The genuine Covid-19, and the funny Us
“See what just happened in Sukkur? You still want Sindhis or should Corona take them all with it already.
Please educate them for God sake, its not funny anymore,” I observed someone whisper it to me. He was obviously talking about those isolated men (rather some so called Ulemas) in Sukkur who tried to escape the quarantine center. In this hour of the deadly disease that sees no limits, I see my kindred Pakistanis bemoaning the absence of 'social-distancing among the majority. Many individuals proceeded to state that Pakistan needs to battle the pandemic as well as the overall stupidity. It's true, but it's not something that's confined to our country only. It's a global issue. Human ignorance is very real.
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."
—Albert Einstein
I was listening to some news the other day when a Reporter was nagging about the idiotic behavior of the American citizens who stayed calm in their homes for just two weeks and then started to come out and wander around. What is happening in the USA is not a myth anymore; the pandemic has spread there like nothing else. So no need to quarrel who is the most stupid, we all are the same. I remember here a poetic scene which says
کون سیکھا ہے سرف باتوں سے
“سب کو اک حادثہ ضروری ہے."
However, we haven’t or are neither willing to learn from those mishaps that are perhaps caused by us. Squeezing fun out of everything, no matter it is a conundrum or a trifle is an art and we Pakistanis are the artist. No sooner did we report the first case in Pakistan the memers got a new job to do and that was to make memes about this. I enjoyed the idea; I mean they are making people engage in fun in this time of anxiety. I remember some of the very funnier ones and I will mention those here:
“I have no trouble finding you peeps when you hiding from me
I just say 'Jinne mera dill luteya'
And y'all be screaming Ohoo” and
“Lmao it's so easy to spread in this country all you need to say is *Mein hu* and y'all be opening your house doors,” telling the funnier sides of us. Like every other things here too, we got the orthodox and extremists giving Fatwas that making fun of this agony will lead us to astray like the previous Umahs before us who were never serious about God’s torment. Oh come on man, what is the need of poking religion everywhere. People are disturbed right now and if they feel good for a time being let them be. The world is different now. Moreover, the Umah of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him) was promised that they will not taste any agony except the doomsday. So please, stay at peace and stay at home too.
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| social distancing meme |
Since the government has declared a complete lockdown and we have been in quarantine for three weeks now, we have seen a lot of old friends coming back to our lives. Quarantine has now resulted as the after rain situation for most of us where we have got to see some insects, snakes and frogs coming out of their wells. To be honest they aren’t missing us at all, these are just tactics to remain engage in this lockdown and there is nothing wrong in that. This quarantine has made me do creepy things like counting on the tiles in my bathroom, video-calling my brother who was just sitting in the room next to mine, sending messages to 11 people just to have good news and many more.
Everything that comes goes by too. This pandemic will just be in memories of the past one day and memories fade away anyhow. Perhaps this is mending or healing process for the blue little baby Earth as we have got to see nature’s beauty once again. Perhaps he was right that we are the virus and corona a vaccine for the nature. Let us pray for this curse to the humanity to vanish for good and let us stay at home just to protect our loved ones.
Writer: Ayaz Abro
Campaign: Dare To Write
