The New Normal - Life after Lockdown

I like the phrase ‘The New Normal’.

It is the latest rage in jargon(ism) that has been enthusiastically  adopted by many intellectually sounding people (like me).

And I love using it frequently.

 

Like this time when I was amongst a group of people discussing some serious topic. And I made a serious face and in a grave sounding tone uttered these profound statements –

“Wearing face masks throughout our lives will now be the New Normal” &

“Working from home three times a week is already the New Normal in most companies nowadays. And others too will adopt this New Normal  rapidly !!”

And people looked at me with awe and respect!

And I was instantly catapulted into the league of serious thinkers and visionaries.

And I was amongst the Alvin Toffler & Yuval Noah Harari & Elon Musk fraternity!!

 

Using ‘The New Normal’ will make you sound wise & Prophetic. Believe me. Just try it out??

 

Now what is the New Normal??

The Old Normal with an expensive face lift??

 

Its much beyond that. It encompasses a transformation in how we think and behave & go about doing our daily work (after the long lockdown).

 

If you seriously observe yourself and compare what is happening today with that 5 months back (before the COVID 19 attack) you will quickly realize that

You now wash your hands at least 10 times a day and your face 3 times a day. And you have started subscribing to 2 bottles of sanitizer along with your regular Dettol and Listerine and Colgate consignments each month.

You are spending less time in your car and more time in your chair in front of your computer screen.

And it’s been ages since you have entered the plush conference room on your office floor and made a ppt presentation while sipping hot Coffee/Chai and munching Good Day and Bourbon Biscuits!!

And every morning you automatically collect your kids’ clothes, look under their  table and bunker beds for their discarded pajamas & hanky’s, collect your  wife’s clothes  and then  yours and check the shoes closet for old sock,  and load them all  into the washing machines, pour the liquid detergent and the fabric softener and start the machine – and all of this, without a single call or a reminder from your wife !!

 

Isn’t that a miracle??

No, my friend.  I would say it is the New Normal!!

 

And here is a wonderful articulation by Dr. Raghunandan Kumar -  HoD, Civil Engineering Dept, Christ College.

 

“We’re not going to college, though we did go a few times for administrative work. The Pandemic has saved me the travel time nearly 2 1/2 hrs. (1 hr. in the morning and 1 1/2 hrs. in the evening) of my productive time, which I am using for fitness and relaxation. 

 

We are having regular online classes from the last week of April. We have conducted online examinations for our students of final year and junior semesters too. We have been busier than pre-pandemic time as we are available 24/7. In addition to the online classes, we have online meetings, webinars either organized by us or we are attending them. Not sure what lies in store post-pandemic.”

 

The pandemic has helped us to use technology (which was available all the time but not explored to its full potential) in education well to ensure that the students do not lose on the continuity in learning, even for  those who are not so tech-savvy.”

 

And I am sure each one of us in SP will have a somewhat similar story to narrate.

 

The lockdown had changed our lives. 

Just look at the good things it has done to us..

 

Husbands have learnt to share household work with their partners. Many have learnt to sweep and mop the floor  and clean the dishes.

Many now know how to load the pressure cooker with food and place it on the gas/induction stove and stop it after 6 whistles!

Many can now wash clothes, dry them and after folding, stack them up neatly in their cupboards. And pass the final inspection by their wives.

Some have even helped their kids with their studies and have attended online classes with the children.

Difficult for me to imagine such ‘busy’ execs who never found time to attend even a single PTA meeting now sitting patiently with his 8-year-old daughter during the on line classes.

 

And hats off to all those wonderful husbands for every one of  them has risen to the daily challenges set by the lockdown.

Now they can easily & efficiently peel boiled hot potatoes.

They can chop onions with the proficiency of a weeping chef.

And they can slice and dice tomatoes, mushrooms & garlic, peel carrots & cucumber and bitter gourd. And they can patiently pick out leaves from the dhania, pudina & kadi patta bunch.  And prune and chop French beans and cabbage – all without cutting, bruising, or dismembering their fingers!!

