Patricia Mukhim
The word ‘new normal’ which is today a cliché first originated in 2008 after the economic crisis that threw the entire world out of gear and those in businesses had to rethink new ways of doing business. For most of us the new normal is scary and daunting yet in some ways transformative and enlightening too. This lockdown has given new meaning to friendship and family and made us reconnect with our inner selves instead of externalizing our thoughts all the time and seeking happiness from things external. The post Covid world presents new opportunities for us to imagine new ways of doing things and to push the boundaries of thinking, imagining and creating.
New normal however is dichotomous in nature. Hand washing is not a new thing; it has only been reinforced to the point of becoming second nature. Wearing a mask is a new part of our make-up and I must admit it is suffocating. For women, it takes away the pleasure of donning lipstick. I suspect that the cosmetic industry, particularly the lipstick producing industry will take a hit. But I hope we develop masks that are tailored to allow us to go around with some colour at least. I have noticed that my friends and family are not so gung-ho about wearing make-up these days. The world has suddenly turned bleak and colourless!
Now about the other new normal, working from home has become quite the in thing. This will soon reduce the need for physical infrastructure and save on rent payments and all the cascading liabilities that come with renting office buildings, especially the swanky variety. The more people work from home the lesser demand there will be for menial jobs like sweeping, dusting and swabbing floors and for security guards. So new jobs will have to be created for these categories of people!
Some groups like the Shillong Chamber Choir have reinvented themselves and taken on an entirely new profession besides engaging in their regular singing gigs. They are now into a second profession – that of home delivering groceries and other sanitary items – a new business. Now that’s called innovation. It’s making an opportunity out of disruption.
The other thing we are now getting used to is virtual meetings and web-based seminars – or webinars. Having seen the utility of skype or zoom meetings why would organizations spend money for physical travel of participants and their stay at plush hotels when they can have people participate in meetings sitting in their own homes? So will webinars be the new thing in academia, business et al?
And then the much debated topic – online education, or home study has to be given a new thrust. Much has been spoken about how online education has an urban bias because those beyond city limits have no networks or don’t own smartphones. So what is Digital India’s claim to fame if it only provides education to urban yuppies? Now this is an opportunity for the county to scale up digital connectivity in a big way. No one should be left behind.
For those who are not in the Government sector Covid has dealt the cruelest, unkind cut. It is a not just a flesh wound but a cut to the bone especially for those that have lost their jobs. This is easier discussed but extremely difficult for people to fit in again even as jobs change profiles. For journalists Covid-19 has been brutal. While many have lost their jobs due to a rapid decline in advertisement revenue others have been harassed with FIRs being filed against them for reporting on Covid. The Epidemic Act 1897 and the Disaster Management Act has been used on journalists for being critical of governments ostensibly because governments are trying their best to handle the pandemic. The media was blamed for scare-mongering leading to the unprecedented migration of workers from one state to another following the lockdown. But the media was simply reporting what it saw.
The post Covid world demands new thinking and reimagining of businesses. In our own state we see the emergence of new markets that mimic Iewduh but with adequate space for physical distancing. There are vegetable and fruit markets en-route to Pynursla from Upper Shillong right up to Laitlyngkot. There are similar markets on the Shillong-Jowai road.
The new normal is that you are not allowed entry into gated communities. If you want to enter institutions like NEHU you will have to go through a thermal scanner. Here the security guard will be taking the temperature of doctors and professors. So be it. That too is the new normal.
Our attitudes behaviours, preferences as consumers have changed radically. Consumerism has dipped. Many stay-at-home husbands have developed culinary skills in these three months of lockdown and some relationships have blossomed.
Now coming to public transport in the ‘new normal’ every time we take a taxi/bus we will be apprehensive about the person sitting next to us. Who knows who’s a Covid carrier! If we continue to crowd there are chances we will transmit the disease. Police are now trained to apprehend people without masks and drivers that allow their taxis to carry more than the stated number of passengers, than in catching criminals.
Shopping malls and super-markets now are extra careful that there is no crowding lest they are reported by some vigilantes and are told to shut down as happened to a store in Police Bazar.
The other day I visited a shoe shop. I was told by a doorman to sanitise my hands and to write my name, mobile no and address in a register. That’s for contact tracing in case any of the customers develop Covid symptoms at some later stage. The shoes that customers tried for their sizes were sprayed with disinfectants too.
If my grandmother was alive she would think we are all suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) about excessive cleanliness (which in Khasi is called leh subani palat kumba ioh puri).
Oh yes! And for a while now no movie watching inside a movie hall. Why would anyone want to be in an enclosed space where one person coughing or sneezing can spread the droplets in the entire hall? Normally lovers go for movies so they can sit close to each other and whisper sweet nothings. But what’s the point if two people have to sit two seats away from each other? Sorry but for now we will have to be happy with Netflix/Amazon Prime.
Now about the hospitality industry, which has been the most hit on account of Covid, business will now have to change gears. Locals should now become tourists who want to take a break from cooking, washing and cleaning. Hotels have had to cut their manpower by about 50% because without any revenue generation since March 2020, how could they continue to pay their staff? And then what about the maintenance of the hotels and the power bills which have now just shot up like the thermometer does when recording the temperature of a severely infected Covid patient?
Some countries have opened up their gyms and spas although the number of members gymming at a single time are drastically reduced and shower curtains are fixed between one treadmill and another. I guess this will happen here too (new normal).
Our travels are now largely restricted and will be so at least till the end of the year, hopefully. But airport protocols too have changed beyond recognition. Those who travelled to Guwahati recently said the normal pushing and shoving at the carousel for retrieving luggage was missing. There are people posted at the airport who are extremely courteous and ask passengers if they need any help. I hope this continues to be the new normal.
Oh yes, and how can I forget virtual weddings, birthday celebrations and what have you!
How do we emerge after Covid? Are we still going to be the same self-seeking, egotistic individuals always looking at our convenience over others’ or have we changed our re-adjusted our inner compasses? Do we want to be the same person when we come out of this Covid world? Do we get out of the consumerist lifestyle or do we go back to the same routine? The choice is entirely ours. Covid, however, is a grim reminder that we need to change and for the better!