Of Pied Pipers and the power of literature
Today, the world finds itself in a crisis that caught it unawares and unprepared; when a premonition of doom and gloom looms large; when masks, sanitisers, social distancing, and quarantine are words you remember as your own breath. Who could have envisaged about three months back that a nanoscopic organism would unleash a trail of disease, death, and devastation, packing the whole world into self-isolation?
Efforts are on on a war-footing to quell the onslaught, to tame the virus and save the lives of those infected. Hats off to the medical fraternity for working 24x7, saving the lives of people, while putting their own in danger. The government, police force, different organisations, NGOs and selfhelp groups are all lending a helping hand in managing this unforeseen exigency. At the community level, the need of the hour is to gather our wits, to spread positive vibes and energy, to keep up hope and follow the instructions given by the government and medical experts.
This is not the first time the world has encountered such a calamity. My curiosity made me turn the pages of history to know about a score of pandemics that have wiped off a big chunk of world population from time to time. Though as a student of history, I’ve read about these, this time, as an insider going through it all myself, I was looking for something more than mere facts and figures.
I wanted to read about the common people, their fears, apprehensions, and anxiety for themselves and their loved ones; how they coped with the situation on day-to-day basis; what their thoughts were when each night came with a flicker of hope of seeing the virus getting weaker the next day; and each day belied that hope, scaring them as if it had almost reached their doorstep. I was looking for a mention of people losing their jobs; daily-wagers running around to go to their native places; the poor being fed on roadsides; people worried about their loved ones thousands of miles away.
Where history stops, literature takes off. It comes to the writers and poets to talk about the common people, their agony, anger and angst, grief and gloom, trauma and tribulations, their dangling between hope and despair; their strength and steadfastness in the face of crisis; and above all, the indomitable human spirit.
Since time immemorial, writers have showcased inspiring stories and verses of man’s struggle, be it with nature, war, death or disease. Remember The Pied Piper of Hamelin, where the piper with his flute comes as a symbol of hope for the rat-infested town?
When technological advances have made everything available online, people are digging out and sharing poems and excerpts written centuries ago during other pandemics; as if these were written for us. This is the power of literature, its universal appeal, its potential to go beyond time and space to bind people together.
During the lockdown, writers are at work. Writers whose creative brilliance and poetic eloquence would make their works valuable to posterity; when in the distant future, people would be able to draw inspiration and solace from their works.
Kudos to all present day Pied Pipers who, through their stories, poems, and other discourses, are helping us stay strong, positive, calm and collected. They are the lighthouses trying to dispel fear in this dark night, assuaging our anxieties, and filling our lives with bright rainbow colours of hope and faith.
WHERE HISTORY STOPS, LITERATURE BEGINS. IT COMES TO THE WRITERS AND POETS TO TALK ABOUT THE COMMON PEOPLE