‘Covid-19 has certainly been a rejuvenating balm for planet’
obody told us there’d be days like these…strange days indeed!” Once the lockdown is lifted I look forward to going to concerts, embracing my friends, and not wearing a mask. Simple things, normal things. We all just want to get back to life as it was. Human beings weren’t meant to live in a socially distanced world, it’s simply not natural. But the way of living that we want so desperately to return to wasn’t so natural either. If you listen to the rivers, trees and birds today, they’re all saying the same thing: “We’re all much happier now, thank you!” The human pandemic has been good for them. The plants and animals can breathe again, and so can we, and soon enough without a mask.
“Get the economy up and running!” “Let’s get back to business as usual!” That’s the vapid message of the world’s great nations. This seems like a tragic waste of a remarkable opportunity. In some ways Corona is a gift; it’s certainly been a rejuvenating balm for the planet. As we emerge from all of this, my biggest fear is that we will forget the good habits that developed during the lockdown: less fossil fuel consumption, more cooking at home, less long-distance travel, more family time, etcetera. It doesn’t seem natural to eat a mango in winter, but that is what plenty of people do thanks to agrotechnology and global trade. It doesn’t feel natural to get into a large metal cylinder and zoom into the stratosphere, but that is what so many of us do every day. And now we’re zooming around the world from the comfort of our homes! What are we doing? Where are we going? Are we rushing back to a dysfunctional way of living that ultimately led us to our present condition?
Corona is a fated opportunity. Fated in the sense that it was inevitable: we abused Mother Earth so much that she was forced to strike back in her own way. Perhaps our species deserves this, perhaps our planet needs it. If we imagine our humanity and the entire planet as a single being, we begin to see that the earth has long suffered from the disease of our relentless, nearsighted avarice.
Indeed, humanity is an invasive, fast-spreading and destructive virus upon the earth. And after taking this abuse for centuries, the earth has been forced to purge herself of deadly toxins.
Corona is a fated opportunity. Opportunity in the sense that we can do things differently now. This is an unprecedented global moment: a time for all of humanity to pause, take a breath and take stock. And if we are to be honest, then the writing is on the wall, and it’s been there for a long time. Scientific studies aren’t needed for any conscientious citizen to plainly see that we’re destroying the planet, abusing precious resources and marginalizing millions of fellow human beings in the process. Change is always slow and difficult, but Corona has given us a chance to take a break and reassess our priorities, and, hopefully, to chart a new course for our collective future as a species on this tiny blue marble.
I’m excited about living a more wholesome life in tune with nature.
I’m so grateful that the lockdown has afforded me time and space to delve into more holistic ways of living. During this time, I learned how to bake yummy home-made baguettes, I started a garden and made a DYI compost for food scraps, and I spent hours observing and identifying local birds. These kind of things seem like supremely important forms of knowledge for anyone to learn. Fortunately, due to the awesome potential of the internet, I have also been able to continue teaching in universities around the world. It’s not ideal of course, but it shows us that we can live fully even while living with less.
When the lockdown is lifted I’d like to have a sitar concert by the river. I want to see beautiful people sprawled out on the green grass in the warm sunshine, laughing, enjoying music and embracing each other. I know I’ll be happy, and I think the birds will be too. In the words of John Lennon whose lyrics started this piece: “There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance.” In this extraordinary moment for all of humanity, let us choose love. Love for self, love for other, love for the planet.
Places of worship are allowed to open from today—after being closed due to the lockdown caused by the pandemic. But the “mahamari” is showing no sign of weakening and the Sufi shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya in central Delhi will keep its doors closed to the public until at least June 30, informs Peerzada Altamash Nizami, a dargah gaddinashin, an ancestral descendent of Hazrat Nizamuddin. The youthful, soft-spoken gentleman is among a select group of men responsible for the daily prayers in the shrine even in these days of lockdown. Consequently, he says, there will be no qawwalis to celebrate the 716th Urs, or the death anniversary, of Hazrat Amir Khusro that starts tomorrow—his grave lies in Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah. (The death anniversary of a Sufi saint’s death is not mourned but celebrated. Urs means “wedding” in Arabic, and it symbolises the union of the lover with the beloved, who is God.)
On such a signification occasion, the fact that Hazrat Nizamuddin shrine will remain silent and empty is something that has never happened before in its centuries-old life—confirms Mr Nizami. He is talking over Whatsapp video this evening from the dargah’s empty courtyard, with a yellow mask hanging down on his crisp white kurta.
Even so, one can still commemorate a figure of history who is not only important in the story of Sufism in India, but is also one of the most celebrated Delhiwallas of all time.
At 72, the maker of Hindustani classical music lost interest in the world. Poet Amir Khusro, the 14th-century courtier to seven kings, was in mourning after the death of his spiritual mentor, Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya.
Khusro gave away his wealth, retired to Hazrat Nizamuddin’s tomb, died six months later in 1325, and was buried in the shrine’s courtyard.
Perhaps it is a legend. How could one person is said to have simultaneously invented the tabla and sitar, produce the first raga and create the Sufi music of qawwali? The most likely is that Hindustani classical music came out of a civilisation, but Khusro’s poetic genius certainly gave that civilisation its Hindustani characteristic.
Folksy and immediate, Khusro’s language – a mix of the courtly Persian and the colloquial Brij Bhasha – merged the ruling-class the city you never see
INDEED, HUMANITY
IS AN INVASIVE, FAST-SPREADING
AND DESTRUCTIVE VIRUS UPON THE EARTH. AND AFTER TAKING
THIS ABUSE FOR CENTURIES, THE EARTH HAS BEEN FORCED TO PURGE HERSELF OF DEADLY TOXINS.