Breaking news: corona endangered kindness

Covid-19, a pandemic with which we have been trying to adjust in our lives, has been with us now for almost more than 2 years. But I still remember the beginning of it, where everyone was scared to go out, where everyone was consuming as much information as possible through the news and media, where the increasing numbers of coronavirus cases was giving anxiety to many, while others were panicked by the thought of scarcity in basic resources.

It almost took years of our lives, in being afraid of going to work while those who were safe with their jobs and salaries were bored at their home. At that moment, I realized that just like a coin, the world has two sides right now, one is fear and the other is boredom.

I remember an incident that happened when it was just the beginning of this pandemic. I went to the grocery store with my friends, getting as much as I could to survive without going out. I was outside the store waiting for my friends while they were still at the checkout counter.

I was observing the people outside, talking about the same news, finding hand sanitizers, trying to maintain social distancing. In a nutshell, I saw panic and fear present everywhere. I saw a need to be selfish in every eye, a need to protect themselves and their families from the virus which they can’t even see, and amidst that, kindness was saying “goodbye”.

While I was still there observing all of it, I saw an elderly woman, she was of my grandmother’s age, came alone for the grocery shopping and was trying to climb a step up to enter the grocery store. There were literally almost ten people, getting out of their cars, rushing to get everything they wanted, while grandma was being ignored. No one helped her because everyone was just busy buying and stocking their homes with sanitizers and food items.

I watched her struggle and finally went to her and helped her to climb that single step, and then she looked at me with a smile, said thank you and left. It wasn’t thank you that mattered, it’s that sense of relief she had on her face which made me happy. Precautions are indeed the need of the hour, but I feel, it shouldn’t be at the cost of kindness.