How a Human Catastrophe made me see the Stars
I remember sleeping under the starry night sky during the long hot summer months. It became a distant memory as I grew up and moved to bigger cities. But yesterday when I looked up from my window, a certain rhyme played in the background.
Yes, I could not even go out and enjoy the sight freely as a submicroscopic entity has run havoc in the world and so long as it is out there we need to be locked down. And while we humans are caged, somewhere in the streets of Kerala a small Indian Civet was spotted, Sambar deer and Nilgai were found strolling the streets of Noida,Elephants were seen enjoying an evening stroll in Dehradun ,thosands of Olive Ridley turtles came ashore a beach in Odisha and Peacocks were seen dancing on the streets of Mumbai,a different kind of celebrity sighting in the city of dreams.
The Yamuna is sparkling and the air is lighter-just wish it had not come at such a heavy price.
BIGGEST CHALLENGE SINCE WORLD WAR II
According to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the current coronavirus outbreak is the worst global crisis since World War II.
· Has led to 14,41,128 positive cases and 82,992 deaths around the globe
· A recession is likely
· Unlike a natural disaster or terrorist attack, it is not localized
· No clear end in sight
WHY DOES IT FEEL SO OVERWHELMING
There was a time in India, say early 90s when the telecast of epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata gave you a feel of curfew, with only bored kids or stray dogs visible on the streets. It does feel like the old times again, with people holed up inside their homes, though not by choice. You might even feel like you have walked into some movie showing post-apocalyptic times.
” We don’t even have a language for this emotion in which wonderful comes wrapped in the terrible, joy in sorrow, courage in fear”, wrote Solnit in A Paradise Built in Hell
FIELD DAY FOR THE FAUNA
As soon as the humans emptied the streets, the animals took over and the same been observed across the world. From the US to France, Italy to Japan, Poland to England animals have truly come out of the wild. It is a lesson in human-wildlife conflict that tells us how we have occupied their space. For instance, in the abandoned city of Pripyat in Northern Ukraine, the site of Chernobyl nuclear plant, the place has recently played host to 200 species of birds, after more than 30 years of the disaster. Several videos of wild animals strolling the streets have surfaced on social media.
· Wild turkeys taking the spot at a school in California
· Deer seen in a town in Poland
· Wild pigs reaching the streets in Paris
· Wild boars travelling to the roads of Barcelona
THE REAL INTRUDERS
Have you ever had a monkey land on your rooftop, a snake spotted coiled around the kitchen pipe or saw Porcupine quills on the road? How quick we are at pressing the panic button when we see these not-so-cute or might-bite me intruders in our living space. While embracing an aggressive development driven lifestyle, we have altered the natural surroundings keeping our needs and comfort as the reference point. So, we like animals as our food, in the zoo but definitely not as an uninvited guest around our locality.
RECLAMATION NOT REVENGE
With most of the human race indoors, the animals are not running around aggressively or damaging property or causing harm to anyone, but they are hesitantly and peacefully rejoicing the newfound freedom and little extra space to move around.
The message is clear: Even the biggest things can change in a minute and while things change back, let the animals enjoy a world free of human presence and hope the stars continue to be seen forever.
