Written by VP
‘As flies are to wanton boys are we to the gods; they kill us for their sport.’
William Shakespeare, King Lear
At no moment in the onward journey of human race have these lines been more meaningful than now, when the spectre of Covid haunts and people are falling like nine-pins. Are the Gods killing us for their sport then? Or has mankind earned their wrath by ravaging the Blue Planet in a mindless pursuit of progress? Well, the latter seems to be the case and nemesis is well-deserved. But before we frame God, can we a spare a thought about some angels he has sent along to rescue us?
Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan saw some of them as he battled Covid at an isolation ward in a Mumbai hospital. He sang to himself at night to keep fear at bay, but loneliness can be killing. Then from one corridor came along an angel – in a PPE kit, faceless, nameless, yet determined to care, to save. Yes, the health workers are indeed the angels in these times when fear is rife, when humans are turning their backs on humans lest they get infected by the deadly coronavirus. Big B walked out of the hospital hale and hearty, but not without whispering a silent prayer and showering copious blessings on these sentinels who are guarding humanity.
Day in and day out, the doctors, the nurses and other support staff are toiling hard to save whomever they can. They don’t care if you are a Mr Bachchan; they only care about healing you, providing the much-needed confidence in these unsure times. Don’t they have people waiting for them at home? Even if fear wrenches their gut, they overcome it with a smile. Each day they witness hordes of patients coming their way with fright in their eyes and a sense of gloom, life slipping out of their hands with each step. Not all of them are lucky enough to survive, but those that do should thank some relentless souls.
Are we still looking for angels?
(From the editor’s desk, e-mail me at: editor@voiceaajkal.com.au)
