Narayan Prasad Ghimire

The COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented event to hit the entire humanity, has taken a heavy toll on human life across the globe.  The number of people losing lives to the deadly coronavirus has reached over 1.18 million worldwide while Nepal lost over 900 people to it.  As a global menace, the pandemic has hit hard every sector ranging from politics to economy, social mosaic to cultural activities. 
Since the pandemic outbreak, the social activities of the supreme living beings, the humans, have been curtailed for several months. Lockdowns have become a new normal, as there is no viable alternative to tame the virus.  Business activities have slumped, revenues declined, and the economy has been dented beyond repair.
Industries and business houses have adopted the policy of no-payment, low-payment, and retrenchment. Curtailment of business activities has resulted in a huge job loss and unemployment. Even the media houses are affected by this undesired trend. Retrenchment, joblessness, delayed and no-payment have affected journalists badly. In Nepal, the journalists and media workers of private media houses have resorted to hunger strikes, demanding payment and corporate accountability.
 
Science Flopped
Even the marvels of modern science have flopped before the invisible virus, as there is still no medicine developed by any advanced countries against the dreaded contagion. Despite the assertions of discovery and projection of treatment, nothing reliable has so far been found to cure the virus. What a tragedy it is!
Powerful nations have taken the tragedy as an opportunity to wield political and economic power and waged a blame game over the coronavirus spread. Small countries have just watched it and made various assumptions based on their understanding. Commentators and observers began projecting over a future superpower and the paradigm shift of political and economic power.
Academia, scientists and researchers have diverted attention and study on crises, disease, death, uncertainty, fear and the afterlife from the philosophical, psychological, sociological, demographic, political, and economic lens. The disruption and destruction caused by the deadly virus have resulted in debates and discourses that there is an urgent need to redefine everything surrounding human life.
Teaching-learning activities have also come to a grinding halt. The ensuing chaos has engulfed the school and university students. The authority has postponed not only regular classes but also the exam schedules several times. Boredom and obfuscation have gripped many across the globe.
Most of the countries remained almost unprepared till the deadly virus entered and stalked people with feeble health. Management of resources in terms of manpower, finance and technology, the countries failed to take a prompt and convincing response to save the people and wealth, drawing criticisms.
Even those in the power with authority to mobilise resources were feeble before the crisis because the resources they had could not work as a remedy. The only thing one could do was slow the virus spread with prevention and control measures. To this, national and international bodies are finding it an uphill task to tame the situation.
With no sign of a decrease in the pandemic's intensity, every sector has now mulled adaptation measures to the virus. They have tried to change the initial fear and chaos to vigour and normalcy, but the restoration of normalcy faced reemergence of the virus with further severity. The professionals have taken to internet/digital platforms to explore its benefits and normalise the activities.
Meetings, seminars, talk programmes are taking place on digital platforms. These are the new social activities. However, how long will the virtual activities take place in the place of physical ones? Are virtual activities sustainable? Can every sector go virtual? What would be its impacts on our psychology, society, politics and economy? It can be a suitable topic for serious study after some time.
 
Hope
 
Amid pandemic led crises, the social and cultural activities are lessened and limited but not terminated. We are determined by cultural and social norms and values. Every country enjoys specificities. Religious and cultural festivals are such assets that are developed over time and linked to civilisation as well.
A vibrant life needs diversity and interaction. Togetherness has the utmost value to enliven the human being. Despite despair and anxiety, the Nepali people celebrated the biggest festival, Dashain. Yes, there was no such razzmatazz as it happens often during the big festivals.
The families losing relatives to the COVID-19 mourned the death and abstained from the celebration, but others continued the tradition. Although for short time, the Nepalis forgot the coronavirus trepidation and enjoyed togetherness with family and relatives, exchanged greetings and relished delicacies. Pangs of family separation and estrangement with relatives fizzled out with reconciliation.  
The festival emboldened the attachment and affinity. Good health and longevity are always a blessing. These must have restored happiness and contributed to our positive psychology. The people who got back to normal health after recovering have experienced bright rays of bliss. After the festival, the Nepalis are again trying to normalise life- they are getting back to offices and work. Of course, the meaning of life rests on how active we are, that is to say, how busy we remain. Irrespective of the fear deep into the mind over the uncertainty created by the pandemic, we have the lives to live. 

(Ghimire is a journalist)