Covidence

Providence, also known by His aliases like Nature, Provider, Almighty, God etc; God being the most common of all, is on furlough. Most probably at the Sentinel, in the Andamans. He handed over this Planet to Covidence, His Emissary, before taking His break. Covidence seems not to be of a benevolent disposition as Providence Himself. On the other hand, he is more active and result-oriented as an Emissary. This fellow's effectiveness lies in cleaning up the Planet, which Providence in aeons could not. Maybe that's why the handing-taking over, hopefully on a short lease. Covidence is yet to acquire any aliases.

As soon as Covidence took over, he created a change in the Earth's atmosphere. This is not surprising. Any new lateral entry rookie CEO would do something like that in his new organisation. Between the Earth's surface and Troposphere, Covidence introduced a Coronosphere. This new layer is much closer to the surface, at about only a mile up. After all, the tallest tree in the World is just about a hundred meters only. Therefore, there is sufficient margin. The innovation he thus introduced is something Providence never thought of. A new ceiling to contain man; nothing goes out, nothing comes in.

You see, till now Providence had managed the layers with gases, collectively called air. Man (when I learnt English, man included woman) is only one of the inhabitants of Earth. But he drew too much gas, or air if you prefer, into his head, making it bloat. And he gave out stale air. So, the atmosphere got polluted. Here is where the ingenuity of Covidence needs to be appreciated. He introduced the Coronavirus, a new organism within this new Coronosphere. This rashness, this boldness, caught man off-guard. Not being used to it, and the latest virus not being a soft-pedalling one, it was no more business-as-usual for man. And that hurt. Money from business - business of any kind, being nefarious, with an ethics-be-damned attitude - had become the new almighty. When that inflow reduced, man started screaming en masse, "why this corovery?" again and again, in covidophony: surely not in harmony as in a symphony.

Since the man didn't know what hit him and where, he went berserk. To illustrate, the practice of wringing hands became washing hands. This new virus being invisible, he covered his frontal, normally uncovered orifices. People professing to be covidexperts began imagining how to conquer this new colourless, odourless, tasteless, shapeless, characterless invader and began dishing out advice to all other people. It became total mayhem. Man did not even know whether this is a living organism, a non-living one or a parasite. You must know your enemy before declaring war. But man went ahead and declared war, whereas, in fact, the Coronavirus seemed to have followed all the principles of war! The surprise element, being foremost. In this melee too, as always happens in a melee, coronamongers try to thrive - in person and through the omnipotent social media. They sell or propagate the virus, for a profit.

Man had ignored the fact that the Earth belonged to other living beings too. He was gobbling them up like a demon. He pushed the forests away, which pushed the animals and birds away. Providence had created other living beings incredibly colourful and attractive with a lot of love and care, and with awesome abilities, including of singing and dancing. Man was not only dirtying the atmosphere; he was eroding and depleting the all the other the elements of Nature too. He was destroying and devouring all other life forms, from small to large creatures. He established the utility of tusks and nails, skins and furs and such, merely to kill for a killing profit. In the absence of man, all the five elements of Nature can purify themselves. Therefore, it is no surprise that Covidence targeted only man. All flora and fauna were left alone.

Covidence made man his POW and locked him up in zoos – own homes. The confused animals and birds came from their depleted habitat, to investigate. A nostalgic trip, back to their ancestral habitat. But a sad trip it turned out, for the changes they saw were irreversible in damage. No trees, no lakes, no rivers.

Covidence perhaps thinks that this stay-indoors-plan would teach man a lesson - a foolhardy notion. Man never learns, being too diabolic. Providence, when in office had tried to teach with small-small lessons and tests. Like a tsunami here, a hurricane there, some floods, some land-slides, some sudden deep cracks on the crust of the Earth, a plague at times, a flu at other times and so on. Man remained incorrigible. Now Covidence rules and man is running helter-skelter, indoors.

Every cloud has a silver lining. The name Corona, ironically means a ring of light (which also implies knowledge) around the Moon or Sun, at appropriate times. Cowed down by Covidence within Coronosphere, and from within the zoos, man is learning new-fangled skills, relearning childhood indoor games, learning some new words, picking up a hobby or two and so on. The retention of those and their future regular use is a moot question. Also no one seems to have thought of the negatives that can emerge in this shut-down, man being man!

Man is a creature of habit, though he cares two hoots even for his own habitat. Habits are difficult to give up. Will he give up his nasty habits? Will he recreate humanity? Will he give up his wanton greed? Will he learn to respect other Creations, living and non-living? If Covidence continues in office, who knows!

Providence, leaning back on an easy-chair somewhere on that island, with his palms behind His head, must be contemplating. Looking into the horizon vacantly, thinking about the past, present and future of the World, His creation. And working out the time to bring in the final biblical deluge also called maha pralaya, which only He can. Not Covidence.