feeling good about it. At the end of the day, if Corona drives us away from the decency of human society, probably that’s the biggest damage it could have ever done.

I debated this for a while, but I knew what I had to do. I can’t stand there and see someone suffer. Fight against Corona isn’t just in the laboratory but in the countless decisions we make every day whether staying inside our house or helping the needy. I quickly pulled my car and went to uncle’s place. I asked him to get his wife to back seat, and told him he shouldn’t worry — I’m here to help. After all, we are in this together!