You start with 10 perfect fingers and retain all the ten in perfect shape after each such operation!! 

A big shout out & Kudos to your new skill.

 

And the grand dads can now operate the iRobot, setting it first for dry vacuum and then for wet mopping. And the grand moms can go online and order sabji, fruits & groceries as well. And by the way both have learnt to pay thru their Google Pay and PayTM installed in their smart phones!

 

And I have learnt a few tricks myself too.  I can now cut and slice a pineapple effortlessly & shell a pomegranate, without injuring my fingers or messing up the floor!!

 

And the kids have also learnt to cooperate. They have learnt not to disturb and make noise when their dad or mom is in a con-call or a net meeting. And they can make their own breakfast and heat up their chocolate milk.

Lockdown had made families come closer.

 

My granddaughter has learnt to toss mildly sweetened Oothappams until they are golden brown. She calls them ‘pancakes’. (In tamil I would dismiss that as ashattu thitheeppu Oothapam at best !!)

Reminds me of the jampacked crowd at IHOP every Sunday mornings!!

 

And over the last few months my resident son has perfected the art of making perfectly round and perfectly cooked and perfectly blown (like a fully inflated football) phulkas!!

 

Following the long lockdown, the New Normal is bound to disrupt many lives. It has already uprooted many businesses, cut jobs, reduced salaries, closed shops and made people go bankrupt. Millions have suffered and many more will face its wrath in the coming future.

 

People, in general, will travel & commute lesser for some more time

And the Uber taxi driver will have a harder time paying his EMI.

The restaurants will operate at less than 50% capacity.

Hotel rooms will go vacant and homestays and resorts and beach houses will struggle to stay afloat.

And the airlines industry is already on a life support system and what worse can happen to it ?

 

The auto drivers will not have the luxury to fleece their fares anymore.

The fruit vendor near Safina Plaza will no longer be that arrogant. And he may even offer you a sample grape for you to taste before you buy.

 

People have got comfortable and confident of buying on the net. You even get sticker bindi and bobby pins on Amazon!

The local kirana shop is getting edged out by online grocery marts. And they offer better & consistent quality and sometimes at better prices & attractive discounts too. And prompt delivery at your doorstep.

Fruit & vegetable trucks have started visiting colonies with a wide range veggies and local and exotic fruits and some specialize in ‘Organic & naturally ripened’ variety.  So, the local fruit seller may see reduced biz soon.

 

And with more and more on-line promos and barrage of discounts and clearance sales and end of season offers, traditional mode of buying will get hugely impacted, and standalone retail outlets might soon see a big squeeze in their revenues & profits.  That is the New Normal!

 

So, who will flourish in the New Normal?

 

The pharma industry obviously. With a variety of vaccines and so-called miracle drugs, they are poised to make tons of money.

And then the health supplement making companies that make vitamins and immunity boosters. They too are and continue  to make obscene amounts of profits.

 And the online companies – they are already making pots of money – all at the expense of our local shopkeepers and fruit sellers.

 

As they say, in any situation, good or bad, the rich always get richer and the poor, even poorer. And Lockdown and COVID 19 situation is no exception.

 

And some day sooner or later this too shall pass.

Things will settle and life will come back to normal.

But not the old normal or the New Normal.

It will be The New New Normal.

 

New New Normal = Subset of (Original Old Normal + Old New Normal)  + a few paradigm shifts.

 

Will that be good?? No one can say.

But as I had said earlier,

The Achhhey Dins were always in those good old days!!

 

Its raining (actually pouring) outside.

And I remember that nostalgic song  by Jagjit Singh & Chitra Singh….

 

Ye daulat bhi le lo, ye shohrat bhi le lo

Bhale cheen lo mujhse meri jawaani

Magar mujhko lauta do bachchpan ka saawan

Wo kagaz ki kashti wo barish ka pani

Wo kagaz ki kashti wo barish ka pani

 

Take back my wealth & my glory

And take away my youth also from me

But please return back to me my childhood in the monsoon (season)

(With)  Those boats made of paper!

And those wonderful raindrops!!

 

 Krish..