Corona effect: Here’s how we stand united
It is a pandemic. Cinema halls, malls and most markets are shut and people, realising the need for social distancing, are rarely stepping out of home. Despite the gloom of the daily spike in infection figures and the loneliness of a self-imposed ‘quarantine’, many are taking initiatives to boost spirits. Much like the Italians in now viral social media videos.
Residents of Gurugram recently came out to their balconies, to sing — like people in Italy who came to their balconies and performed a gig. Isha Bhandari, cultural secretary of Hamilton Court, DLF Phase-4, Gurugram, says, “It actually started with a chat on the group when someone flagged off the idea to replicate what the Italians did. We decided to do it in the evening on that day, and around 100 people joined in. Everyone got dressed up, some even took out their musical instruments and we started with chanting the Gayatri mantra and sang Hum Honge Kamyab... The whole session was so powerful that it changed the (negative) vibes. It was a magical moment and we’ve decided to do it every day.”
This initiative seems to have started a chain reaction and other societies in Gurugram plan to host similar sessions. Residents of The Belaire apartments in Sector 54, Gurugram, organised an ‘Om’ chanting session in their society. Maneet Sawhni, a resident, says, “On Tuesday, we chanted ‘Om’ and it generated a great vibe when we got together in a small group and did the exercise among us. We went downstairs from our flats, but we did so after sanitising our hands, and stood there to chant and removed the negative thoughts within us.
Everybody felt so nice after that meeting. Next, we are thinking of imitating the clapping from the viral video of Spain, where everybody is seen clapping to pay tribute to all the health professionals who are fighting really hard against the coronavirus. Tomorrow, we plan to ring the bells from our balconies at 5pm as Modi ji said.”
Ragini Mohan, a resident of Crest in Sector 54, Gurugram, says, “We have chanted Gayatri mantra 108 times from our balconies. Yesterday, somebody was also blowing a conch. Today, we plan to chant Om from the balcony.”
To avoid large congregations in these times, Black Lotus, a global peace community, has been organising virtual global meditation for wellness of the people, through their mobile app. Shelly Singh, from the NGO, which organises similar global meditation sessions regularly, says, “Collective prayers can move mountains. The global meditation was organised on Wednesday to increase wellness amid the outbreak of Covid-19.”
Besides these initiatives, in the virtual world there is #OmEkSaath, a global initiative to destroy negativity. It will go live on Facebook on March 22 at 6pm, with mass ‘Om’ chanting for 15 minutes.
Ruchika Garg and Naina Arora